Tenant Qualification Criteria

Please ensure before making application the following apply to you and that you are aware of:

1. Applicants MUST be adults over the age of 18. All adults in the household must complete our electronic tenant application, individually.
2. If you decide to rent one of our listed properties, in addition to monthly rent, a security deposit equal to one month’s rent and the rent for the final month of the lease may be charged to tenants prior to tenancy.
3. Reservation Fee: If you qualify to rent with us and have identified a home you would like to rent we are able to reserve a home specifically for you! To reserve a home you must (a.) Receive your application approval from our office, and (b.) Have personally viewed the interior of the home and agree to accept the home in as-is condition. To ensure your reservation we charge a reservation fee which is equal to the amount of the properties advertised first month's rent. This fee may be convertible to a security deposit after you have signed a lease and moved into your new rental home. Please keep in mind that if we reserve a property for your future rental use and thereby cause our property managers to take the property off the open rental market, and you later change your mind about renting the property, you will forfeit 100% of your reservation fee.
4. In the event you enter into a lease agreement and change your mind prior to taking possession of the rental property, you shall forfeit all deposit funds as liquidated damages. In addition, you may be held responsible to the additional terms of the lease you signed.
5. If for any reason you are not approved for a rental property, the $69 application processing fee is non-refundable so please ensure you are able to qualify before you apply.
6. Depending on the property, a $50 attorney lease preparation fee may be applicable.
7. Some homeowner and condominium associations require a separate application fee and/or security deposit. If you select a rental and such is the case, all applicants may be additionally required to apply through the association, submit to an in-person association interview, and remit whatever fees or deposits the association may require. Generally the association application fees are $150 or less. Homeowner and condominium associations that also charge a security deposit are variable, please check with a property manager for specific association security deposit requirements.
8. With an exception for minor children, current occupancy standards are a maximum of 2 persons per bedroom. However, some city and county municipalities and/or homeowners associations prohibit more than two (2) unrelated adults to reside in a single family dwelling unit. Consequently, South Florida Realty Management also prohibits the rental of a single family dwelling to more than two (2) unrelated adults.
9. When individual tenant candidates make application and pay the application processing fee they are authorizing South Florida Realty Management to conduct a background investigation consisting of but not limited to the following areas:
• Review of your credit report and your credit score,
• Review of public records for past evictions,
• Verification of your current employment,
• Verification your previous landlord reference(s),
• Run and review a criminal background check,
• Review local county civil and criminal public records,
• Compare applicant names vs. entries in the sex offender databases.

If you cannot provide positive references, have a debt to income ratio that shows you cannot afford to pay rent from your documented income (pay stubs, bank records, or tax returns), have no work history or an unstable work history, been evicted in the past, have a criminal record, or any occupant is listed in the sex offender database, you may not qualify for a rental at this time. 

• All applicants should view the exterior & interior of the rental or have a trusted friend or relative(s) view the rental prior to occupancy because all rentals must be accepted “AS-IS” before the application process is complete.

• Resident Selection Criteria

  Below please review our minimum residential qualification criteria:

  • Income – Applicants must have a combined documentable income of 3 times the properties advertised monthly rental payment. We utilize an automated income verification system that often totally eliminates the need for submission of your actual paper bank statements although in some cases we may still require submission of bank statements to prove reliable, measurable and recurring income from employment or other source(s).
  • Minimum Credit Score – Applicants with a combined household income meeting the income requirements of the specific property they wish to rent must all also have a minimum credit score of 590. (No credit is considered a ZERO score). If your credit does not meet the minimum threshold score, we may be unable to rent a home to you.
  • Applicants must have a credit history demonstrating the applicant has paid bills on time and does not have a history of debt write-offs or accounts that have gone into collection. Residency may be denied due to poor credit history.
  • Applicants must all have at least 12 months verifiable rental history. Applicants can have no more than three (3) late payments, during the last 12 month period as reported by the previous landlord(s). Applicants must also be reported to have “taken good care of the property”.
  • Applicants must not have an outstanding balance with a previous landlord.
  • Applicants must not have a rental eviction on their record.

• Pets

  • We happily accept pets into many of our rental properties. Except for fish, one pet may be permitted with the following considerations:
  • We do not accept animals over 30 lbs into our rental properties.
  • Birds are prohibited in all of our rental properties.
  • Some rental units will not accept pets for any reason. If a pet is approved, a one time non-refundable pet fee of $300 will be charged and the base rental rate may be increased by $25 per month as 'pet rent'.
  • Mainly due to homeowner insurance restrictions we maintain a list of K9 breeds which are not acceptable under any circumstances even if they are under the 30 lb weight limit. Please speak to a property manager about your specific pet(s). We reserve the right to deny any pet at any time for any reason both prior to a lease and during a lease should the pet become a nuisance. At the sole discretion of our individual property managers, K9s are screened and K9s resembling in appearance the following K9 breeds will not be accepted under any circumstances: GERMAN SHEPHERDS, DOBERMANS, PIT BULLS, CHOWS, OR ROTTWEILLERS.

  Please note: Prior to tenant approval, if you are bringing a pet, we ask all tenant candidates to register their pet with PetScreening.com using our  referral link.  Using our referral link will automatically share your pets profile with us.  PetScreening.com is a simple and secure way to manage and share important information about your Pet or Assistance Animal.  There is a nominal cost to register your pet with PetScreening.com unless you have a bona-fide assistance animal in your household. There is no charge ($0) for submitting a reasonable accommodation request for an Assistance Animal. Your request will be reviewed by the  PetScreening.com legal review team per the FHAct guidelines. Please be aware of laws and local ordinances, if any, for criminal offenses and/or penalties for committing assistance animal fraud.

• Smoking

  100% of our rental units are smoke free. Smoking is never allowed inside our rental units. Smoking inside a rental unit is cause for immediate termination of a lease and tenants who have a lease terminated for smoking will forfeit all security deposits.

• Renter's Insurance, Powered by MSI

  Landlord Approved Renter's Insurance Plan, Powered by MSI

  All Tenants are required to maintain property damage liability insurance on behalf of the Landlord and Property Manager. Coverage is required in the amount of One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000) for damage to both Landlord's and third parties’ property with the provisions covering at least the perils of fire, smoke, explosion, accidental water discharge and sewer backup. Tenants are required to name South Florida Realty Management as an “Interested Party” on the Renter's Insurance Policy if tenant elects to buy their own policy independent of the program offered by MSI through South Florida Realty Management.

  Please note that while landlords may carry property insurance protecting the "property" from certain perils, tenant belongings and possessions are not covered and tenants are not beneficiaries of Landlord insurance products. Additionally, tenants are responsible to Landlord for all costs of repair for damages due to tenant negligence as stated in the Lease regardless of existing Landlord insurance. It is important to think ahead and insure yourself against the unexpected.

  To help cover the unforeseen costs that can arise from certain unexpected and disastrous perils (fire, water) including in some cases tenant negligence, South Florida Realty Management has created an easy arrangement for buying a renters insurance policy through MSI. This tenant specific policy offers several financial benefits to tenants in the event of a disaster including personal liability protection up to $100,000, personal property coverage up to $10,000 even covering living expenses should a tenant need to relocate due to a disaster.

  Tenants may OPT OUT of purchasing this required insurance through landlord’s preferred insurance provider at any time by providing written proof of the following three items:

  1. Evidence of Required Insurance levels to show the Policy is in effect, when it will start & end, and who is named on the policy.

  2. "Florida Managed Properties" must be named as an “Additionally Interested” party to the insurance declarations.

  3. The Tenant Liability coverage has to be equal to or greater than $100,000 in Tenant Liability Coverage.

  If tenants wish to obtain Renters Insurance through South Florida Realty Management's preferred provider, MSI, we try to make it simple! The monthly cost for a policy starts as low as $12.00 monthly!