Rental Form Updates - May 31, 2024

On April 29, 2024 federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released new guidance related to screening of applicants in rental housing. Multifamily NW has updated several forms in the Oregon and Washington Forms Collections. These changes were made by joint approval of Multifamily NW's Oregon and Washington Forms Committee and their legal counsel. None of the information in this article is or shall be interpreted as legal advice.

Updated Oregon Forms:

The following changes to Applications and Letters of Denial are in response to guidance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

M002 OR Rental Application & Criteria (Not Portland)
M302 OR Tax Credit Rental Application & Criteria (Not Portland)
M308 OR Temporary Occupancy Application & Criteria (Not Portland)
M502 OR Rental Application & Criteria - Standard Financially Responsible (Portland)
M503 OR Rental Application & Criteria – Standard Non-Financially Responsible (Portland)
M504 OR Rental Application & Criteria – Low Barrier Financially Responsible (Portland)
M505 OR Rental Application & Criteria - Low Barrier Non-Financially Responsible (Portland)
M507 OR Tax Credit Rental Application & Criteria (Portland)
M508 OR Temporary Occupancy Application & Criteria - Standard (Portland) 

• In the EVICTION HISTORY CRITERIA section of the of the Applications criteria the following language has been added:

Eviction actions that were dismissed or resulted in a judgment for the applicant or when the applicant has provided supplemental evidence proving that they suffered a job loss due to no fault of their own will not be considered. If your eviction was related to a non-behavioral issue, you may provide supplemental evidence as instructed herein and that information will be considered.

• A line has been added to the signature block of the Applications, stating, “I have received and read the Owner/Agent’s rental criteria” as follows:

Applicants may provide evidence of mitigating circumstances and requests for reasonable accommodation/modification to the following location for review, consideration and response: ________________. (This field is mandatory.)

• In the credit score section of the applications, which already provides a section to list the credit score, the line stating: Scores range from a low of ___ to a high of ____, has been replaced with:  You received a credit score of ____ and a credit score of ________ is required to qualify.

M030 OR Applicant Screening Adverse Action (Not Portland)
M112 OR Owner/Agent Notice of Denial (Not Portland)
M510 OR Applicant Screening Adverse Action (Portland)
M512 OR Owner/Agent Notice of Denial (Portland)

• The following language has been included at the bottom of the Adverse Action and Notice of Denial forms to mirror the HUD guidance language:
  
  An appeal may be submitted to _____________ if you believe a record is incomplete, inaccurate or irrelevant, mitigating circumstances exist, or a reasonable accommodation for disability is needed. 

Other Oregon Updates:

(Unrelated to the HUD changes above)

M015 OR 13-Day Termination for Nonpayment of Rent + HB2001
M020 OR 10-Day Notice of Termination for Nonpayment of Rent + HB2001

• The language regarding the time the rent payment must be made now defaults to 11:59 p.m. and the ability to enter a custom time is no longer available.

[Old language]: "...personally at ________________ • AM • PM.. TIME Your rent payment must be paid by ________________ AM • PM." 

[New language]: "...by personal delivery. Your rent payment must be paid by 11:59 p.m."

Updated Washington Forms:

The following changes to Applications and Letters of Denial are in response to guidance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD):

M002 WA Rental Application & Criteria (Washington)

• In the EVICTION HISTORY CRITERIA section of the of the Applications criteria the following language has been added:

Eviction actions that were dismissed or resulted in a judgment for the applicant or when the applicant has provided supplemental evidence proving that they suffered a job loss due to no fault of their own will not be considered. If your eviction was related to a non-behavioral issue, you may provide supplemental evidence as instructed herein and that information will be considered.

• A line has been added to the signature block of the Applications, stating, “I have received and read the Owner/Agent’s rental criteria” as follows:

Applicants may provide evidence of mitigating circumstances and requests for reasonable accommodation/modification to the following location for review, consideration and response: ________________. (This field is mandatory.)

• In the credit score section of the applications, which already provides a section to list the credit score, the line stating: Scores range from a low of ___ to a high of ____, has been replaced with:  You received a credit score of ____ and a credit score of ________ is required to qualify.

M030 WA Applicant Screening Adverse Action

• The following language has been included at the bottom of the Adverse Action and Notice of Denial forms to mirror the HUD guidance language:
  
  An appeal may be submitted to _____________ if you believe a record is incomplete, inaccurate or irrelevant, mitigating circumstances exist, or a reasonable accommodation for disability is needed. 

Multifamily NW (503-213-1281) is also offering training in the coming weeks to explain how these changes impact the screening process and how the use of these forms has changed. View the Educational Calendar for register for the training opportunities. For form suggestions please email formscollection@multifamilynw.org.