How we review every application

The process and response times

1. Step 11

   Review these criteria

   Read how we evaluate applications before you pay anything.

2. Step 22

   Tour the home

   With our team, or with your case manager or housing program.

3. Step 33

   Submit the application

   Complete the Kellbro application online. We email a secure link to our screening system within one business day, where you confirm identity, authorize screening, and pay the application fee.

4. Step 44

   Complete application review

   If anything is missing, we tell you within one business day. A decision is made within 3 business days of a complete application.

5. Step 55

   Approval and lease

   Pay the security deposit to hold the home, review the lease and required disclosures, and sign. Voucher holders: we submit the housing authority paperwork within 2 business days of approval and schedule the inspection.

6. Step 66

   Move in

   A move-in condition report is completed with you on move-in day.

Screening criteria

Each adult who will live in the home, age 18 or older, completes an application. Applications are reviewed in the order they become complete. The first applicant who meets these criteria is offered the home.

Identity

A current government-issued photo ID for each adult applicant. A Social Security number is not required to apply. Applicants without one can verify identity with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number or other documents.

Income

Combined household gross monthly income of at least 2.5 times the share of rent the household pays. For a voucher holder, this test applies only to the tenant portion of rent, not to the full contract rent. All lawful, verifiable income counts, including wages, self-employment, Social Security, SSI, disability benefits, VA benefits, child support, and rental assistance.

If income is below this standard, the application can still be approved with a qualified guarantor or a written payment commitment from a housing program or agency.

Credit

Kellbro does not use a minimum credit score. We review only unpaid balances owed to a previous landlord or a utility company within the past three years. A payment plan in good standing counts as resolved. Medical debt, student loans, and having no credit history are not reasons to deny an application.

Rental history

We review eviction judgments entered within the past three years. Cases that were dismissed, sealed, or decided in the tenant’s favor are not considered.

Criminal history

We consider convictions only. We do not consider arrests, charges that did not result in a conviction, sealed or expunged records, or juvenile records. We review convictions within the past five years for crimes involving violence against people or serious damage to property.

A conviction is never an automatic denial. Before any decision, we consider the nature and date of the offense, what has happened since, and any information you, a case manager, or a reentry program provides. Federally assisted housing programs may apply their own eligibility rules in addition to these criteria.

Occupancy

Occupancy follows the Kansas City, Missouri property maintenance code and federal fair housing standards, generally two people per bedroom, with consideration of the size and layout of the home.

If you do not meet a criterion

Tell us about circumstances you want considered, such as a past debt now resolved or a reference from a case manager. We review that information before we decide.

Fees and deposits

No other move-in fees are charged. Residents using a housing voucher pay the same fees as every other resident, unless the housing program sets a lower amount.

The security deposit holds the home once you are approved. At the end of the lease, Kellbro returns the deposit within 30 days after you move out and return possession, with an itemized list of any deductions, as Missouri law requires (RSMo 535.300). You have the right to be present at the move-out inspection; we give you written notice of its date and time.

Rent ranges as of October 2026. The final rent for each home is published before leasing opens and is the same for every applicant, with or without a voucher.

Vouchers and housing programs

Kellbro welcomes housing choice vouchers, HUD-VASH vouchers, project-based assistance, and rental assistance from nonprofit and government programs. The listed rent is the same with or without a voucher. Kellbro accepts only the rent and charges approved in the housing assistance contract and lease, and never asks for additional payments outside them.

If your housing program pays the application fee or deposit for you, we accept payment directly from the program.

Consumer reports and your rights

With your written authorization, Kellbro obtains consumer reports from a consumer reporting agency, which may include credit history, eviction records, and criminal conviction records. The agency’s name, address, and phone number are shown in the screening system before you authorize the report.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, if we deny an application, require a guarantor, or set any other condition based in whole or in part on a consumer report, we give you written notice that includes: the name, address, and phone number of the agency that provided the report; a statement that the agency did not make the decision and cannot explain why it was made; your right to a free copy of your report from that agency if you request it within 60 days; and your right to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information with the agency. If a credit score was used, the notice includes the score and the key factors that affected it.

Accommodations and protections

If you have a disability, you may request a reasonable accommodation in our rules, policies, or process, or a reasonable modification to a home, at any time, including during the application. Assistance animals are not pets and are never charged a pet deposit, pet rent, or pet fee. How to make a request.

Being a survivor of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking is never a reason to deny housing. If negative history on your application resulted directly from abuse, tell us and we will not use it against you. Applicants to federally assisted housing receive the Notice of Occupancy Rights under the Violence Against Women Act (form HUD-5380) and the certification form HUD-5382. Survivor protections.

Active-duty servicemembers have the right under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to end a lease early upon qualifying military orders.

Lease disclosures

• Lead-based paint. For homes built before 1978, you receive the federal Lead Warning Statement, any known information about lead-based paint, and the EPA pamphlet Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home before you sign.
• Tenant rights. You receive a copy of the Kansas City Tenants' Bill of Rights, the name and address where you can reach Kellbro and deliver rent, and available utility cost information for the home.
• Entry. Kellbro gives at least 24 hours notice before entering a home, except in an emergency.
• Move-in condition report completed with you, with photos, so the deposit return is measured against a shared record.