Rental Application
Screening a new tenant? The rental application collects what you need to check income, rental history, and references. Use it with the law, FCRA and fair housing, to screen every applicant the same way. Free in all 50 states.
Create your Rental/Lease application
Answer a few questions and we'll fill in your form. Preview it free before you download.
✓ Free to start · about 3 minutes
A rental application is the form a landlord uses to screen a prospective tenant. It collects the applicant's identity, income, employment, rental history, and references, plus written consent to run a credit or background check. You use it to weigh applicants against the same standards. It is not a lease. It is the step before one, and the point where screening law applies.
Key Takeaways
- Screen everyone the same: apply the same written criteria to every applicant.
- Get consent first: you need written permission before running a credit or background check.
- Send the adverse-action notice: if a report leads to a no, the law says you must tell the applicant.
- Never screen on protected traits: race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, or disability.
- Some states cap the fee: charge only what your state allows.
How to screen with a rental application
The whole job, start to done.
- 1
Set your criteria first
Write down your income, credit, and history standards before you advertise the unit, so every decision traces back to them.
- 2
Collect a complete application
Use the same form and the same questions for everyone, and ask for the documents that verify income and identity.
- 3
Get written consent to screen
Have the applicant sign permission before you run any credit or background report. Your screening provider will require it too.
- 4
Apply your criteria evenly
Compare every applicant against the same written standards, and keep notes on how each one measured up.
- 5
Decide and notify
Approve and move to a lease, or, if a report drives the no, send the adverse-action notice with a rejection letter.
Rental/Lease application
Preview the application, then download
Grab the blank form free, or let us fill it in from your details and get it signed.
Blank template
FreeCompleted & ready to sign
Most popularWhat if it's not that simple?
The situations that actually trip people up.
What if the applicant has thin or no credit history.
Thin credit is not an automatic no. Weigh income, rental history, and references together, and consider asking for a co-signer rather than rejecting outright. Whatever you decide, apply the same rule to every applicant in that situation.
Can I ask about criminal history?
Carefully. HUD guidance and a number of state and local laws limit blanket criminal bans. Look at the nature of the offense and how recent it is, through an individualized assessment, rather than a yes-or-no box on the form.
What if an applicant pays with a housing voucher.
Often you cannot refuse it. Where source of income is a protected class, a voucher alone is not a lawful reason to reject.
What if two people want to apply together.
Screen each adult applicant. You can require each to qualify on their own, or let them qualify jointly on combined income. Pick one approach and use it for everyone, every time, so no applicant is held to a different bar than the next.
What if the applicant paid a holding deposit, then backed out.
What you owe back depends on what you put in writing. State up front, before you take the money, whether a holding deposit is refundable and whether it applies to the first month's rent. Unclear terms are where these disputes start.
How a rental application works
A rental application turns a hunch into a decision you can defend. The applicant fills in their identity, income, employment, past addresses, and references, then signs to let you verify it. You compare what comes back against the criteria you set, and the approved applicant moves onto a standard residential lease.
Consistency is the whole game. Write down your income, credit, and history standards before you advertise, then apply them to every applicant without exception. Different questions or different cutoffs for different people is how a fair-housing complaint starts. The same form, asked the same way, is your best protection.
Get consent before you check anything. You may run a credit or background report only after the applicant signs permission, and the screening company will require that consent too. Both federal laws that govern screening, the Fair Housing Act and the FCRA, apply in every state, plus anything your state or city adds.
The step most landlords miss is the notice at the end. If a report drives a no, a higher deposit, or a demand for a co-signer, the FCRA requires you to send an adverse-action notice. A tenant application rejection letter handles that, naming the agency and the applicant's right to dispute the report. Skipping it is a common complaint.
A weak application is not always a no. If the income or credit is thin but the applicant is otherwise strong, a personal guarantee adds a co-signer who backs the rent. Decide your fallback in advance so you offer it to everyone on the same terms.
Screening does not end at approval. Document the unit's condition with a move-in checklist before the keys change hands. If more than one adult will share the unit, pair the lease with a roommate agreement. Then keep your application and notes on file as long as your other records.
Finally, mind the local rules. Most states set no application-fee cap and no criminal-screening limit, but a growing number do, and some cities add fair-chance housing rules on top. Check your state before you charge a fee or run a background check, using the table below.
What a rental application includes
· Applicant details: name, contact, date of birth, and ID.
· Income and employment: employer, income, and how to verify it.
· Rental history: current and past addresses and landlords.
· References: personal or professional contacts.
· Consent to screen: signed permission to run credit and background checks.
· Signature and date: the applicant certifies the information is true.
Application-fee caps and criminal-history limits by state
Pick your state for its rule and your ready-to-use application. Most states set no fee cap and no criminal-screening law; the exceptions are below. * Some cities apply their own fair-chance housing rules, such as New York City, Chicago and Cook County, Seattle, and Philadelphia. They can limit how you use criminal history even where the state does not.
| State | Application-fee cap | Criminal-history screening |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | None | None statewide |
| Alaska | None | None statewide |
| Arizona | None | None statewide |
| Arkansas | None | None statewide |
| California | Capped, indexed yearly (base $30) | None statewide* |
| Colorado | Actual cost; itemize, refund unused | No arrests; no convictions over 5 yrs (exceptions) |
| Connecticut | Processing fee barred; screening max $50 | None statewide |
| Delaware | Greater of $50 or 10% of monthly rent | None statewide |
| District of Columbia | Capped, indexed yearly (base $50) | No pre-offer inquiry; 7-yr lookback; assessment |
| Florida | None | None statewide |
| Georgia | None | None statewide |
| Hawaii | None | None statewide |
| Idaho | None | None statewide |
| Illinois | None in 2026 ($50 cap from 2027) | None statewide* |
| Indiana | None | None statewide |
| Iowa | None | None statewide |
| Kansas | None | None statewide |
| Kentucky | None | None statewide |
| Louisiana | None | None statewide* |
| Maine | App fee barred; one screening fee at cost | None statewide |
| Maryland | $25 max (small landlords exempt) | None statewide* |
| Massachusetts | Application/screening fees barred | None statewide* |
| Michigan | None | None statewide |
| Minnesota | Actual screening cost only | None statewide* |
| Mississippi | None | None statewide |
| Missouri | None | None statewide |
| Montana | None | None statewide |
| Nebraska | None | None statewide |
| Nevada | None | None statewide |
| New Hampshire | None | None statewide |
| New Jersey | None | No pre-offer inquiry; limited lookback; assessment |
| New Mexico | None | None statewide |
| New York | Processing fee barred; screening max $20 | None statewide* |
| North Carolina | None | None statewide |
| North Dakota | None | None statewide |
| Ohio | None | None statewide |
| Oklahoma | None | None statewide |
| Oregon | Actual avg cost; once per 60 days | No arrests without conviction; individualized review |
| Pennsylvania | None | None statewide* |
| Rhode Island | None | None statewide |
| South Carolina | None | None statewide |
| South Dakota | None | None statewide |
| Tennessee | None | None statewide |
| Texas | None | None statewide |
| Utah | None | None statewide |
| Vermont | Application fees barred | None statewide |
| Virginia | $50 max (plus actual screening cost) | None statewide |
| Washington | Actual screening cost only | None statewide* |
| West Virginia | None | None statewide |
| Wisconsin | Credit-check fee max $25 | None statewide* |
| Wyoming | None | None statewide |
Rental application FAQ
Do I have to let anyone apply?+
Do I need permission to run a credit check?+
What is an adverse-action notice?+
How much can I charge to apply?+
Can I reject someone for bad credit?+
Is the application the same as a lease?+
Create your rental application
Pick your state and get a ready-to-use rental application, built to screen the right way, in minutes.
Get my state's rental application ->