Rental Application Process for Landlords [+ Free Form]

A rental application is the form a prospective tenant completes so a landlord can verify their identity, income and rental history before offering a lease.

The rental application process for landlords runs in eight steps:

1. Write your screening criteria.
2. Set a legal application fee.
3. Pre-screen leads.
4. Collect a full application from every adult.
5. Run a tenant screening report.
6. Verify income and references.
7. Decide against your written criteria.
8. Send an approval or an adverse action notice.

Applying the same steps to every applicant is what keeps the process fast and keeps you on the right side of fair housing law.

Below, we walk through each step, cover what to include on the form, explain the laws that apply, and work one application through from start to finish. There is also a free rental application form you can download and use today.

What is a rental application?

A rental application is the form a prospective tenant fills out to apply for a rental property. It collects the applicant's identity, rental history, employment, income and household details, along with their consent to a background and credit check. Landlords use it alongside a tenant screening report to decide whether the applicant meets their rental criteria.

The application is what the applicant tells you. The screening report and your reference checks are how you confirm it.

What are the steps in the rental application process for landlords?

Step 1: Write down your tenant screening criteria

Before you list the property, decide what a qualified applicant looks like and put it in writing. Typical criteria include:

• Income. A common benchmark is gross monthly income of at least three times the rent. Use the rent-to-income ratio calculator to set the number for your unit.
• Credit. A minimum score, or rules about specific items such as unpaid rent owed to a previous landlord.
• Rental history. For example, no eviction judgments in a set number of years, and positive references.
• Occupancy. The maximum number of occupants under your local code.

Criteria must be lawful and applied the same way to every applicant. See how to legally decline a tenant for how to build criteria that hold up.

Step 2: Set a legal application fee

Whether you can charge an application fee, and how much, depends on your state. Where they're allowed, fees usually cover the cost of the screening report plus your time to process the application. Before you set one, check two things:

1. Does your state allow application fees?
2. Is there a cap, or a requirement to refund unused fees?

Rules vary widely. Some states cap the fee or tie it to your actual screening cost. Some require a refund if you don't run the screening. Massachusetts law limits what a landlord can collect before a tenancy starts to first and last month's rent, a security deposit and the cost of a new lock, which rules out an application fee. Our guide to rental application fee laws by state breaks it down.

Whatever you charge, tell applicants the amount, what it covers and your refund policy before they pay.

Step 3: Pre-screen leads

Put your key criteria in the listing (rent, deposit, income requirement, pet and smoking policy, move-in date) so applicants can rule themselves out. Then ask a short set of qualifying questions before you invite someone to apply. Our list of prescreening questions to ask prospective tenants is a good starting point. Ask every lead the same questions.

Step 4: Collect a complete application from every adult

Every adult who will live in the unit should complete their own application and screening. Collect applications in a consistent way, and log the date and time each one arrives. Many landlords review complete applications in the order they were received, which is easy to defend.

If an applicant falls short on income or credit, a co-signer is one option. See our co-signer guide and free template.

Step 5: Run a tenant screening report

A screening report verifies the application and adds information the applicant can't easily misstate: credit history, criminal records and eviction filings. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you need a permissible purpose to pull a consumer report. A rental application qualifies.

The FCRA doesn't require written consent for tenant screening, but the FTC notes you can get written permission to document your permissible purpose. Some states and screening services require it too. Put a consent line on your application. Read more in our guides to the Fair Credit Reporting Act and tenant credit checks.

Step 6: Verify income, employment and references

• Income. Ask for proof of income such as recent pay stubs, W-2s, tax returns or benefit award letters. Count all lawful income, not just wages.
• Employment. Confirm the job and start date with the employer contact on the application.
• Unemployment or employment gaps. An applicant between jobs, retired or self-employed can still qualify. Ask about other income and assets, such as savings, benefits, a job offer letter or a co-signer, and assess them against the same income standard. Frequent job changes or long, unexplained gaps are worth a follow-up question, not an automatic rejection.
• Rental history. Call the current and previous landlords. A previous landlord is often more candid, because the current one may want the tenant to leave. Ask whether rent was paid on time, whether proper notice was given and whether they would rent to the applicant again. Our guide to the rental history report covers what to look for.

Watch for unexplained gaps in address history, a missing landlord contact, or a "reason for moving" that doesn't match what the references tell you.

Step 7: Decide against your written criteria

Compare each applicant to the criteria you wrote in step 1, not to each other on gut feel. Keep notes on why each applicant was approved or declined. If two applicants both qualify, a first-come, first-qualified policy is the simplest rule to apply consistently.

Step 8: Approve, or send an adverse action notice

If you approve, send the lease and collect the security deposit. If you deny an applicant, or approve them on worse terms (a higher deposit or a co-signer requirement) because of something in a consumer report, the FCRA requires an adverse action notice. According to the FTC, it must include:

• the name, address and phone number of the consumer reporting agency
• a statement that the agency didn't make the decision and can't explain why it was made
• the applicant's right to a free copy of their report within 60 days, and to dispute anything inaccurate
• if a credit score was used, the score, its source, date and range, and the key factors that hurt it

Use our free rental application denial letter template to cover these points.

What should a rental application include?

A complete rental application covers six sections. Keep it to what you need to apply your criteria, and nothing that touches a protected characteristic.

A note on SSNs. Many paper applications ask for a Social Security number so the landlord can run a credit check. If you screen through a service where the applicant enters their own details, such as TransUnion SmartMove in Landlord Studio, you don't need to collect or store SSNs yourself. That reduces your data security risk.

Assistance animals are not pets. Under the Fair Housing Act, a person with a disability can request a reasonable accommodation for a service or support animal, even in a no-pets property. Don't charge pet fees for them, and don't reject an applicant because of one. See emotional support animals and the Fair Housing Act.

For a field-by-field walkthrough, see what to include in a rental application form, or download the free rental application form for landlords.

What laws apply to rental applications?

Three sets of rules shape your application: fair housing law (what you can ask and how you decide), state fee rules (covered in step 2), and the FCRA (covered in steps 5 and 8). Fair housing is the one most likely to catch out a landlord writing their own form.

What can't you ask on a rental application?

The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin and disability. Don't ask questions on your application that touch these characteristics, such as "Do you plan to have children?" or "What is your native language?"

Many states and cities protect more characteristics, commonly age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, source of income (including housing vouchers) and, in some places, criminal history or immigration status. Check the landlord tenant laws for your state before you finalize your form.

You can ask about rental history, employment, income, references and prior evictions, as long as you ask everyone and apply the answers the same way. Our guide to rental housing discrimination has examples of what to avoid, and screening a rental application covers which questions are safe to ask.

What else does the FCRA require?

Beyond a permissible purpose (step 5) and adverse action notices (step 8), you must keep report information secure and dispose of it properly when you no longer need it. These are federal minimums, and some states add their own notice or consent rules.

What does the rental application process look like in practice?

You list a two-bedroom unit at $1,800 a month. Your written criteria say gross monthly income of at least three times the rent ($5,400), no eviction judgments in the last five years, and two positive landlord references.

1. Pre-screen. Jordan replies to the listing and confirms a move-in date that works and one cat. Your listing allows cats.
2. Application. Jordan applies and lists a partner, Sam, as a co-occupant. You send both of them an application and a screening request.
3. Income. Jordan earns $4,600 a month in wages and receives $900 a month in Social Security. Together that's $5,500, which clears the $5,400 threshold. Counting only wages would have meant wrongly rejecting a qualified applicant, and in many states it would also be source-of-income discrimination.
4. Screening. Neither report shows an eviction. Sam has a collections account from an old medical bill. Your criteria don't count medical debt, so you note it and move on.
5. References. Jordan's previous landlord confirms on-time rent and proper notice. The current landlord confirms the tenancy dates.
6. Decision. Both meet every written criterion, so you approve and send the lease.

If Sam's report had shown an eviction judgment and you'd declined because of it, you would send Sam an adverse action notice naming the screening agency.

Where can I get a free rental application form?

Our free rental application form for landlords is a fillable PDF. It covers every section above, plus a screening consent line. Download it, add your property details and fee, and send it to applicants.

How do you run the rental application process in Landlord Studio?

Landlord Studio puts steps 3 to 8 in one place:

• Listings. Create a free listing and syndicate it to popular rental sites.
• Online applications. Invite qualified leads to apply online. All you need is their email address.
• Tenant screening. Run TransUnion SmartMove reports, including credit, criminal background, eviction history and income insights. Applicants enter their own details, so you never handle their SSN.
• One record per applicant. Review, compare, approve or decline from the app. The approved tenant's details carry straight into their lease and rent tracking.

Explore tenant screening in Landlord Studio

Rental application FAQs

How much can a landlord charge for an application fee?

It depends on your state. Some states cap the fee or tie it to your actual screening cost, and Massachusetts effectively bans application fees. Where there is no cap, keep the fee close to what screening costs you, and disclose what it covers before the applicant pays. See rental application fee laws by state.

Are rental application fees refundable?

Usually not, once screening has been run. Some states require a refund if you don't process the application or don't run the report, or if the fee exceeds your actual costs. Put your refund policy in writing and share it before you collect the fee.

Do I need an applicant's permission to run a credit check?

The FCRA requires a permissible purpose, and a rental application provides one. Written permission isn't a federal requirement for tenant screening, but the FTC notes it's one way to document your purpose, and some states and screening services require it. Include a signed consent line on every application.

What is the difference between an application fee and a security deposit?

An application fee pays for processing and screening the application, and is usually non-refundable. A security deposit is held during the tenancy to cover unpaid rent or damage beyond normal wear and tear. It must be returned, minus lawful deductions, within your state's deadline after move-out.

What should a landlord do if an applicant lied on their application?

Before the lease is signed, you can decline the application based on the false information, as long as you apply the same rule to everyone. If you find out after move-in, check your lease and your state's law. In some states, material misrepresentation on an application can be grounds for ending a tenancy, but the rules and process vary, so get local advice before acting.

Can a landlord reject a rental application?

Yes, for lawful reasons applied consistently, such as insufficient income, negative rental references or a recent eviction. You can't reject an applicant because of a protected characteristic. If a consumer report played a part in the decision, send an adverse action notice. See how to legally decline a tenant.

‍

This guide covers US federal rules. State and local laws add to them, so check your state before you set fees or screening criteria. It is general information, not legal advice.

‍