Rental Application: What to Include and How to Use One

A rental application is the first real screening step for any prospective tenant — it's how you collect the information you need to verify income, check references, and run a background check, before you commit to a specific applicant.

What to collect

A thorough rental application should ask for:

• • Full legal name(s) and date of birth for every adult who will occupy the unit
• • Current and previous address history (typically 2-3 years)
• • Employer, position, length of employment, and income
• • Previous landlord contact information and rental history
• • Vehicles, pets, and number of intended occupants
• • Emergency contact information
• • Signed authorization to run a credit, background, and eviction check

Keep it consistent across every applicant

Use the exact same application, and the exact same screening criteria, for every applicant — this is your strongest protection against a Fair Housing complaint, whether or not discrimination was ever intended. Decide your income and credit standards before you start reviewing applications, not case by case as applicants come in.

What not to ask

Avoid questions about protected characteristics under the Fair Housing Act — race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status (including whether someone has children), and disability — and check whether your state or city adds additional protected classes (common additions include source of income, sexual orientation, and gender identity). Questions should focus on ability to pay and rental history, not personal characteristics.

Application fees

Many states allow charging an application fee to cover screening costs, but some cap the amount or require it to reflect actual costs incurred. Check your state's specific rules, and be prepared to show what the fee covers if asked.