BEFORE YOU APPLY
Clear expectations. A fair opportunity to find your next home. Explore our Oregon guidelines and the additional requirements for rentals within Portland city limits.
PEOPLE FIRST
Bridge City Properties is an equal opportunity company and an Equal Housing Opportunity provider. We are committed to respectful service, consistent screening, and a housing search free from unlawful discrimination.
We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, familial or marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, lawful source of income, protected survivor status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
We work with all avenues of lawful, verifiable income and qualifying rental assistance. This includes wages, self-employment, retirement, Social Security, disability and unemployment benefits, veterans’ benefits, child support, alimony, vouchers, and verifiable ongoing support.
As a veteran-owned company, we welcome military members, veterans, and their families. We strive to be a safe, affirming place for LGBTQIA+ people, where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.
Our industry partnerships include Rental Housing Alliance Oregon and NARPM — the National Association of Residential Property Managers. We value professional education, responsible property management, and strong community relationships.
STATEWIDE
Review these guidelines together with the complete written screening criteria for the home you choose. Property-specific criteria identify the applicable income standard and other qualifications. Contact us for a copy before paying a screening charge.
Complete the application, identify everyone who will live in the home, and provide the information needed to verify your identity, income or assistance, and relevant rental history. Each adult should complete the applicable applicant or occupant information. We will explain any missing information and consider appropriate alternative documentation.
Before collecting a screening charge, we provide the written criteria and screening process, charge amount, rent, deposits, any required liability insurance, and refund, dispute, and applicable appeal rights. We also provide an estimate of suitable available units and applications already under consideration.
Our listed charges are up to $50 per financially responsible adult and up to $40 per other adult, only where permitted. Your exact charge is disclosed before payment and cannot exceed applicable screening-cost limits. Only one screening charge per applicant may be required within 60 days across homes we own or manage.
You receive a payment receipt and, promptly after outside screening, confirmation with the screening company’s receipt. Required refunds are issued within 30 days, including when a home is filled before screening, when you withdraw in writing before screening is ordered or conducted, or when screening is not conducted. Declining an offer after screening does not by itself create a refund right.
A Social Security number is not required if you provide acceptable alternative identification. We accept the documents or combinations allowed by ORS 90.306 to reasonably verify identity, including a certified birth record, SSN evidence, permanent resident card, visa, ITIN card, passport, driver license, other government ID regardless of expiration, or suitable nongovernment identification. We do not inquire about or discriminate based on immigration or citizenship status, except for information required by an applicable federal housing program.
Income can be documented through pay statements, tax or business records, benefit or award letters, assistance documents, or other reliable verification appropriate to the source. Employment is not the only way to qualify. Voucher and subsidy calculations for Portland are explained below.
Screening may include rental references, consumer reports, and legally permitted public records, as disclosed in the property’s written criteria. We exclude dismissed eviction cases, cases decided for the applicant, landlord judgments entered five or more years ago, and judgments on claims arising April 1, 2020 through February 28, 2022. Unpaid rent from that same protected period is excluded, including judgments and collections.
Criminal screening is limited to records Oregon law permits: relevant convictions or qualifying pending charges for currently illegal conduct. Marijuana use or possession convictions alone and medical-marijuana patient status are excluded. An arrest alone is insufficient. Before a criminal-history denial, you may submit explanatory evidence; we assess the circumstances, severity, number of incidents, elapsed time, and age at the time. Portland has additional screening safeguards below.
If screening results in denial, we provide written reasons within 14 days, including required screening-company information, treatment of any supplemental evidence considered, and applicable appeal rights.
If a consumer report contributes to a denial, higher deposit, guarantor requirement, or other adverse action, the notice identifies the reporting agency and explains that it did not make our decision. You may dispute inaccurate or incomplete information and request a free report from that agency within 60 days. Required credit-score disclosures are included when applicable.
A deposit to secure a rental agreement is requested only after approval, with written rental terms and refund or retention conditions. When the rental agreement is signed, the deposit is credited toward amounts due or immediately refunded. Retention is limited by ORS 90.297; it is not automatic for every cancellation. If the agreement is not completed because the landlord fails to comply, or you reject it after discovering material habitability defects, the deposit is returned within five business days.
We protect applicant information and disclose confidential personal, financial, and disability information only with separate written consent or as otherwise permitted by Oregon law, such as necessary screening and legally required disclosures.
You may request a reasonable accommodation or modification at any stage. Qualifying assistance animals are considered through the accommodation process, including in homes with a no-pets policy; approved assistance animals are not subject to pet rent, pet fees, or pet deposits. Contact our team for help with a request.
Oregon applicant confidentiality protections · Accommodation and modification rights
WITHIN PORTLAND CITY LIMITS
Portland’s FAIR screening rules add protections to Oregon and federal law for covered rentals. A Portland mailing address alone does not establish coverage. Specific exemptions and conflicting affordable-housing funding requirements can apply; ask us which rules cover the home.
The availability notice gives the opening date and time, screening criteria when a fee is charged, and whether the home is a Type A accessible unit. The open application period begins at least 72 hours after the first availability notice.
Complete early applications are recorded as received eight hours after opening, in their actual order relative to other early applications. Applications otherwise follow receipt order, subject to the City’s accessible-unit priority rules. For Type A units, households with a mobility disability applying in the first eight hours receive priority; early applications from these households receive the priority specified by City rules. A receipt-time record is available within five business days of request.
The maximum required gross monthly income depends on the home’s monthly rent and bedroom count. Below the benchmark, the limit is 2.5 times rent; at or above it, the limit is 2 times rent. These are screening limits, not advertised rents.
| Bedrooms | Monthly rent benchmark |
|---|---|
| Studio | $1,797 |
| 1 | $1,925 |
| 2 | $2,310 |
| 3 | $2,669 |
| 4 | $2,977 |
| 5 | $3,285 |
View the City’s 2026 minimum-income table
We combine the financial resources of the financially responsible applicants and consider all lawful income, including monetary benefits and nongovernmental rental assistance. Government rent vouchers or subsidies are deducted from rent before applying the income multiplier to the applicant’s share.
Your household may identify financially responsible applicants and other adult occupants. Other adults are not screened for income, credit, or financial responsibility; permitted screening concerns conduct and tenancy rules. A qualifying applicant can accept the home without a denied nonfinancial adult.
Portland allows its low-barrier criteria or a landlord’s disclosed criteria. If any criterion is more restrictive than the City’s low-barrier standards, an individualized assessment is required before any screening-based denial. Submit relevant explanations, corrections, references, or other supporting evidence with your application.
The City’s low-barrier standards include protections for certain credit, debt, criminal, and rental histories. The complete property criteria identify the approach used. Oregon’s required individual assessment before a criminal-history denial still applies.
Portland screening charges also follow local caps: the screening company’s charge for fully outsourced screening; up to that charge plus 25% when partly performed in-house; or comparable outside screening cost plus 10% when entirely in-house. Oregon’s limits also apply.
Income-related conditional approval is communicated in writing, with the additional security amount and at least 48 hours to accept or decline. A friend or family guarantor cannot be required to show income above three times rent, and the guarantee cannot extend beyond the rental term.
For covered deposits, the usual maximum is one month’s rent when no last-month’s rent is required, or last-month’s rent plus another half-month. A qualifying conditional approval may add up to another half-month, payable in installments over up to three months in reasonably requested amounts.
Within two weeks after evaluation is complete, you receive a written approval, conditional approval, or denial, with the basis for any conditions or denial. For a screening denial, you have 30 days to appeal and correct, refute, or explain negative information. Email info@bridgecitypm.com or deliver a written appeal to our office, identifying the home and including supporting information.
An approved appeal prequalifies you for our Portland rental opportunities and waives screening fees for three months, subject to available homes and permitted confirmation that circumstances have not materially changed. An appeal does not reserve a home.
Applications for covered homes include the City’s required rights and accommodation notices. You can also read them here:
LET’S MAKE IT CLEAR
To request a printed or printable application, email info@bridgecitypm.com or write to Bridge City Properties, 1130 SE Rhone Street, Portland, OR 97202. We provide a copy by email or mail within seven days of your written request and process applications submitted outside AppFolio as well as through the portal.
You may also request an alternative in writing for identification verification, reviewing and signing agreements, or submitting tenancy documents. For accommodations, questions about criteria, or assistance choosing the right documentation, call 503-929-7429.
Updated September 7, 2026. This page explains the application process; review the home’s complete written screening criteria and rental terms before applying. Applicable law controls if a conflict arises.
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Property care. People first.
Portland, Oregon & beyond.
1130 SE Rhone Street
Portland, OR 97202
