Ready to streamline the way you use a New Jersey rental application? In this guide, we’ll cover rental application form best practices for landlords and discuss the benefits of using a free application template or small landlord software to find your next great tenant.
Information to Collect
A New Jersey rental application helps you collect the necessary information from potential renters to select your next tenant. Rental application forms ask for:
- Names of applicants/co-applicants/co-signers
- Email and phone number
- Social Security number
- Date of birth
- Employment and income details
- Rental history
- Rental and professional references
- Pets
- Vehicles
- Smoking status
- Emergency contacts
Due to the sensitive nature of rental application forms, laws regulate:
- The information landlords can collect
- The questions landlords can ask
- How landlords use applications to make decisions
We’ll discuss New Jersey rental application laws in our quick guide to tenant screening.
Quick Guide to Screening a Tenant
Make sure your tenant screening process checks off all the boxes with this six-step process:
1. Pre-Screen
Pre-screeners help you sort through leads before the application stage. Once a renter lands on your online listing, the pre-screener asks for:
- Personal and contact information
- Employment and income
- Self-declared credit score
- Move-in timeline
- Household size
- Pets and/or service animals
- Smoking status
Pre-screeners can help streamline the application review process, but they can’t replace your official New Jersey rental application.
2. Conduct Showings
Show the rental to get renters excited to apply. You can opt for an open house and/or one-on-one tours with potential tenants.
3. Distribute and Collect Applications
Share your online rental application with interested renters. Always check that applicants have signed the consent and acknowledgment and paid the application fee.
New Jersey Application Laws
Legal guidelines and landlord-tenant rights vary from state to state. Here’s what New Jersey landlords need to know:
The Law Against Discrimination prohibits landlords from considering protected renter traits, including:
- Ancestry
- Age
- Sexual orientation
- Liability for service in the U.S. Armed Forces
- Gender identity/expression
- Source of income (N.J.S.A. 10:5-4)
Criminal history: Landlords can’t ask about criminal history in rental applications. If you choose to conduct a criminal background check, you must make a conditional offer before doing so. Here’s a helpful PDF on New Jersey’s criminal history policy, which provides more information (N.J.S.A. 46:8).
Portable tenant screening reports: State law doesn’t cover portable tenant screening reports, so landlords can choose whether or not to accept them.
Pets, ESAs, and Service Animals
Don’t leave animals as an afterthought. Instead, use your rental application to discuss pets, service animals, and emotional support animals (ESAs) early on.
While landlords can establish their own pet policies, you can’t discriminate against applicants because of a service animal or ESA. However, you can hold tenants liable for damage their animal causes.
Pet information: Ask if the renter has a pet, ESA, or service animal in the application. Request animal details, including breed, weight, name, and proof of service status (if applicable).
Fair Housing Act: Under the FHA, landlords can’t discriminate against or deny renters based on an ESA or service animal. It prohibits:
- Any kind of pet deposit, pet rent, or pet fee for an ESA/service animal
- Discrimination based on an ESA/service animal’s weight, size, or breed
Federal Application Laws
When renting out a unit in The Garden State, all landlords must follow these federal rental application laws:
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): Under the ADA, you can’t deny renting to individuals solely based on a disability. Landlords must accommodate individuals with disabilities without exception (Americans with Disabilities Act).
Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA): You can’t discriminate against renters who have received public assistance. The ECOA also regulates how landlords assess rental applications and provides guidelines for reporting to applicants (Equal Credit Opportunity Act).
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA): Landlords need an applicant’s written consent before running credit checks. If you deny applicants because of their credit history, you must inform them (Fair Credit Reporting Act).
Fair Housing Act (FHA): When selecting a tenant, you can’t discriminate against renters based on:
- Race
- Color
- National origin
- Religion
- Sex
- Familial status
- Disability
Under the FHA, landlords can’t ask questions about protected characteristics, offer unequal renting terms, or use discriminatory advertising (Fair Housing Act).
4. Use a Third-Party Screening Service
You can simplify your tenant screening process with a user-friendly service like TurboTenant. It can take the heavy lifting out of conducting credit and eviction checks. You must follow New Jersey’s Fair Chance in Housing Act when conducting tenant background checks.
5. Check Application References
Remember those references you requested in the application? Now’s the time to follow up by contacting the applicant’s past landlords/employers and asking the following questions:
- Did the tenant break your lease?
- What was the tenant paying for rent?
- Did they ever miss rental payments?
- Was the house/apartment kept in reasonable condition?
- Would you consider renting to this tenant again?
6. Approve or Deny Applications
You don’t only need to accept one application. Instead, accept multiple applications and take a first-come, first-served approach. Factor these essential considerations into your decisions:
- Fact-check the application: We recommend denying applicants who provide false information.
- Credit score requirement: Most landlords set a minimum requirement of 600–670.
- Rental history: Young renters often apply with less than a year of rental history. In these situations, a co-signer is a great idea.
- Rent-to-income ratio: For a stable rent-to-income ratio, rent should be less than 30% of their gross income.
Denial Process
A consistent denial process is a compliant denial process. The way you handle one applicant’s denial must be the way you handle all denials. In New Jersey, you can deny renters based on:
- Income
- Credit
- Rental history
- Criminal background (in compliance with the FCHA)
- False information
Denial notice: New Jersey law doesn’t require landlords to send out tenant rejection letters after they’ve denied an applicant.
Credit/background denials: You must notify renters that you deny based on their credit or background check. Under the FCRA, you must mention:
- The reporting agency’s name
- The renter’s right to dispute errors
- The reporting agency’s contact info
Document storage: Hold onto denied applications and screening reports for at least two years, and use them to defend yourself against discrimination claims.
Avoiding Fraud
Protect yourself from rental application fraud through due diligence. Here’s how you can spot scams:
- Speak with past landlords
- Run credit, background, and eviction checks
- Confirm employment and income
- Verify the applicant’s identity and documents
