General Rental Criteria & Policies

At PMI James River, we strive to make the application process transparent and straightforward while ensuring that all applicants are aware of our qualification standards before paying their non-refundable application fees. To assist you in your search for a new residence, we are providing an overview of the guidelines we use to qualify applicants.

General Policy: PMI James River requires every legal individual aged 18 years or older who will reside on the property to be a leaseholder; therefore, every legal adult individual must submit a complete application to be screened to verify financial responsibility and reliability. Screenings are limited to events during the past 7 years.

Qualification Standards: PMI James River evaluates applicants based on the following six key factors:

  1. Identification Verification
  2. Credit History Screening
  3. Income & Employment Verification
  4. Address History Verification
  5. Criminal Background Screening

Security Deposits: To qualify for the advertised security deposit amount, applicants must meet the criteria listed below. Applicants that qualify conditionally may, at the landlord's discretion, be offered an opportunity to rent with a guarantor and/or at a higher security deposit amount.

Guarantors/Co-Signers: May, at the landlord's sole discretion, be accepted for applicants who qualify conditionally due to insufficient rental history, credit, or income. Guarantors must be local, submit their own applications, pay their own non-refundable application fees, consent and pass background screening, have a credit score of 750 or higher, have verifiable income of at least 3 times the rental rate of the property plus their own monthly mortgage/rental payments, and sign a Guarantor Addendum as part of the lease. Up to two times the base security deposit may be required for leases with guarantors.

Mitigation Factors: Applicants with convictions, evictions, credit concerns, or other potential issues may provide information about mitigating factors they would like us to consider directly on the application form.

Below we provide more details about the six key factors we use to screen applicants. Applicants must review these standards carefully before applying. For additional questions or assistance, please reach out to the PMI James River leasing team via or texting 804-792-2822.

Identification Verification

Each applicant will undergo a secure identity verification process. This process is conducted through a trusted third-party partner, Plaid, to maintain accuracy and confidentiality. To pass this screening, applicants will need to submit a clear biometric selfie and a valid, unexpired government-issued photo ID (e.g., driver’s license, passport, or state ID). You can learn more about the security and privacy of this process by visiting https://plaid.com/products/identity-verification.

Credit History

PMI James River performs a comprehensive credit history screening for all applicants. This consistent and unbiased evaluation is conducted through one of the major consumer credit agencies in the USA. Clean credit histories are required, meaning credit histories must be free from past-due or charged-off utilities, car payments, furniture loan, credit cards, liens, or other consumer loans reported on credit reports or civil court records. Credit histories must also be free from accounts in excessive collections or charged off statuses. If bankruptcy has been declared, we require the bankruptcy to be discharged and new positive credit established.

Income & Employment Verification

Income Requirements: To qualify, all applicants must have a combined verifiable gross monthly income of at least 3 times their monthly rent, and net income of at least 2.5 times their monthly rent and verifiable from an unbiased source.

Step 1: We strongly recommend secure third‑party bank verification through Plaid, a trusted financial technology provider used by leading banks and services. Plaid protects your data with advanced encryption and read‑only access — meaning we never see your full banking details, only verified deposit information. If you prefer not to use bank‑linked income verification, we can verify manually using documents such as pay stubs, tax returns, benefits letters, bank statements, or direct employer verification. Please note that the manual process may take longer and could require additional follow‑up.

Step 2: Upload at least one of the following supporting documents in the 'Additional Documents' section. Documents must be unaltered and complete. Please provide downloaded documents; we do not accept screenshots. We retain the right to request additional documents.

Voucher Holders: Please upload an unexpired voucher. We require voucher holders to have verifiable, reliable monthly income of at least one (1) times the rent.

Employment Verification: If your employer’s policy is to verify employment through a third-party service (e.g., The Work Number) rather than directly through their HR department or supervisor, it is your responsibility to notify us and provide an employment verification report as soon as possible during the application process. Any verification fees required by the employer must be paid by the applicant.


Address History Verification

A strong rental history is an important part of the qualification process. To help PMI James River verify rental histories, applicants will need to provide details for all residential addresses over the past 3 years. Unfavorable landlord references, a history of broken leases, late payments, property damage or evictions within the past 5 years, or outstanding balances owed to prior landlords may result in application denial.

Military Applicants: Please note we recognize base housing as valid housing history.

Home Ownership: Will be verified in lieu of rental history.

International Addresses: Our application form may sometimes have trouble processing international addresses in the "current address" section. If this happens, please use the address of the property you’re applying to as your current address instead.

Important Note: If your current or previous landlord will not provide rental verification, upload your lease and a complete, unedited ledger showing your name and all payments and charges for the full lease term to your application under “Additional Documents". Please submit these in an uneditable format (PDF preferred).

Criminal Background

Any convictions within the past 7 years for crimes against persons or property, firearms‑related offenses, fraud‑related crimes, or serious drug‑related felonies may result in denial, depending on the nature, severity, and recency of the offense and evidence of rehabilitation.

International Applicants: PMI James River complies with all Fair Housing laws and does not discriminate based on national origin. Applicants who lack sufficient U.S.-based credit history or criminal background data may be asked to provide supplemental documentation—such as a valid passport, visa, or I-20 form—for the sole purpose of enabling third-party background screening and verifying practical ability to fulfill the lease term.