From Hilo to Pearl City, Honolulu, and Maui, landlords all across this Pacific archipelago rely on a well-written Hawaii rental application. Just like trusted landlord software, these forms set you up for lasting success by helping you find dependable tenants, prevent costly issues, and keep every lease running smoothly.
Use this guide to kick off a great landlord-tenant relationship, with a little help from our rental application template.
Information to Collect
A solid, well-thought-out rental application form helps you pull information from applicants, including their:
- Names (plus the names of any co-applicants or co-signers)
- Contact details
- Social Security number
- Date of birth
- Rental history details
- Employment
- Income
- References (rental and professional)
- Household animals
- Emergency contacts
- Smoking status
- Vehicles
Having a detailed range of questions is essential, but there are laws regulating what landlords can ask. There are also laws outlining how property owners can use applications when making decisions. Keep reading to learn more!
Quick Guide to Screening a Tenant
No matter what state you live in, evaluating prospective renters is always a smart strategy during the rental application process. Here’s a quick guide:
1. Pre-Screen
When renters come across your online listing, pre-screeners gather their information. It collects a sample of their contact details, employment, income, credit score, move-in date, and household information. They are great pre-qualification tools for landlords, helping them determine which potential tenants meet their criteria.
Pre-screeners shouldn’t replace your complete Hawaii rental application form, but they do improve tenant screening from the very start.
2. Conduct Showings
Showing the rental is your chance to bring renters into the rental unit, help them envision themselves living there, and get them excited to apply. Always keep a sign-up sheet handy so you can quickly follow up and send applications to interested visitors.
3. Distribute and Collect Applications
Digital processes keep you organized as you create, distribute, review, and collect your forms. A free application template makes the process fast and easy.
Federal law requires landlords to obtain a prospective tenant’s written consent before running their credit report, so always make sure they sign that section of the form (Fair Credit Reporting Act).
Hawaii Application Laws
Ready to brush up on Hawaii rental application laws and state-specific landlord-tenant rights? Here’s what you need to know:
Protected characteristics: You can’t deny or discriminate against renters based on:
- Race
- Sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression
- Color
- Religion
- Marital status
- Familial status
- Ancestry
- Disability
- Age
- Human immunodeficiency (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 515-3)
Criminal & eviction history: You can consider both an applicant’s criminal background check and eviction records in Hawaii.
Portable tenant screening reports: Hawaii law permits tenants to use portable screening reports. At the time of writing, no laws require landlords to accept them.
Pets, ESAs, and Service Animals
A good online rental application asks about human renters, but they should also ask about pets, service animals, and Emotional Support Animals (ESAs).
Pet information to ask for: Use your Hawaii rental application to collect the following information:
- Number of pets, service animals, and ESAs
- Breed
- Size or weight
- Age
- Name
What you need to know about the Fair Housing Act: The FHA prohibits landlords from discriminating against renters based on their service animals or ESAs. According to this law, you can’t:
- Charge a pet fee, pet rent, or pet deposit for service animals or ESAs
- Deny an applicant based on their service animal or ESA’s breed, weight, or size (Fair Housing Act)
However, you can have tenants cover the cost of any damage caused by their animal.
Federal Application Laws
There’s more than just state laws to abide by. Add these federal laws to your list:
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): Landlords can’t deny renters solely based on a disability, and they must reasonably accommodate their condition (Americans with Disabilities Act).
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA): You must obtain an applicant’s written consent to pull their credit report. After denying a renter based on credit history, landlords must provide them with an adverse action notice (Fair Credit Reporting Act).
Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA): The ECOA prohibits you from discriminating against renters based on public assistance. It also regulates how landlords assess housing applications and reporting guidelines (Equal Credit Opportunity Act).
Fair Housing Act (FHA): Landlords can’t offer unequal rental terms, use discriminatory advertising, or discriminate against renters based on:
- Race
- Color
- National origin
- Religion
- Sex
- Familial status
- Disability (Fair Housing Act)
4. Use a Third-Party Screening Service
Don’t have time to run credit, eviction, and tenant background checks? Simplify the process with a free online tenant screening service like TurboTenant.
5. Check Application References
Part of robust tenant screening means checking applicant references. Reach out to past landlords and ask questions like these to learn more:
- On a scale from 1–10, how great a tenant were they?
- Did they ever break the terms of your lease?
- Do you recall them ever missing rent payments?
- Would you rent to them again?
6. Approve or Deny Applications
If you’re not accepting multiple applications, now’s the time to start. Offer first-come, first-served acceptance based on:
- Rental history: If there’s not enough rental history to inform your decision, require a co-signer.
- Rent-to-income ratio: You want a rent-to-income ratio where 1 month’s rent is below 30% of their monthly gross income.
- Credit score: A good minimum starting score is 600–670.
- Fact-check: Remember, you have the right to deny applications solely on the basis of fraudulent details.
Denial Process
Steer clear of discrimination claims by keeping your denial process consistent across every applicant. Here’s what you need to know:
You can deny a Hawaii rental application based on:
- Insufficient income
- Negative rental history
- Criminal background
- False answers on an application
- Credit history
Denial notices: If you decide not to rent to an applicant, Hawaii law doesn’t require you to send them a tenant rejection letter.
If you deny an applicant based on a credit or background check, the FCRA requires you to send them an adverse action notice, including:
- The reporting agency’s name/contact information
- A statement of the renter’s right to dispute errors in their report
Document storage: Copies of denied applications and tenant screening reports are your best defence against discrimination claims. Keep them on hand for at least 2 years.
Avoiding Fraud
Not every applicant approaches the rental process with honesty, so it’s important to stay vigilant. Protect your investment by conducting thorough credit, background, and eviction checks, verifying each applicant’s identity, employment, and income, and fact-checking every document before making a decision.
