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General guidelines

Occupancy guidelines

We limit occupants of a home to 2 people per bedroom and 1 additional person. This standard is superseded by local laws. If there are more people in your home during the lease term than are allowed by these guidelines, you will be given 2 options: 

  1. Transfer into another available home with more bedrooms at the end of your lease.  

  2. Move out. 


Application*

Every person who will live in the home at least 18 years old must complete and submit an application, undergo our screening process and provide the required documentation. Our screening process requires providing valid government-issued photo identification. You must also pay an application fee. The application fee is non-refundable.

These requirements will apply to any new leaseholders added during the lease term. These rules also apply to dependents at least 18 years old, except for the credit check portion of the screening process.

All applications are reviewed with established screening criteria by our 3rd party screening provider, TransUnion. In addition, except as described herein, all applications will be subject to credit and criminal background checks. Credit disputes can be made by contacting the TransUnion Dispute Department at P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016, visiting www.transunion.com, or calling 888-710-0270 .

All income documents are reviewed to determine validity before accepting. Any documents deemed to be altered will result in an automatic decline of the application.

All current residents of Invitation Homes who wish to apply for a new home must notify their local office to determine eligibility to apply. In addition, all previous residents who moved out in the two years before their application will require approval from the local property management team before receiving an application decision on the new home.

Application requirements

Application process

Before submitting your application, pay the application fee. Fees must be paid by credit card through your Invitation Homes profile online. The information you submit will be used to process your application, beginning with a credit and criminal background screening.

An Invitation Homes representative will contact you with your results and provide details on your next steps. We must verify the information you provided before issuing a full approval, so please be ready to upload supporting documentation with your initial application.

While your application is valid for 30 days, the home will be placed back on the market if you are unable to comply with any requests for income or identity information.

Coming Soon homes

Certain homes are not available for showings yet, but you can reserve such homes if the 14-day move-in requirement has passed and the home is not currently available for move-in; you can reserve the home until up to 5 (five) days after it becomes available.

Please sign into your Invitation Homes account and submit a hold agreement to hold a home. You must also pay the non-refundable hold fee (depending upon market-specific requirements).

To reserve a Coming Soon home, you must submit the hold fee and a signed hold agreement within 48 hours of receiving an application approval. Home availability dates could change. 

Available homes

You can reserve an available home until your lease start date if you sign and submit the lease agreement and pay the full security deposit listed in the lease agreement in accordance with applicable law.

You must submit both the security deposit and a signed lease agreement within 48 hours of receiving an application approval. You must also confirm your move-in details with your leasing representative.

Move-in date

Invitation Homes must approve each requested move-in date. Once the date is approved, your lease start date must be within 14 days of receiving your application. You could move in sooner depending on the house’s availability and other market-specific requirements.

Finance & credit

Income

Unless otherwise required by applicable law, applicants must have a minimum combined income of 3.0 times the monthly rent.

Credit report*

We will obtain a credit report for each applicant to verify their respective credit ratings. An applicant’s income and their verified credit history will be entered into a credit screening model to determine their rental eligibility and security deposit amount.

There are 2 (two) screening results: approval, and denial. Conditions that can hurt this score include but are not limited to inquiries, collections, foreclosures, charge-offs, repossessions, an absence of credit and current delinquency.  

Debt to a previous landlord, evictions in the last 5 years and open bankruptcies will trigger an automatic application denial in accordance with applicable laws.

Leasing history

Criminal history*

Where permitted by applicable law, we will complete a criminal background check for each applicant and occupant who is at least 18 years old.

Our third-party screening partner uses the date a decision was made in a case to decide whether to include a criminal record in the screening results regardless of the applicant or occupant’s age at the time of the offense. 

Applications will be denied for any felony conviction up to 6 (six) years before the application date (subject to local laws/requirements).

Applications will also be denied for felony convictions for sex and/or terrorism-related offenses regardless of the conviction date.

Please remember this requirement is not a guarantee by Invitation Homes that residents or occupants currently living in our homes have not been convicted, or given deferrals of conviction, for felony or sex-related offenses.

There may be residents or occupants who were approved for residency in one or more of our homes before these requirements went into effect.

Additionally, our ability to verify criminal history is limited to the information made available to us by the resident background and credit reporting services we use.

Rental history

We may use the results of a rental history investigation in our determination to approve or deny applications.

Debt to a previous landlord, evictions in the last 5 (five) years and open bankruptcies will trigger an automatic application denial in accordance with applicable laws.

Guarantors

We will accept guarantors for applicants who do not meet the required rent-to-income ratio or who would otherwise be denied for their credit history.

An applicant who does not meet some of our criteria will not get an exception because they have a guarantor. Only 1 (one) guarantor is permitted per home. The guarantor must:

  • Complete an application and pay the application fee.  

  • Have a monthly income of 4x (four times) the monthly market rent  

  • Meet all other qualifying criteria identified in our qualification requirements.  

  • Sign the lease as a Leaseholder.  


Animals & pets

Animals

No more than three 3 (three) pets are allowed per home (subject to local laws and HOA Rules and Regulations). Pet rent, fees and/or deposits will be charged for dogs and cats.

Dog Bite Liability Insurance is required with evidence of coverage provided to Invitation Homes. Not all animal breeds are allowed inside our homes.

  • Dogs: The list of domestic dog breeds that are restricted includes: American Pit Bull Terriers, Rottweilers, Staffordshire Terriers and any dog that has a percentage or mix of any of those breeds. Any canines other than domestic dogs (wolves, coyotes, dingoes, jackals, etc.) and any hybrids of those animals are not permitted. 

  • Cats: All breeds of domestic cats are permitted. 

  • Small animals: Gerbils, hamsters and guinea pigs are permitted. Ferrets, rabbits and chinchillas are not permitted. 

  • Birds: Domestic birds, such as cockatiels and parakeets, are permitted. Birds of prey and non-domestic birds, such as pigeons, are prohibited. 

  • Farm animals: Restricted unless written permission is received from Invitation Homes management: chicken, goats, horses and pigs (including pot-bellied pigs).  

  • Venomous animals: All types are restricted. 

  • Fish tanks: All tanks are limited to a 20-gallon capacity, and predator fish, such as piranhas, are prohibited.


Service animals

Service and assistance animals are exempt from any pet rent, fees, deposits, breed restrictions and insurance requirements as long as residents provide Invitation Homes with proper documentation.

The applicant must complete and submit the Invitation Homes Reasonable Accommodation/Modification Request Form and the Disability Verification Form. The Disability Verification Form must be completed by the resident’s healthcare provider to verify the statements on the form.

City of Seattle: Qualification requirements

Age and application

Applicants who are at least 18 years old must complete an application, go through our screening process, provide the necessary documentation and pay an application fee.

Dependents who are at least 18 years old are not exempt from these requirements. The application fee is non-refundable.

Credit report

Invitation Homes will need a credit report for all applicants to verify their credit ratings. Applicants’ income plus verification of their credit histories will be entered into a screening model to determine rental eligibility and security deposit levels. There are two 2 (two) possible screening results: approval and denial. 

Conditions that can hurt this score include but are not limited to collections, charge-offs, repossessions and current delinquency. Applicants who owe a debt to a previous landlord or have open bankruptcies will be denied automatically.

Applicants and occupants have the option to pay the security deposit in up to 6 (six) installments. The first installment must be paid at least 48 hours after you receive the lease agreement. 

Background check

Each applicant and occupant who is at least 18 years old must go through a background check. If an applicant is a registered sex offender, they are required to disclose that information.

Adult applicants will be required to go through a limited criminal history background check so our third-party screening contractor can determine their sex offender registration status.

Applicants who are registered as sex offenders will have their applications reviewed on a case-by-case basis. During the background check, our third-party contractor will not review any other arrest record, conviction record or other criminal history.

Please remember this requirement is not a guarantee that residents or occupants currently living in our homes have not been convicted, or given deferrals of conviction, for sex-related offenses that require registration under applicable laws.

There may be residents and occupants who moved into one of our homes before this requirement went into effect. Additionally, our ability to verify this information is limited to the information made available to us by the background and credit reporting services we used.

Animals

No pets are allowed.

Service animals

Service and assistance animals are permitted and exempt from any pet rent, fees, deposits, breed restrictions and insurance requirements if residents provide Invitation Homes proper documentation.

The applicant must complete and submit the Invitation Homes Reasonable Accommodation/Modification Request Form and the Disability Verification Form.

The Disability Verification Form must be completed by the resident’s healthcare provider to verify the statements on the form.