An Alabama rental application form is the first step to filling your vacancy. It’s how you’ll find great tenants, secure steady rental income, and protect your investment. Today’s landlords have access to helpful tools to simplify the application process — we’ll introduce you to them.
In this guide, we’ll cover Alabama rental applications from A to Z. Let’s discuss the information application forms should collect, tenant screening best practices, rental application laws, and more.
Information to Collect
Whether you use a printable free application template or an online rental application, your Alabama application form should collect the following:
- Names of applicants, co-applicants, and co-signers
- Phone number
- Email address
- Social Security number
- Date of birth
- Details of current and past residences
- Employment, rental, and income history
- Rental and professional references
- Vehicles
- Pets
- Smoking status
- Emergency contact
Since rental applications collect sensitive renter details, laws dictate:
- The information landlords can collect
- The types of questions they can ask to gather it
- How they use applications to make decisions
We’ll go into detail on these laws, but first, let’s cover tenant screening.
Quick Guide to Screening a Tenant
The following steps cover the basics of responsible tenant screening in The Yellowhammer State:
1. Pre-Screen
Pre-screeners can help you determine if a renter is a good fit for your property before they officially apply. After a renter finds your listing, pre-screeners ask for:
- Contact information
- Move-in timeline
- Employment and income
- Self-declared credit score
- Household size, pets, and smoking status
Pre-screeners can help you sort through leads, but they don’t replace your official Alabama rental application form.
2. Conduct Showings
Before you know it, it will be time to show the rental to prospective renters. Host open houses and schedule home tours to meet potential renters in person.
3. Distribute and Collect Applications
Share your Alabama rental application with interested renters. When collecting the completed forms, check that applicants have:
- Signed the consent and acknowledgment section
- Submitted the application fee
You can streamline the process of sending and receiving applications with an online free rental application.
Alabama Application Laws
Different states set their own laws regarding:
- Landlord-tenant rights
- The questions landlords can ask on an application
- Whether or not landlords can use information from applications to deny an applicant
The Alabama Fair Housing Law outlines Alabama’s rental application policies. Here’s what you need to know:
Source of income: Landlords in Alabama can legally consider an applicant’s source of income when making a decision.
Criminal history: There are no laws in Alabama prohibiting landlords from considering the results of a criminal background check.
Eviction history: Alabama law doesn’t prevent the use of eviction records during tenant screening.
Portable tenant screening reports: You can use portable tenant screening reports in Alabama, but state law doesn’t require landlords to accept them.
Pets, ESAs, and Service Animals
More than half of Alabama households own pets. If you haven’t already included a section for animals in your Alabama rental application, now’s a great time to do so.
You can’t legally discriminate against applicants who have an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) or service animal. However, tenants must pay for any damages their animal causes.
Pet information: Ask about pets, ESAs, and service animals in the application.
Fair Housing Act: This federal law prohibits landlords from:
- Discriminating against applicants based on their ESA/service animal
- Charging tenants a pet deposit, pet rent, or pet fee for their ESA/service animal
- Denying housing based on their ESA/service animal’s breed, size, or weight
Federal Application Laws
Attention all Alabama landlords! These are the federal laws you must follow when renting out a house or apartment:
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA): You must obtain an applicant’s written consent to conduct a credit check. If you deny an applicant based on credit history, you must inform them (Fair Credit Reporting Act).
Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA): The ECOA protects renters who have received public assistance and regulates how landlords assess rental applications and credit reports (Equal Credit Opportunity Act).
Fair Housing Act (FHA): Landlords and any employees who select renters can’t deny housing based on:
- Race
- Color
- National origin
- Religion
- Sex
- Familial status
- Disability
The FHA prevents landlords from asking questions about FHA-protected characteristics, offering unequal rental terms, or practicing discriminatory advertising (Fair Housing Act).
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): Landlords can’t deny renters solely based on a disability, and they must accommodate the individual’s condition (Americans with Disabilities Act).
4. Use a Third-Party Screening Service
Perform your due diligence by running a credit check, eviction check, and tenant background check using a tenant screening service such as TurboTenant.
5. Check Application References
Reach out to the applicant’s professional and/or rental references. Use these sample questions to get the information you need:
- Would you ever consider renting to this tenant again?
- Did the tenant ever violate the lease, or come close to doing so?
- What was the tenant paying for monthly rent?
- Did they ever miss payments?
- Did they take good care of the property?
6. Approve or Deny Applications
We recommend accepting multiple applications on a first-come, first-served basis. Review the completed forms and make a decision based on:
- Rental history: Less than a year of rental history available? Consider requiring a co-signer.
- Rent-to-income ratio: You want your tenant to have a rent-to-income ratio where the rent is below 30% of their gross income.
- Credit score: Most landlords set a minimum credit score requirement within the 600–670 range.
Always fact-check an Alabama rental application. If a renter submits an application with false information, consider it a red flag — and grounds for immediate rejection.
Denial Process
Handle denials in a legal, consistent manner across all applicants. In Alabama, landlords can deny renters based on:
- Insufficient income
- Credit history
- Rental history
- Criminal background
- Incomplete/false answers
Denial notice: Alabama law doesn’t require landlords to send tenant rejection letters.
Credit/background denials: If you deny a renter based on a credit or background check, the FCRA requires you to send them an adverse action notice, including:
- The reporting agency’s name and contact details
- An explanation of the individual’s right to dispute errors
Document storage: Store denied applications and screening reports for at least two years. These records can help you defend yourself against claims of discrimination.
Avoiding Fraud
No landlord wants to be fooled by false pretenses. Watch for application fraud red flags and follow these best practices:
- Verify the applicant’s identity and documents
- Conduct credit, background, and eviction checks
- Confirm their employment and income
- Reach out to past landlords
