Saying no to an applicant is part of owning a rental. Most owners handle the application side fine, then trip on the rejection itself. It might be a text that says too much, an email that says nothing, or a reason that got invented after the fact. If you own rental property in Hampton Roads, even a solid tenant screening process only protects you if the denial follows it just as carefully.
Below we cover how to write screening rules that hold up, which reasons stand and which backfire, how Section 8 fits in, and how to word the denial itself. We use Virginia rules throughout, since that's where we work. Troy and Patti Robertson bought their first rental house in 1993, and today our team manages 475 properties for about 300 owners. Applicants get turned down every week in this business, and the same patterns keep showing up.
“today our team manages 475 properties for about 300 owners.”
This is general information, not legal advice. Check the current statute or ask an attorney before you act on a specific situation.
In This Guide
Write Your Criteria Down Before the First Application Arrives
Many owners believe they're safe as long as they can explain a good business reason for a rejection. Not quite. If the minimum credit score or income rule was decided after the applicant walked in, it won't hold up well.
Picture two applicants who apply the same week. One meets your income threshold and the other doesn't. The lower-income applicant happens to belong to a protected class. If you never wrote down your standards, the applicant's attorney has nothing to test your decision against, and you end up arguing about your intent instead of pointing to a policy.
Say your rent is $1,800 and your written rule is gross monthly income of at least three times rent. That's $5,400. Three times rent is a common benchmark, and it's fine as long as you apply it to everyone. An applicant earning $5,100 misses it. So does the next one at $5,200. Same rule, same answer, every time.
Your written criteria should cover:
- Income: the minimum, and what counts as verifiable income.
- Credit: the threshold, and how you treat thin or no credit files.
- Rental history: what you check and what counts as a problem.
- Criminal history: which convictions you consider and why.
- Occupancy: limits based on bedrooms and unit size.
- Animals: your pet rules, and how you handle assistance animals.
Virginia is also moving toward requiring landlords to give applicants written screening criteria before collecting any payment or information. That rule starts July 1, 2027, and it isn't current law. We'd do it now anyway.
Know Who Is Protected in Virginia
Plenty of owners only know the federal list. Virginia's list is longer, and it matters here.
Virginia law bars refusing to rent, or refusing to negotiate, because of:
- Race
- Color
- Religion
- National origin
- Sex
- Elderliness (age 55 or older)
- Source of funds, including vouchers and other subsidies
- Familial status
- Sexual orientation
- Gender identity
- Military status
- Disability
Familial status includes households with minors, pregnant people, and people in the process of getting custody. Military status covers active service members, reservists, veterans and qualifying dependents. For disability, a landlord also can't deny someone because of a future household member or anyone associated with the applicant.
Every rejection reason you give has to sit outside all twelve.
Reasons That Hold Up
A defensible rejection ties back to a written standard that you apply to everyone. These reasons generally fit that test:
- Income below your posted minimum: the 3x example above.
- Credit below your posted threshold: with one important exception, covered below.
- False or incomplete application: missing information, or answers that don't match your checks.
- Negative rental history: documented, and judged the same way for every applicant.
- Qualifying conviction: a conviction involving harm to people or property that makes someone a clear and present threat.
- Occupancy over a reasonable standard: based on the number and size of bedrooms and the size of the unit, within local, state and federal limits.
- Voucher not approved in time: a housing authority hasn't approved the tenancy within 15 days of the request.
Notice what every item has in common. Each one is about the application, not the person.
Reasons That Look Safe but Aren't
Blanket criminal record bans
A flat "no criminal record, ever" policy sounds clean. The statute doesn't expressly authorize it. It addresses convictions involving harm to people or property that pose a clear and present threat. Denials based on a conviction for illegally manufacturing or distributing a controlled substance fall outside the Fair Housing Law. You can ask applicants to disclose convictions and require written consent for a record check, but you can only charge the exact out-of-pocket cost of that check.
A low credit score on its own
Virginia landlords have to consider evidence that an applicant is a victim of family abuse which can offset an otherwise qualified applicant's low credit score. Proof can come from a letter from a sexual and domestic violence program, a HUD-certified housing counselor or the applicant's attorney, a police incident report, or a court order. Skip that step and the applicant can recover actual damages, including every application fee, deposit and screening cost they paid, plus attorney fees.
Assistance animals under a no-pets rule
Under Virginia law, an assistance animal is not a pet. It doesn't need individual training or certification. Rejecting an applicant with a disability because of that animal under a no-pets policy can create a reasonable-accommodation problem. Our own approach is to encourage owners to accept pets, with a pet fee and monthly pet rent based on risk. That makes the conversation easier up front.
Section 8 and Source of Funds Are Protected
Picture a landlord who rejects an applicant because they "prefer not to deal with inspections." If the applicant uses a voucher, that stated reason can become the basis of a Fair Housing complaint no matter what the landlord intended.
Here's how the rule works in Virginia:
- General rule: a landlord can't refuse to rent because of the applicant's source of funds, and that includes vouchers, benefits and subsidies.
- Small-owner exception: it applies only to owners with four or fewer rental units in Virginia. It's lost if the owner holds more than a 10% interest in more than four.
- Bigger portfolios: a professionally managed portfolio over four units can't refuse voucher holders on that basis.
- Timing exception: any landlord may deny if the housing authority hasn't approved the tenancy within 15 days of the request.
We manage Section 8/HUD properties alongside single-family homes, multi-family buildings and townhomes and condos, so we deal with this daily. One more caution. If you apply a 3x income rule to a voucher holder, check the current rules first, because how income minimums apply to vouchers has been in flux.
Apply the Same Steps to Every Applicant
Consistency beats cleverness. A simple routine looks like this:
- Give every applicant the same written criteria and application.
- Collect the same documents, including an SSN or an ITIN. Applicants without an SSN can use an ITIN.
- Run the same checks in the same order.
- Compare the results to your written standard, not to a gut feeling.
- Record the decision and the specific criterion that drove it.
- Send the denial in writing.
We run applicants through Rentvine. Rent Check., so every application follows the same documented path and the file shows what we checked and why. Krystal, our admin and office manager, keeps those application files organized. If anyone ever asks why a decision was made, the answer is already sitting in the file.
Hampton Roads adds a wrinkle. Naval Station Norfolk and Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek feed a steady stream of military applicants, and PCS orders keep applications and turnover moving. Say an applicant's pay stub shows base pay plus BAH. If your criteria say "verifiable monthly income" and spell out what counts, BAH counts the same way for everyone. Military status is also a protected class in Virginia, so keep it out of the decision.
Write the Denial Clearly
Plenty of landlords think saying little protects them. Usually the opposite is true. Silence lets an applicant write their own story about why they were rejected. A short, specific reason tied to a pre-written rule is much harder to attack.
A good denial is plain:
- State the criterion: "Gross monthly income did not meet our posted minimum of three times the monthly rent."
- Skip the extras: no comments about the household, neighborhood fit or "who'd be happier elsewhere."
- Stay truthful: never claim a unit is rented if it isn't. Telling an applicant a unit isn't available when it is, because of a protected class, is illegal.
- Check the credit angle: if a credit or background report played a role, federal notice rules apply, so confirm the current requirements before sending.
Landlord tips on Reddit and similar forums sometimes suggest "just tell them it's gone." Don't. That's exactly the move the law targets.
How you say no also shapes your reputation. One renter who came to us after weeks of dead ends described it this way:
The first property they wanted went to another applicant. The team still helped them find a different home, and they got out of the hotel they'd been staying in for almost two weeks. A rejection can still be a good experience.
Handle the Money Side of a Rejection
Rejections touch money, and mistakes there are easy to avoid.
| Item | Virginia rule |
|---|---|
| Application fee cap | $50, plus actual third-party screening costs |
| HUD-regulated units | $32, plus actual third-party costs |
| Refund of an application deposit after rejection | Everything above actual expenses and damages, itemized, within 20 days |
| Deposit paid by cash, certified check, cashier's check or postal money order | Refund within 10 days |
You may take a refundable application deposit in addition to a nonrefundable fee. After a rejection, though, you can only keep your actual expenses and damages. If you miss the deadline or overkeep, the applicant can recover the amount wrongfully withheld plus reasonable attorney fees.
Fix Problems Before the Application Exists
Some Fair Housing trouble starts long before anyone applies, either in the listing or in an owner's instructions.
Say an owner tells their manager to "find a quiet tenant with no kids" for a townhome. Acting on that instruction is discrimination based on familial status under federal and Virginia law, even if the manager never turns a family away. The owner can still be liable.
Listing language works the same way. Phrases that cause trouble include:
- "Perfect for a young professional"
- "Ideal for couples"
- "No kids"
Virginia bars ads, screening policies and even rejection notices that state or suggest a preference or limitation based on a protected class. It doesn't matter whether the ad runs on Zillow or on a for rent by owner sign in the yard. The private-owner exemption for up to three single-family houses never applies once a broker, agent or manager is involved, and the advertising ban still applies to private landlords who list houses for rent without any help. Owner-occupied buildings with up to four units are exempt from some rules, but not from the advertising ban.
Describe the property, not the person you imagine living there.
When to Hand This Off
Owners who list rental houses in Virginia Beach alone often find the rejection side is where the legal risk sits. Our property management in Norfolk, VA and across Hampton Roads follows written criteria for every PMI house for rent we list, and our property management in Va Beach, VA handles applications the same way. If saying no to an applicant feels riskier than it should, we're open to a conversation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to give an applicant a reason for rejecting them?
We recommend a short written reason tied to your written criteria, because silence invites the applicant to fill in their own story. If a credit or background report played a role, federal notice rules apply, so check the current requirements before you send the denial.
Can I reject an applicant because of a criminal record?
You can ask applicants to disclose convictions and require written consent for a record check. You aren't required to rent to someone whose convictions involving harm to people or property make them a clear and present threat. A blanket "no records" ban isn't expressly authorized, so tie your policy to the statute.
Can I turn down an applicant with an emotional support animal because of my no-pets policy?
Not safely. Virginia law treats an assistance animal as something other than a pet, and it doesn't need individual training or certification. Refusing an applicant with a disability on that basis can raise a reasonable-accommodation problem.
How long do I have to refund an application deposit after rejecting someone?
You must refund everything above your actual expenses and damages, with an itemized list, within 20 days. If the applicant paid by cash, certified check, cashier's check or postal money order, the deadline is 10 days. Miss it and the applicant can recover the withheld amount plus reasonable attorney fees.
Can I refuse a Section 8 voucher holder?
Only in narrow cases. Source of funds is protected in Virginia, and the small-owner exception applies only to owners with four or fewer Virginia rental units. Any landlord can deny if the housing authority hasn't approved the tenancy within 15 days of the request.
Does the small private-landlord exemption apply if I hire a property manager?
No. The exemption for a private individual with up to three single-family houses only works without a broker, agent or manager. It never applies to Real Estate Board licensees. The advertising rules still apply either way.
