Most rental horror stories start the same way. An owner was in a hurry, the applicant seemed great in person, and the paperwork felt like a formality. Three months later, rent stopped coming in.
We talk to landlords in this situation more than we’d like to. And nearly every time, the gap wasn’t bad luck. It was a screening process that had holes in it. If you’re trying to figure out how to actually run tenant screening the right way, this post covers the pieces most owners miss, including what the law requires before you even collect a fee, how to read what you get back, and why a 720 credit score can still put you in a bad spot.
Federal Way has some quirks that make all of this more specific than the generic advice you’ll find elsewhere. Let’s get into it.
In This Guide
Before You Accept a Single Dollar, Do This
Washington State law requires you to provide written screening criteria to an applicant *before* you collect any application or screening fee. This isn’t optional, and it’s not buried in some obscure code. It’s RCW 59.18.257, and it applies to every rental in the state.
One owner we work with skipped this step, denied an applicant, and then got hit with a refund demand on the $45 screening fee plus a potential $100 statutory penalty. That’s the small version of what can happen. If the denial also had any fair housing dimension — say, the rejected applicant was in a protected class — the exposure goes up significantly from there.
“One owner we work with skipped this step, denied an applicant, and then got hit with a refund demand on the $45 screening fee plus a potential $100 statutory penalty.”
So before anything else, put your criteria in writing. Minimum income requirement, credit score floor, eviction history policy, whatever you use. Hand it over (or email it) before you collect a cent.
What a Background Check Actually Includes
A lot of owners think “background check” means the same thing everywhere. It doesn’t.
A proper screening report typically covers:
- Credit history: Payment patterns, open accounts, collections, bankruptcies
- Eviction records: Pulled from court databases, usually covering the last 7 years
- Criminal history: Subject to Fair Housing restrictions on how you use it
- Income and employment verification: Sometimes included, sometimes a separate step
- Rental history: Usually self-reported, which is why you also call previous landlords
The cost runs $30 to $75 per applicant depending on what’s included. A credit-only report sits at the low end. A full background with eviction history and court records costs more, but that’s where the real risk lives.
Blanket criminal history bans — automatically rejecting anyone with a felony conviction — can trigger a HUD complaint under the Fair Housing Act’s disparate impact standard, potentially exposing landlords to significant liability depending on the harm found. Screen for relevant, documented risk, not just the presence of a record.
The Free Tool Problem
We hear from owners who ran a free credit check through a consumer app and called it done. This is probably the most common screening mistake we see locally.
Free credit tools designed for personal use do not pull eviction records. They don’t search court databases. They show you a credit score and maybe some payment history. That’s it.
One owner in Federal Way rented to someone with two prior evictions in Tacoma within the last four years. None of it showed up on the free app they used because the service never touched a court record. First month’s rent was paid. Months two and three were not. By the time the owner worked through the legal process, they were out roughly $4,800 between unpaid rent and court costs.
Paying $50 for a real report from a legitimate third-party service would have shown those evictions the same day.
Reading the Credit Report Correctly
Here’s the contrarian take we give owners all the time: stop leading with the credit score.
A 680 score tells you almost nothing by itself. We’ve seen applicants with scores in that range who had a 50% debt-to-income ratio. One owner approved exactly that kind of applicant, relying on the score alone without verifying income. Within four months, rent was consistently late. The owner spent around $3,200 between partial payments, late notices, and legal fees before negotiating a mutual termination.
A self-employed applicant with a 620 score and 18 months of steady 1099 deposits is often less risky than a W-2 employee with a 710 score who has changed jobs three times in two years. Look at the pattern, not just the number.
What actually matters on the report:
- Debt-to-income ratio: Keep this under 40–45% relative to the rent they’d owe
- Payment consistency: One medical collection is different from six months of late payments
- Trend direction: Is their financial situation improving or declining over time?
How Washington’s Eviction Record Rules Work
Washington state law has added real restrictions on how landlords can use eviction history in screening. Landlords generally cannot automatically deny an applicant for an eviction that was dismissed, fully satisfied, or tied to COVID-19 nonpayment — check current Washington tenant screening statutes for the specific bill citation.
So when an eviction shows up on a report, you need to look at the outcome, not just the fact that it happened. A filed eviction that was dismissed or that the tenant paid off in full is treated differently under state law than an active judgment.
The standard lookback window most screening companies use is 7 years. Results typically come back within 24 to 48 hours. If you’re waiting longer than 72 hours, it usually means a name match triggered a manual court records search, which is actually a sign the system is doing its job.
Federal Way is not inside Seattle city limits, so Seattle’s first-in-time applicant rules and Just Cause Eviction Ordinance are Seattle-specific and do not extend to Federal Way, though Federal Way has enacted its own just-cause eviction protections that landlords must follow. You have more flexibility to rank applicants under state law. Use it carefully and document your reasoning consistently.
Source of Income Rules You Can’t Ignore
Washington’s Law Against Discrimination (RCW 49.60) covers a broad range of protected classes, and Washington has enacted source of income anti-discrimination protections—landlords should consult the Washington State Human Rights Commission or an attorney to confirm current statewide applicability. That means you cannot reject an applicant simply because they carry a Section 8 voucher or another housing subsidy. If you do, and it surfaces in a complaint, you’re looking at damages of up to 4.5 times the unit’s monthly rent plus attorney fees.
We see this come up regularly around here because the applicant pool draws from a wide area. Pierce County residents have been moving north as Tacoma rents climb, and Federal Way landlords frequently receive applications from people with out-of-area income or housing assistance. Income verification gets more involved when the pay stubs are from a Puyallup employer and the housing subsidy is issued by a different county’s housing authority.
Screen on your documented criteria. Apply them the same way to every applicant.
The Step Everyone Skips: Calling the Previous Landlord
Background reports are useful. A two-minute phone call to the prior landlord is often more useful.
Eviction filings only show up in court records when a landlord actually went through the formal process. Plenty of bad tenants were quietly asked to leave, paid to leave, or simply moved before a filing happened. Their court record looks clean because no court was ever involved.
A prior landlord will usually tell you whether the person paid on time, how they left the property, and whether they’d rent to them again. That’s information no report can give you.
One thing to watch: some applicants list a friend or family member as their “landlord.” Call the number and ask specific questions like what the rent amount was and when the lease ended. Made-up landlords tend to get fuzzy fast.
The Adverse Action Notice Requirement
If you deny an applicant based on a screening report, Washington law requires you to send an Adverse Action Notice. This notice must name the reporting agency used so the applicant can dispute any errors with that company.
This is required under both the federal Fair Housing Act’s guidelines and RCW 59.18.257. It’s not a difficult document to produce, but owners who skip it create problems for themselves later, especially if the denied applicant files any kind of complaint.
Keep a copy on file. Note the date sent. It takes five minutes and it’s your paper trail if anything is ever questioned.
One owner we know tried to clean up a messy situation by asking for additional documents after they’d already approved someone. The new request came after the owner noticed something they didn’t initially catch. That after-the-fact ask left a paper trail suggesting the original process was inconsistent, and it raised questions about whether the second request was triggered by something protected. It got messy fast.
What Military Applicants Mean for Your Screening Process
Federal Way sits roughly 25 miles north of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and a meaningful portion of rental applicants in this area are active military or military-adjacent households. Federal law provides certain financial and civil protections for active duty servicemembers that landlords and creditors must consider when evaluating applications, and property managers should consult legal counsel to ensure their screening criteria do not unfairly disadvantage military applicants.
If you rent properties in this market and aren’t familiar with SCRA basics, it’s worth a quick read. Denying a qualified military applicant for thin credit caused by PCS moves is the kind of mistake that attracts complaints.
We’ve found that military tenants, when properly screened, are often excellent renters. Stable income, clear lease timelines, and BAH payments that cover rent without issue.
If running a proper screen on every applicant feels like more moving parts than you expected, you’re probably right. We’ve talked to owners who tracked the time they spent on applications and realized they were putting in five to eight hours per tenant cycle, not counting the stress of wondering if they’d missed something.
If that sounds familiar, we’re happy to talk through how RentLucky handles screening for property owners in Federal Way and the surrounding area.
FAQ
Does Washington State require me to tell applicants why I denied them?
Yes. Under RCW 59.18.257 and federal Fair Housing guidelines, if you deny an applicant based on a consumer report, you must send an Adverse Action Notice that names the reporting agency used. You don’t have to write a detailed explanation, but you do have to provide enough information for the applicant to understand and dispute the report.
Can I reject a Section 8 applicant in Federal Way?
No. Washington’s Source of Income protection law applies statewide, including in Federal Way. Rejecting an applicant solely because they hold a Section 8 voucher or other housing subsidy can result in damages of up to 4.5 times the unit’s monthly rent plus attorney fees. You can still apply your standard income and screening criteria, but the source of that income cannot be the reason for a denial.
Do Seattle’s first-in-time applicant rules apply in Federal Way?
They do not. Federal Way is outside Seattle city limits, so Seattle’s first-in-time ordinance, which requires landlords to offer tenancy to the first qualified applicant, does not apply here. You operate under state law, which gives you more discretion to rank applicants, as long as your process is documented and applied consistently.
Can I automatically deny someone with an eviction on their record?
Not automatically, no. Washington state law restricts blanket denials based on eviction history. If the eviction was dismissed, fully satisfied, or tied to COVID-19 nonpayment, state law limits your ability to use it as a basis for rejection. Review the outcome of the eviction, not just the fact that it was filed.
How long does a background check take to come back?
Most screening reports return results within 24 to 48 hours. If you’re waiting longer than 72 hours, it typically means a name match triggered a manual court records search. That’s not necessarily a bad sign, but it’s worth knowing so you can set applicant expectations upfront.
What’s the minimum I need to legally charge for a screening fee in Washington?
Washington caps screening fees at the landlord’s actual cost of the tenant screening, which includes the screening report as well as costs like phone calls and time spent verifying references., and requires you to provide the screening criteria in writing before collecting any fee. If you don’t provide those criteria first, you may be required to refund the fee and face a $100 penalty per violation.