A rental application form helps a landlord choose a prospective tenant who is well suited to rent a particular property. The form requests personal and employment information plus consent for a credit check (sometimes called a consumer report). Applications often collect a non-refundable fee, commonly equal to the cost of getting the relevant screening reports.
Rental Application Forms by State
Click the state for a FREE rental application form.
Quick Guide To Screen a Tenant
While every rental application and situation are different, the following steps describe a process that will cover most elements of a responsible tenant screening:
1. Pre-Screen
Provide the tenant with pre-screening questions, such as the following:
- What is the target move-in date?
- How many people will be living on the rental property?
- What pets will be living on the property, if any?
- How long was residence at the previous address?
- Are there any issues with signing a lease of one year or more?
- What prompted the move?
2. Showings
Show the rental unit and meet potential tenants.
3. Distribute and Collect Applications
Provide interested tenants with a rental application. When completed, collect rental applications (must include signed consent and acknowledgement!), plus fees.
4. Screening: Third-Party Services
Perform a credit check and/or criminal background check using a tenant screening service such as TenantAlert, MyRental, or LeaseRunner (typical cost of $25-$75 depending on service and features)
5. Screening: Application References
Conduct reference checks with the past landlords or employers of applicants, asking questions such as the following:
- Would you rent to this tenant again?
- How many rent payments has the tenant missed, if any?
- What was the tenant paying for monthly rent?
- How well did the tenant maintain clean and undamaged conditions on the property?
- Did the tenant ever violate the lease or receive notice about potentially doing so?
6. Approve or Deny Applications
Review and make a decision, ideally accepting multiple applications on a first-come, first-serve basis approved off the following criteria:
- Rental History – landlords often require a co-signer for the lease if there’s less than a year of good rental history available
- Rent to Income Ratio – rent above 30% of a potential tenant’s gross income increases risk of rent default
- Credit Score – many landlords set a minimum credit score in the 600-670 range
- Fact Check on Rental Application – false information on an application is grounds for immediate rejection, while landlords may favor applicants who disclose in an honest and proactive way
7. Explain Outcomes
Respond to all applicants in writing, explaining the grounds for denial. This is not a legal requirement in most places, but significantly reduces the risk of legal complaint and documents the landlord’s non-discriminatory reasons for rejecting any particular application.
Rental Application Laws
Some state laws specify disclosure or retention requirements for rental applications, including the following:
- Colorado – landlords must provide an itemized list of actual and anticipated costs for screening a rental application. If the fee amount is based on an average, this must include the method for calculating the fee.
- Delaware– landlords must keep applications on file for six months. This includes denied applications.
- Texas – landlords must describe their tenant selection criteria to tenants. This must include grounds the landlord uses for denying an application.
- Washington – landlords must provide potential tenants with a written disclosure of:
- Type of information that will be used for the screening (credit reports, background checks, etc.)
- Contact information for the consumer reporting agency used by the landlord
- Notice of whether the landlord accepts recent screening reports provided by the tenant
- Criteria the landlord uses for rejecting applications
- Washington D.C. – after receiving a rental application, landlords must provide the following information to tenants:
- Copy of the D.C. Tenant Bill of Rights
- Amount of periodic rent
- Amount of application fee and security deposit
- Rent control status (or exemption status)
- Disclosure of existing housing code violations on the property, if any
- Disclosure of any pending conversion to condominiums or co-op
- Property’s ownership and business license information
- 3-year history of “mold contamination” or proof of remediation
Prohibitions on Rental Application Questions
Federal law restricts the information a landlord can request on a rental application. In general, it’s illegal under the Federal Fair Housing Act to screen tenants by asking for information about the following, or using these as a basis for approving or denying an application:
- Race
- Color
- National origin (nationality)
- Religion
- Sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity)
- Familial status (i.e., having or not having children)
- Disability (whether physical or mental)
There are narrow exemptions from the Fair Housing Act for things like senior housing or certain very-small scale landlords, but local regulations may still apply. Local laws also cover categories not protected by federal law, such as immigration or citizenship status. Always consult an attorney before attempting to ignore local or federal requirements.
Legally Denying Applicants
Landlords can legally decline an application for the following reasons:
- Incomplete or falsified application
- Insufficient credit score (must be the same standard for all applicants)
- Insufficient income
- Problematic rental history or references
- Criminal record (if the landlord doesn’t use a “blanket policy”)
- Sex offender registry status
- Property incompatibility (e.g., an application for seven people to move into a single-occupancy unit)
Additional State Requirements
Individual states may also have laws which add requirements regarding rental application approval or denial, such as:
- Colorado – application denials must be explained in writing to unsuccessful applicants within 20 days of the decision to deny
- Florida – landlords must inform active-duty members of the military and Florida National Guard within seven days of application whether their rental application is accepted
- Minnesota – application denials must be explained to unsuccessful applicants within 14 days of the decision to deny
- New York – landlords cannot deny an application on the basis of an applicant’s involvement as a party in a landlord/tenant lawsuit or dispute action
- Texas – applications must receive notice of acceptance within seven days (or the date the landlord accepts the application deposit), or else automatically are rejected
- Washington – application denials and “approved with conditions” acceptance must be explained to applicants
- Wisconsin – landlords must accept or deny applications within three days of receiving an application fee, unless a longer time (up to 21 days) is in writing
Denying a rental application is an important and necessary part of the rental application process, best done with a tenant rejection letter.
False or Misleading Information on a Rental Application
Landlords have a legal right to expect that tenants will answer rental applications in a truthful and honest way. False or misleading information on a rental application is usually grounds for immediate denial of that application. Some states also provide legal consequences for deceptive applicants, including the following:
- Alabama – landlords can evict tenants who put false or misleading information on their rental application
- Arizona – landlords can evict a tenant for false information regarding criminal background or eviction history, and can demand that a tenant correct false information about the following within ten days or be evicted:
- Number of occupants
- Pets
- Income
- Tenant Social Security number
- Employment status
- Kansas – tenants face fines or even jail for falsifying information on a rental application
- Minnesota – landlords can charge a $500 fine for tenants who falsify or omit information on the rental application
Landlords in most situations can provide tenants with a notice to quit for providing false or misleading information on rental application.
Application Fee Regulations
Some states regulate the maximum fee for a rental application. This table describes state-specific guidelines for what a landlord can charge:
| State | Maximum Application Fee | |
| Alabama | No regulation | |
| Alaska | No regulation | |
| Arizona | No regulation | |
| Arkansas | No regulation | |
| California | As of 2023, $59.67 per applicant (adjusted yearly based on CPI and inflation) | |
| Colorado | Any amount up to the landlord’s actual cost expended on screening | |
| Delaware | 10% of the monthly rent or $50 (whichever is greater) | |
| Florida | No regulation | |
| Georgia | No regulation | |
| Hawaii | No regulation | |
| Idaho | No regulation | |
| Illinois | No regulation | |
| Indiana | No regulation | |
| Iowa | No regulation | |
| Kansas | No regulation | |
| Kentucky | No regulation | |
| Louisiana | No regulation | |
| Maine | No regulation | |
| Maryland | No regulation | |
| Massachusetts | ONLY real estate agents or brokers (i.e., not landlords) may charge application fees to potential tenants, with strict notice and disclosure requirements, but there is no statutory maximum amount | |
| Michigan | No regulation | |
| Minnesota | Whatever the screening service charges for its research | |
| Mississippi | No regulation | |
| Missouri | No regulation | |
| Montana | No regulation | |
| Nebraska | No regulation | |
| Nevada | No regulation | |
| New Hampshire | No regulation | |
| New Jersey | No regulation | |
| New Mexico | No regulation | |
| New York | Actual cost of screening or $20, whichever is less (except co-ops and condos, which are not regulated). The applicant must receive copies of the background and credit check paperwork plus a receipt or invoice from the screening company that performed the background check. Applicants may provide a screening report dated within the past 30 days instead of paying a screening fee | |
| North Carolina | No regulation | |
| North Dakota | No regulation | |
| Ohio | No regulation | |
| Oklahoma | No regulation | |
| Oregon | No regulation | |
| Pennsylvania | No regulation | |
| Rhode Island | No regulation | |
| South Carolina | No regulation | |
| South Dakota | No regulation | |
| Tennessee | No regulation | |
| Texas | No regulation | |
| Utah | No regulation | |
| Vermont | No fees allowed for a residential rental application, but a landlord may pass the cost to a potential tenant when paying for a background check | |
| Virginia | $50 (or $32, for HUD-regulated units), plus any additional amount necessary to pay for third-party screening services and similar checks | |
| Washington | Actual cost of any screening reports or services | |
| Washington D.C. | No regulation | |
| West Virginia | No regulation | |
| Wisconsin | No limit on the amount of a rental application / “earnest money deposit” fee; maximum $20 for a credit check (can only charge if the tenant will not provide a credit report less than 30 days old) | |
| Wyoming | No regulation |
State laws only represent one possible source of regulation for a rental application fee. Cities and counties frequently impose their own standards and guidelines. Always check local laws.
