The categorization question comes first
Renters searching this topic usually want a yes or no. The honest answer starts one step earlier: how is the charge categorized on the screening report?
A DWI or DUI can appear as a misdemeanor or as a felony depending on the charge level, and that categorization is what determines which of a property’s criteria applies to it. Misdemeanor lookbacks in this market are commonly three to seven years; felony lookbacks are seven-plus. That difference does more work than anything else on this page.
As on every background page here, we state property policies as properties state them, with a date, and never characterize a record as automatically disqualifying or acceptable, the standard on our background-issues service page.
What drives the outcome
| Factor | Effect |
|---|---|
| Charge level (how it is categorized) | Determines which lookback and criteria apply |
| Age of the offense | Older offenses may fall outside the window entirely |
| Number of offenses | Frequency weighs heavily; a pattern reads differently from an incident |
| Disposition | Conviction, dismissal or deferred adjudication appear differently |
| Accompanying record | A DWI alongside other offenses is weighed as a whole |
Across the communities we work with, confirmed July 2026.
Where review is more common
The same structural pattern that runs through the whole market: older Class B and C communities, where an on-site manager still has authority to weigh a file, are the most likely to review. Roughly 18% of San Antonio’s rental stock, about 47,352 units, was built between 1980 and 1989, and that layer holds most of the remaining discretion.
Where a DWI is categorized as a misdemeanor and sits outside a property’s lookback, Class A is often workable too. That is worth checking rather than assuming, because the assumption costs people options.
Handling of misdemeanor records generally is covered on misdemeanor apartments, and if the charge was resolved through deferred adjudication, see deferred adjudication apartments.
Find out what your report actually shows
Categorization, disposition and date are what a leasing office sees. If you are not sure how yours appears, that is the first thing to establish. It changes which properties are realistic and it is knowable before you spend an application fee.
What it does not affect
Worth stating because renters ask. A DWI is evaluated as part of the screening decision. It does not change your lease terms, your parking arrangements, or your ability to register a vehicle at the property. Those are matters between you and the State of Texas, not between you and the leasing office.
Renters insurance is likewise unaffected. A property will require a policy with a minimum liability limit regardless of driving history.
What to expect on deposit
Where a property proceeds with a review, background records tend to be a threshold question rather than a risk-priced one, so a DWI on its own is less likely to drive an elevated deposit than a credit or rental-history issue would.
If your file also carries a credit band under 620 or a rental-history flag, that combination will usually set the deposit. Ways to offset it are in guarantees and deposit alternatives.
What we do
We ask each property what its stated lookback is for the relevant offense category, record the answer with a date, and give you the communities whose policy would permit review of a record of your categorization and age.
We need three facts: how it was categorized, the year, and the disposition. Not the circumstances, and we will not ask.
Start here, free. If the record sits outside every relevant lookback in your target band, we will tell you that plainly.
