Rental Applications
Rental applications are the most efficient means to gather relevant background information about a prospective tenant in order to begin the rental qualification process. Customized to a landlord’s business requirements, the rental application form is a screening document that asks questions in standardized format about an applicant’s background, such as rental history, credit history, employment, and income, to assess the likelihood of lease default if the applicant were to be installed as a tenant. Questions are designed to help the landlord determine if the potential tenant has the ability to meet rent obligations in a timely manner and comply with rental rules and regulations. A rental application should be completed by each prospective tenant age 18 or older who intends to live in the rental unit.
The standardized format helps to ensure the screening process is conducted in a non-discriminatory manner. Every applicant receives the same application form to be processed in the same manner according to rental practices. There can be no selectivity or preferential treatment of one applicant over another applicant.
The Federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability. State and local fair housing laws can provide even broader coverage of certain protected classes. These laws surpass federal law to address additional protected classes such as age, ancestry, marital status, veteran and military status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and source of income. A landlord is required to comply with the level of law that affords the most protection against discrimination.
A landlord must be knowledgeable of fair housing laws to understand what questions are permissible to include on the application form and what questions cannot be asked. Questions that violate the rights of protected classes are illegal. Questions, even if asked informally during a conversation, may not stray into issues that are legally protected rights of applicants and tenants.
A good rental application is not only compliant with applicable laws but organized in an easy to read and understandable format that allows the applicant to fully answer the questions.
A basic rental application will organize requested information into categories, such as applicant personal data, household information, income and employment, rental history, credit and financial accounts information, references, and other background information. Applications can be submitted to the landlord in person or directed by the landlord to a online rental portal or online rental services provider. When accepting applications, landlords must require the applicant to furnish proof of identity. The industry standard requires two forms of identification preferably with one document having a photograph of the individual.
For example, a rental application may request:
Applicant personal information
- Legal name
- Aliases or other names used
- Social security number
- Contact phone numbers
- Email address
- Driver’s license or state identification number, including state where issued
- Expiration date of driver’s license or state identification card
- Emergency contact name and phone number
Household information
- Additional occupants who will live in the rental unit
- Pets in household including description, breed, size, weight
- Requested move in date
- Vehicle make, model, and license plate number
- Oversize vehicles, boats, or trailers
Employment
- Current employer’s name and address and any previous employers in the past three years
- Applicant’s job title
- Applicant’s monthly gross income
- Length of employment
- Supervisor’s name, phone number
Other income
- Source document
- Gross income amount
Rental history
- Current address and any previous rental addresses in the past three years
- How long at each address
- Monthly rent
- Security deposit
- Cotenants
- Names and contact information for previous landlords
- Reason for leaving
Credit and financial accounts
- Credit cards and monthly payment
- Installment loans and monthly payment
- Bank accounts checking or savings
References
- Personal
- Professional
Other Background information
- Bankruptcy filing
- Judgment
- Tax levy
- Eviction history
- Party in a lawsuit
Applicant signature
The applicant’s signature and date on the application attests that all information provided by the applicant on the application form is truthful to the best of the applicant’s knowledge. A separate signed applicant acknowledgement and consent to contact current and previous landlords, personal references and employers may be requested by the landlord to verify information provided on the rental application.
Disclosures
When landlords use consumer reports to aid in tenant decisions such as applicant screenings, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) obligates the landlord to certain regulated practices to ensure FCRA compliance for the protection, privacy, and accuracy of consumer personal information. This may include a separate notice and disclosure requirement for applicant authorization and consent per FCRA requirements. Due diligence by a landlord is required to determine what is needed to ensure FCRA compliance.
Additionally there may be required landlord disclosures by state statute or local ordinance that apply when a landlord receives a completed application. Disclosures could include the landlord’s written rental qualification criteria, tenant screening policies and practices, standard rental policies, fees and deposits, utility responsibilities, or other statutory requirements.
The application form should state that the applicant’s failure to provide all items of information requested or providing incomplete or inaccurate information are in themselves grounds for rejecting the application.
Section reserved for landlord use
For liability protections and risk management, a landlord should reserve a section on the application for management use only. This section can contain the date and time the application was received, the property address, the rent amount quoted, deposits and fees quoted, receipt of deposits and fees paid at time of application, unit availability date, and requested move-in date. With the applicant’s signature on the application, the document serves as confirmation of oral discussions at time of application or during a prior contact. A landlord should not leave himself vulnerable to a misunderstanding of terms and conditions of tenancy or rely upon landlord or tenant memory as to details of discussions of move-in requirements. Showing proof of date and time of application is a first in time practice that provides some protection from claims of discriminatory treatment.
State and Local Laws on Rental Applications and Tenant Screenings
There have been recent legislative actions by some states, cities and counties that have impacted tenant screening policies and practices. In those jurisdictions there are now state statutes and local ordinances, as examples, the Fair Chance Ordinance, the Rental Application Fairness Act, the Renter Protection Ordinance, the Fair Access in Renting Ordinance, and the Fair Chance Housing Ordinance, that limit, restrict, or prohibit certain tenant screenings at time of application or during the screening and selection process. A landlord will need to research current laws applicable to the state or city/county governing his rental property location to develop legally compliant screening practices and, accordingly, associated rental documents for qualification and screening.
Document Safety and Retention
The information collected from an applicant imposes responsibility on the landlord to use the information in accordance with all laws, and to safeguard that information throughout the term of the tenancy and the required retention period following tenancy. The landlord must properly dispose of tenant records containing personally identifying information in a compliant manner as addressed by statute at expiration of the required retention period or other applicable statutory requirements,
The application process properly conducted and documented can reduce the risk of claims of discrimination in the screening and selection of applicants. The signed rental application and the tenant screening results support the landlord’s decision to offer tenancy to the selected applicant.