Renting in Seattle

How to Rent an Apartment in Seattle: Credit, Income, Timing and Applications

To rent an apartment in Seattle, get the landlord's written screening criteria and apply quickly with a complete application, because landlords must screen complete applications in the order received. No law sets a minimum credit score or income; each landlord sets its own and must disclose it before screening.

By Eastlake RE Partners Updated 9 min read

Rendering of Flow Eastlake at sunset with terraced balconies along Fairview Avenue East

Renting in Seattle comes down to meeting a landlord’s written screening criteria and applying fast with a complete application. Under Seattle’s first-in-time rule, landlords must screen complete applications in the order they arrive and offer the home to the first applicant who qualifies. No law sets a minimum credit score or income. Each landlord sets its own, and it must tell you what they are before it screens you.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. The rules below were checked on November 9, 2026.

Is it hard to rent an apartment in Seattle?

The Seattle area has fewer empty rentals than the nation as a whole, but prices have been easing. The Census Bureau’s Housing Vacancy Survey put the rental vacancy rate for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro at 4.5 percent in the third quarter of 2026, with a margin of error of 2.3 points (Census Table 4). The national rate for the same quarter was 7.6 percent. Meanwhile, Apartment List found Seattle rents down 2.1 percent from October 2025 to October 2026.

Because the first qualified applicant gets the apartment, a ready application counts for a lot. Our guide to Seattle rent prices covers what apartments cost and the income each size calls for.

What credit score do you need to rent in Seattle?

There is no required number. Each landlord picks its own credit standard, and Washington law makes it tell you before it pulls anything. Under RCW 59.18.257, the landlord must first notify you, in writing or by posting, what types of information it will check, what criteria may lead to denial, and the name and address of any consumer reporting agency it uses.

Seattle asks for more detail. The notice must give the minimum threshold for each criterion. The City’s first-in-time FAQ gives the example of a landlord who prefers a 650 credit score but will accept 600; the minimum it must state is 600. Read that notice before you pay a screening fee.

If a landlord turns you down or approves you with conditions, such as a qualified guarantor, a larger deposit, last month’s rent or a higher rent, state law requires a written adverse action notice that gives the reasons. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says you can get a free copy of the screening report if you ask within 60 days of that notice, and you can dispute errors; the screening company generally has 30 days to investigate.

If your credit history is thin or damaged, ask before applying whether the landlord accepts a guarantor, and look for criteria you clearly meet.

How much income do you need to rent an apartment in Seattle?

Seattle law does not set an income requirement, but landlords may use one. The City’s own examples use a ratio of three times the rent, so a $1,935 one-bedroom would call for $5,805 a month in gross income (Seattle Office for Civil Rights).

Two Seattle rules change how that math works. A landlord must count all lawful, verifiable income, including Social Security, unemployment benefits, retirement income and child support. And if you have a Section 8 voucher or another rent subsidy, the landlord must subtract the subsidy from the rent and apply its ratio only to the part you pay. A landlord cannot refuse you because you pay with a subsidy or with income other than wages.

Bring proof. An offer letter, recent pay stubs, benefit award letters or bank statements that name the source of the income all help.

How does Seattle’s first-in-time rule work?

Seattle’s first-in-time ordinance, upheld by the Washington Supreme Court in 2019, sets the order of the process:

  1. The landlord posts or gives you its minimum screening criteria and a list of every document it needs, and tells you how to ask for extra time for translation or a disability-related need.
  2. Your application gets a date and time stamp when it is complete, meaning you have provided everything on that list.
  3. The landlord screens complete applications one at a time, in the order received.
  4. If the landlord needs information it did not list, it must give you at least 72 hours to provide it, and you keep your place in line.
  5. The first applicant who meets the criteria gets the offer and has 48 hours to accept. After that, the landlord can move to the next applicant.

The rule does not apply to accessory dwelling units or to a home the owner lives in, and a landlord can skip the order for units set aside for specific groups, such as low-income households, if its notice says so (City FAQ).

The practical lesson is to have your file ready before you tour. The City’s application checklist covers current and previous addresses, names and birth dates of everyone moving in, employment and income verification, vehicle information, personal and housing references, and pet information.

What can a landlord charge you to apply?

A screening fee, a holding deposit, or both. The landlord can charge only its actual cost of screening, and the City says the customary cost in Seattle is $25 to $45 per adult. State law adds that it can charge the fee only if it gave you the required notice first.

Some landlords accept a reusable tenant screening report you have already bought from a consumer reporting agency. State law requires every landlord to say whether it does, and a landlord with a property website must say so on the home page. A landlord that accepts one can still run its own report, but it cannot charge you for it (RCW 59.18.257).

A holding deposit can be up to 25 percent of one month’s rent and requires a written receipt that spells out the terms. The landlord cannot keep it if you fail screening or the unit fails a housing inspection, though you will likely lose it if you change your mind. If you move in, it must go toward your first month’s rent or security deposit.

Seattle also caps the security deposit and move-in fees. Our guide to move-in fees and deposits covers those limits.

Can a Seattle landlord check your criminal history?

A landlord may now ask, but it generally cannot hold the answer against you. Seattle’s Fair Chance Housing Ordinance took effect in 2018. After a 2023 Ninth Circuit ruling, the Seattle Office for Civil Rights stopped enforcing, as of June 6, 2023, the part that banned landlords from asking about criminal history. It still enforces the bans, subject to exceptions, on requiring you to disclose your criminal history and on taking an adverse action because of it.

How do you find apartments for rent in Seattle?

Start with budget and neighborhood, then search listing sites and building websites, many of which show current availability and let you book a tour. Our guides to living in Eastlake and Eastlake or South Lake Union can help with the second part.

If your income is under the City’s limits, the Office of Housing’s affordable housing search links to a map of MFTE buildings and other rent-restricted housing. Our MFTE guide and our guide to income-restricted apartments explain how those programs work.

Before you apply, check that the home is registered. Since 2014, the City has required every rental unit to be registered and to meet minimum housing standards, with exceptions such as Seattle Housing Authority housing, owner-occupied rentals and accessory dwelling units. You can look up an address on the Seattle Services Portal.

What is the cheapest month to rent an apartment?

Late fall and winter. Zillow’s rent index for the city of Seattle peaked in August in 2024, 2025 and 2026, and its low points were December 2024 and January 2026. From August 2025 to January 2026 it fell from $2,220 to $2,173, then climbed back to $2,227 by August 2026 (Zillow Research data). Apartment List’s national report describes the same pattern: fewer people move in fall and winter, so owners offer modest discounts to fill units.

If you have a choice, a lease that starts between October and February may cost less, and it sets your renewal date in the same season.

What should you look for when touring an apartment?

Treat the tour as a check on both the home and the paperwork.

  • Ask for the written screening criteria and the full list of documents before you apply.
  • Get the total monthly cost in writing: rent, utilities, parking, storage and any required fees. From July 1, 2027, the City’s rental fee ordinance will require listings to show this.
  • Ask whether the rent differs between a fixed lease and month-to-month. State law limits the difference to 5 percent (RCW 59.18.700).
  • Run the taps, open the windows, check heating and any cooling, and look under sinks for leaks or moisture.
  • Check cell signal, laundry, bike and package storage, and how much street noise reaches the bedroom.
  • If you have a pet, ask for the pet policy and any pet deposit in writing.

When you sign, Seattle requires the landlord to give you a printed copy of the City’s Renter’s Handbook. If you are weighing an older building against a new one, our guide to renovated or new construction apartments covers the tradeoffs.

Touring and applying at Lyla and Flow

Eastlake Real Estate Partners, which publishes this guide, owns two Eastlake buildings that are leasing now.

Lyla Eastlake, at 2600 Eastlake Ave E, is a 1961 building fully renovated in 2021, with new plumbing, electrical, heating and cooling, fire sprinklers, kitchens and bathrooms. It has studios, one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms, and it is pet friendly. Book a showing on the availability and tour page or call the leasing team at 206-849-0284, daily from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. You can apply online.

Flow Eastlake, at 3150 Fairview Ave E across the street from Lake Union, has studio, one-bedroom, open one-bedroom and two-bedroom homes, and welcomes up to two dogs or cats per home. Schedule a tour, check current availability, or call 206-387-6798, daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Flow takes part in MFTE; to apply for an income-qualified home, register with Pronto Housing and read Flow’s MFTE page.

At either building, as anywhere in Seattle, ask the leasing team for its written screening criteria before you apply. Both buildings are on our Eastlake apartments page.

Quick answers

What credit score is needed to rent in Seattle?

No law sets a minimum. Each landlord chooses its own credit standard, and in Seattle it must tell you the minimum threshold for each screening criterion, in writing or by posting, before it collects your information.

Is it hard to rent an apartment in Seattle?

Vacancies are below the national average: the Census Bureau put the Seattle metro rental vacancy rate at 4.5 percent in the third quarter of 2026, against 7.6 percent nationally. Rents were softening, though, down 2.1 percent in a year by Apartment List's measure.

How much does a rental application cost in Seattle?

A landlord can charge only the actual cost of screening, and the City of Seattle says the customary cost is $25 to $45 per adult. A landlord that agrees to accept a reusable tenant screening report cannot charge you for running its own.

What is the cheapest month to rent an apartment in Seattle?

Late fall and winter. Zillow's Seattle rent index peaked in August in 2024, 2025 and 2026 and hit its low points in December 2024 and January 2026.

How does first-in-time work in Seattle?

Landlords must post their screening criteria, time-stamp complete applications, screen them in order, and offer the home to the first applicant who qualifies. You then have 48 hours to accept before the landlord can move to the next applicant.

Sources

All accessed 2026-11-09.

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