A Washington, D.C. Rental Application allows landlords to assess potential tenants before granting a lease agreement.
According to state regulations, landlords are prohibited from requesting information about an applicant’s criminal history. Additionally, before accepting an applicant, the eligibility criteria upon which approval decisions will be based must be furnished.
Laws
- Application Fee – § 42–3505.10(a)(1) – either mandatory or optional, refundable or non-refundable
- Fee Limits – § 42–3505.10(b)(1) – $50
- Security Deposit – §§ 14-308 – 14-311 – must not exceed an amount equivalent to the first full month’s rent. The landlord is only allowed to charge this deposit once to the tenant.
State Laws
Application Fees
Before requesting any fee or deposit from a prospective tenant, you must first disclose the purpose and amount of each fee or deposit, whether required or optional, and whether the fee or deposit is refundable or non-refundable.
Security Deposits
Landlords can ask for a security deposit when an applicant gets approval. They must also provide a receipt unless a personal check with the purpose of the payment is used.
The law also mandates you to place security deposits into an interest-bearing escrow account within 30 days of receiving them, even if they’re from multiple properties.
Pet Deposits
A pet deposit can be requested, but this rule doesn’t apply to service and emotional support animals. The entire security deposit, however, cannot exceed one month’s rent. It’s important to note that this law doesn’t protect tenants from being charged a monthly pet fee.
Landlord Disclosure
Under § 42–3541.02(c)(1)(A), it is required to disclose their eligibility criteria before accepting a prospective tenant’s application fee. The criteria can include financial factors like credit and income, employment, criminal history, and rental history.
Eligibility Criteria for Evaluating Pending Criminal Activity
After extending a conditional offer, a landlord can only consider pending criminal accusations or convictions within the past seven years if they pertain to certain crimes.
These crimes, whether committed within the District of Columbia or any other state, include a range of severe offenses like arson, burglary, assault with intent to harm, murder, sexual abuse, child exploitation, terrorism, fraud, and drug-related crimes (§ 42–3541.02(d)).
How To Conduct an Eviction Record Search
In Washington D.C., eviction records are part of public records and can be accessed by anyone. This can be accomplished at no cost through a third-party screening program or manual searches. To get started:
- Visit the Superior Court’s eAccess System.
- Complete the captcha code.
- Enter the potential renter’s name in the “Name Search” tab to access civil court documents. Look for “Landlord & Tenant Branch” under “Case Type.”
- Click “Search” to view the records.
It’s important to note that the D.C. Superior Court might seal certain eviction records. These situations include cases where the tenant owed $600 or less, the eviction resulted from a housing assistance program, or a settlement agreement was reached between the landlord and tenant.
Sample
