Application Criteria & Guidelines

Thank you for your interest in becoming a part of the OSLO community! We place emphasis on the fair and respectful treatment of all residents. We are an equal opportunity housing provider and comply with all national and local fair housing laws.

Before any applicant information or the application fee is collected, we hereby disclose the eligibility criteria which we use in determining whether to rent a rental unit to you.

Please review the following eligibility criteria upon which we rely upon in making rental determinations.

Application and

Application Fee All individuals 18 years of age and over who will reside in the rental unit must submit an application. A $75 non-refundable application fee is required for each applicant. Application fees can be paid by credit card, cashier’s checks and personal checks.  No cash is accepted for the payment of application fees.  The application fee(s) are due at time of application and is/are required before the application(s) can be processed.  No application is processed until all applications are complete, including, without limitation, all information provided, submission of all necessary supporting documentation, and payment of all non-refundable application fees paid.  We rely on the information provided in the application and any false or misleading information provided by any applicant is justifiable basis for our immediate denial of the application(s) for the rental unit.

Consumer Credit

Reports Each applicant’s consumer credit report history is reviewed, including, but not limited to, number and frequency of non-payments and/or late payments, account balances (current and past due), charge-offs/write-offs, collection activity, defaults, lender/creditor closure of accounts, bankruptcy history, debt-to-income ratio and debt-to-available credit ratio.  An applicant’s credit score is reviewed and considered, but no adverse action shall be taken solely on the basis of applicant’s credit score.  

Rental History Each applicant’s rental history is reviewed and satisfactory rental history required, including, but not limited to, applicant’s payment history (e.g., frequency and number of non-payments and/or late payments, outstanding account balances, collection activity), complaints about applicant’s prior tenancy (e.g., frequency and nature of complaints either by other residents or discovered by landlord, frequency and number of informal lease violation notices and/or 30-Day Notices to Correct or Vacate), whether applicant’s provided proper notice of intention to vacate, and applicant’s eviction and Landlord & Tenant Court history, as permitted by applicable law.   

Income/Employment 

Verification Income from all sources is considered and we shall not refuse to rent a rental unit to an individual because the individual will provide the rental payment, in whole or in part, through a voucher for rental housing assistance provided by the District or federal government.  Gross monthly income (or, in the case of multiple applications, combined gross monthly income) must equal at least 3 times the monthly rent amount and be supported by two (2) most recent month’s documentation.  Examples of acceptable documentation (this is not an all-inclusive list) include, but are not limited to, two (2) most recent paystubs, housing choice vouchers and any other form of government rent subsidy or assistance, supplemental security/supplemental security disability income, alimony, veteran’s benefits, unemployment insurance, signed offer letter from employer stating annual salary and a confirmation of start of employment with a start date that is no more than 30 days after date of application and states applicant’s salary and/or by direct supervisor or HR verification to us.  Cash assets such as bank account/investment/brokerage account statements can be used as a source of income provided the average balance of the account for the six (6) months immediately prior to the application is greater than or equal to the amount of 2 times the total value of the rent for the initial lease term and all funds must be held within the United States.  

Guarantor Applicant’s not meeting our minimum eligibility requirements related to consumer credit report history and/or income/employment verification will be afforded an opportunity to provide a qualified Guarantor for our review and approval.  The Guarantor is subject to the same application process (including payment of the applicable application fee) and must meet our eligibility criteria as to consumer credit report history and income/employment verification. 

Criminal Background Criminal background reports will be reviewed but such report will only be requested, obtained, reviewed and considered after applicant is provided a conditional offer of housing.

We consider the pending criminal accusations or criminal conviction history of all individuals 18 years of age and older who will reside in the rental unit but on for those offenses listed in the Fair Criminal Record Screening for Housing Act of 2016 which occurred within the seven (7) years prior to date of the application.

The applicant may provide evidence demonstrating inaccuracies within the applicant’s criminal record or evidence of rehabilitation or other mitigating factors. This means the applicant has the right to provide, among other things, evidence of errors in applicant’s criminal background report, evidence of applicant’s good conduct since the conviction or pending accusation occurred, or other information applicant would like a housing provider to use when evaluating applicant’s criminal background.  Please do not provide this information until after applicant has received a conditional offer of housing, as we do not request, obtain, review and consider any applicant’s criminal background until after we have made a conditional offer of housing to applicant.

Credit Report Fee and Credit Investigation:  I agree to pay when I submit this Application a credit report fee of $35.00, WHICH SHALL BE NON-REFUNDABLE, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THIS APPLICATION IS APPROVED OR REJECTED.  I/WE hereby authorize the owner or owner’s agent to whom this Application is made and any credit bureau or other investigative agency used by such owner or owner’s agent to investigate and to report and disclose to the owner and the owner’s agent the results of the references herein listed, statements and other data obtained from me or from any other person pertaining to my credit, employment, rent history, and financial responsibility.

If you need to request a reasonable accommodation at any time during the application process, please inform OSLO Management, by contacting: hello@oslo-dc.com or (202)919-9129.

Housing opportunities are available to all persons in the conformance with all applicable Federal and Local Fair Housing and Human Rights Laws.

By signing below, applicant acknowledges that they have read and agreed to the aforementioned.