Become a Certified Instructor

The Rent Well Certified Instructor Track is available to staff at partnered agencies who would like to teach Rent Well courses at their agency to clients or to the public. If you are interested in teaching a lecture-style Rent Well course to those who want to learn more about their rights and responsibilities as tenants, sign up below!

Please expect to wait 1-2 business days for your registration to be reviewed for approval. This means you will not have immediate access to an account after submitting the form and do not need to submit the form more than once.

PREREQUISITES: You must be employed at an agency licensed to carry the Rent Well curriculum, known as Community Agency Partners (CAPs). Check if your agency is an active partner HERE.

What to expect when taking the Certified Instructor Course

The Certified Instructor Course is available as an online eCource that mirrors the student curriculum model. This type of training costs $400 and is taught in 12 sections as seen below. The eCourse is designed to be taken at your own pace over 90 days, and will take 15-20 hours to complete.

Course Overview

After Section 1: You will be asked to complete a Certified Instructor Agreement, which outlines your responsibilities as an instructor. Once we receive your agreement, we will ship your materials to your provided mailing address.

After Section 12: Soon-to-be instructors will be prompted to register for one of our monthly Follow-Up Webinars. These are hosted by us on the 3rd Wednesday of every month from 2:00-5:00 PM. In the Webinar, you will have the opportunity to meet others taking the training and learn about trauma-informed teaching, navigating your instructor account, accessing materials, and more.

Washington State Instructors ONLY:  You must also attend our Washington Law Webinar which is available on the third Thursday of every month from 2:30-5:00 PM (the day after the Follow-Up Webinar). In the WA Law Webinar, we will discuss all the points in your instructor manual that address WA-specific laws and policies.

After Attending the Webinar(s): You will receive a congratulatory email along with your Rent Well Certified Instructor teaching certificate! Once you are a Certified Instructor, your Rent Well account will be updated with new properties to access course materials, order books, and more.

Pacific Screening (Pulling Educational Reports): In section 5 of the curriculum, students will have the opportunity to have their reports pulled so they can review possible barriers. If you will be using Pacific Screening to access student reports, we will send you a Pacific Screening account holder privacy agreement for you to complete. If your agency has not done so already, we will also need an agency representative to sign a subscriber agreement and send additional documents outlined in the agreement. Pulling educational reports costs $16 total per screening and an accumulative invoice is sent to your invoicing contact at the end of the month.

Certified Instructor Track FAQ

Q: What is the cost of this type of training?
A: The Certified Instructor Course is a $400 registration fee. We offer an ongoing same-day group registration deal to buy 3 instructor registrations and get the 4th free.

Q: Can I become a Certified Instructor if I am not employed by a Community Agency Partner of Rent Well?
A: No, your agency must be licensed to carry the copyrighted curriculum before staff can take instructor training.
See if your agency is already a CAP or apply here: rentwell.org/caps.

Q: When can I start teaching a Rent Well class?
A: You can start 30 days after you are fully certified! You must notify us of your upcoming classes 30 days in advance.

Q: Can I co-instruct a course with another Certified Instructor?
A: Absolutely. Be sure to list all instructors teaching the course when notifying us of your upcoming class.

Q: How much are student workbooks and where can I buy them?
A: Student workbooks are available for $16 each through our Square Store. You can find the link by clicking the “Order Books” tile on your updated instructor account home page.

Q: How long is my instructor certificate valid and what is the recertification process?
A: Instructor certificates are valid for ~3 years and expire on January 30th of the third year. To keep your teaching certification, instructors must attend a law update Webinar which currently comes at no extra cost.

Q: Can my instructor certificate be transferred to another agency if my employer has changed?
A: Yes, instructor certificates may be transferred to another agency depending on a few factors. The agency you transfer to must be or become a Community Agency Partner and you must have either become certified, recertified, or taught a class within the last year. If the time frame is over one year, you need to retake the course.

If you have any other questions, please send us a message through the contact page.

Case Manager Track
If you are more interested in knowledge development in the housing advocacy field without teaching the Rent Well courses; learn more about our Case Manager track.

Already a Certified Instructor?
You can access course information, class materials, an online instructor community forum, and so much more. Log in HERE to access your instructor portal.