RESIDENT RENTAL CRITERIA

APPLICATION PROCESSING

Applications are processed based upon factors including, but not limited to: rental history, income, employment (minimum one year of continuous employment), criminal and eviction history, and credit score. If your application does not meet our minimum qualifications, a qualified cosigner may be considered. Your gross total household income should be at least 3-4 times the monthly rent. We do combine all applicants’ incomes. If the income is less than 3-4 times the rent, the application will be denied or require a co-signer. Cosigner must have, but not limited to, gross household income equal to 4-5 times the monthly rent and a TransUnion credit score above 700.

  • Credit score will be considered, but not used solely to decline an application.

  • If you are a registered sex offender, this is an automatic denial.

  • Felony convictions may result in the application being denied.

  • If you’ve had an eviction in the last 4 years, this may result in a denial. Evictions during the Covid-19 emergency period will not be considered.

  • If you have an open collection from a landlord or property management company, this is an automatic denial.

  • A valid government-issued photo ID is required from all applicants.

  • Valid proof of a Social Security number or a passport is required.

  • If ANY information is found to be false, the application will be automatically denied. Security Deposits and move-in funds must be in CLEARED FUNDS (Cashier’s check, money order, or online payment at least a week before move-in) and submitted to our office in order to take the property/unit off the market. In Philadelphia, prepaid rent for last month is considered a second deposit and applied as rent in the last month of occupancy. If pre-paid rent is required at move-in, the tenant may split it into 3 equal payments over the 3 months following move-in. 

PET PoLICY

Please confirm the pet policy for the property that you are applying to with your Leasing Coordinator. If pets are allowed, please note that we have a company policy regarding breed restrictions for dogs. Many of our properties have different pet policies regarding, but not limited to, the types of pets allowed, weight limits, and the number of pets allowed. Additional pet deposits and fees do apply on a per-pet basis. If you have a service animal or an emotional support animal, the State-required paperwork must be submitted and verified.  We will ask for the pet's vet records and a photo of the pet for the file.

NEXT STEPS

ONLINE RESIDENT PORTAL

Each applicant/cosigner age 18 or older must complete an application and pay a NON-REFUNDABLE fee of $50 per application. 

An incomplete application will delay the process and may result in another applicant being approved while we wait for your information.

  1. Once we receive your completed application, we will process it and notify you of the results within 48-72 business hours.

  2. If approved, you will have 48 hours to sign the lease AND pay the security deposit in cleared funds. Payments are to be made payable to Elfant Pontz Properties and can be dropped off in our drop box at 7112 Germantown Ave. Please coordinate payment details with your leasing coordinator. We will not take the property off the market until we receive the signed lease AND the security deposit.

Applications are processed when fully completed and in the order in which they are received. Applications that have more than 1 person in a group will not be considered complete until all applicants in the group have applied. Any missing supporting documentation will be deemed incomplete until received.

RENTAL APPLICATION NOTICE

PROCESSING FEES

We will make a decision on your rental application after reviewing your completed application and conducting an individual assessment in accordance with our uniform screening criteria. If your application fee is refunded to you, or was never collected from you, because your application was not reviewed for consideration (for a lawful reason) then you will not receive a statement with the reasons for the denial or copies of any documents obtained from a third party for the purpose of establishing your eligibility. Additionally, your application will not be denied based in whole, or in part, on the following:

  1. Credit information or credit report, tenant screening report, or any other consumer report demonstrating a failure to pay rent or utility bills during the COVID-19 emergency periods.

  2. The following events are in an eviction history or eviction record:
    (a) Any eviction proceeding pursuant to Pennsylvania law, or other equivalents in other states, that did not result in a judgment in favor of the plaintiff; or
    (b) Any sealed record of an eviction proceeding; or
    (c) Any eviction judgment against you that has been vacated or marked satisfied pursuant to Pennsylvania law; or
    (d) Any eviction case filed, or eviction judgment that was entered, four or more years before the application to rent was submitted; or
    (e) An eviction proceeding brought against you during the Covid-19 emergency period, other than an eviction based on violent or dangerous criminal activity that resulted in a judgment against the tenant; or
    (f) Any eviction proceeding where a judgment by agreement is currently in place, or where the judgment by agreement has been marked satisfied or vacated, or is otherwise resolved.

If your application is denied, you may notify us by written or electronic means, within forty-eight (48) hours after receiving the denial, of your intent to dispute or request reconsideration. Thereafter, if notification is provided within the original 48 hours, you then have seven business days from the date the denial was issued to provide the support items below. We will then consider the following:

  1. Any evidence that information relied upon by us was inaccurate or incorrectly attributed to you, or was based on prohibited screening criteria.

  2. Any evidence of mitigating circumstances relating to the grounds for denial to establish whether the applicant shows a readiness to satisfy the obligations of tenancy, which may include, but shall not be limited to, credible information showing:

    1. A history of on-time rental payments by the prospective tenant that otherwise may not appear in a background check;

    2. That a prior eviction of the prospective tenant based on nonpayment of rent was based, in whole or in part, on rent not owed by the prospective tenant;

    3. New or increased income of the prospective tenant that is reliable and sufficient to cover rental costs;

    4. Letters of recommendation provided on behalf of the prospective tenant by employers or former housing providers;

    5. Changes in circumstances that would make prior lease violations by the prospective tenant less likely to recur.

All residents are required to provide us with their email address in order to have an online portal activated for the resident to view and pay their monthly charges, submit maintenance requests, and provide rental insurance information. All maintenance requests are processed through the resident portal and we strongly recommend paying online. 

Resident Portal (collected and assessed by processor):

  • E-check: $2.49 per transaction

  • Debit: $9.99 per transaction

  • Credit Card: 3.49% of payment amount

  • Electronic Cash Payment (via participating retailers): $4.99 per transaction

In Office/Physical Payment: $4.99 per transaction for Check/Money Order. If multiple checks/money orders are provided in the same transaction, only one fee is assessed. This fee is assessed on a monthly basis and will be added to your account at the end of the month in which the check was submitted to our office.