This free rental application form will come in handy to any property owner, manager, or agent. It is a simple way to screen prospective tenants and make sure the property would be in safe hands.
Based on the type of property (home, apartment, condo) and lease period (long term or short term), a rental application form can be more or less detailed. Here we included some basic information you should collect to assure that you are signing a contract with a reliable, trustworthy tenant.
Free Rental Application Form
Rental application form should include the following information about the prospective tenant:
- Basic property and lease information
- Basic personal information
- Tenant’s (relevant) lifestyle habits
- Credit and criminal record
- Employment record
- Rental record
- Emergency contact
The details you need may vary, but if you decide to use our free rental application form, you can easily edit it and customize it to suit your needs. In general, this rental application form is suitable for:
- Single-family homes
- Apartments and condos
- Vacation rentals
- Rooms for rent
Now let’s guide you through the details of this template.
Why should I use a rental application form?
A rental application form is a way to gather all the information needed to screen the prospective tenant. While you don’t have to turn into an FBI agent and run through a decade worth of personal information, it is important to run at least a basic background check.
In general, you want to know whether the tenant is capable of paying rent on time and taking good care of the property. To be assured, you need their current employment information, credit history, and you’ll need references from former landlords.
While you shouldn’t be immediately dismissive if the tenant has faced eviction or legal troubles in the past, make sure you discuss it up front. In general, it’s better if they come forward with it straight away.
Keep in mind that this rental application form is not legal advice. Before you use it, consult an attorney who will check and adjust it for specific local, state, and federal regulations.
Basic information
The rental application form starts with basic information about the applicant, landlord, property, and terms of the lease.
- Applicant’s name
- Landlord’s name
- Property address
- Date of application
- Starting date of occupancy
- Ending date of occupancy
- Monthly rate
After that, you will move on to basic information about the prospective tenant. They include:
- Social security number
- Phone number
- Driver’s license number
- Driver’s license state
Asking for date of birth or age is recommended only in cases when the rental is located in the age-restricted community.
In this section, you should also ask whether there would be other occupants, and have the applicant list their names and relation to them. In our rental application form, we included a question that branches into two possibilities. If the applicant answers yes, it will lead them to the form field where they list the other occupants. If the answer is no, they move on to the next question.
Basic information also includes the applicant’s habits relevant to property maintenance. Some of the usual questions refer to smoking and having pets.
In this section, you should also run a quick check by asking whether the prospective tenant has been evicted or declared bankruptcy in the last seven years.
You can also ask whether they have been convicted of a felony. In case the answer is “yes,” you can include a separate page for more details about the case.
Rental record
Another extremely important part of the rental application form is screening the prospective tenant’s previous rental record – their current address and landlord, as well as the previous ones.
The information you can ask for in both cases includes:
- Present/previous address
- Time of renting the property
- Monthly rent
- Reason for relocating
- Property owner/manager’s name
- Property owner/manager’s phone number
- Property owner/manager’s email
Make sure you contact the former landlords to confirm the information the applicant gave you.
Employment information
A look into the prospective tenant’s current employment situation can give you a clear insight into their capability to pay their rent on time. You will most likely look for someone who has a steady position for at least six months (or if we are talking about freelancers, someone who can provide verifiable bank statements about steady income). The information you can ask for includes:
- Current employer
- Starting date at the workplace
- Company address
- Company phone number
- Job title
- Monthly net income
If the prospective tenant is applying for a long-term lease, you can also ask for information about the previous employers. How far you’re going to go back depends on your needs, but the applicant who doesn’t seem able to hold the same job for more than a few months can be a red flag for landlords.
One more option you can leave to applicants is to ask them for other sources of income (spouse’s salary, for example).
Emergency contact
In any case of emergency, you should have a contact of the prospective tenant’s close relative or friend.
Red flags
Once your prospective tenant submits the rental application, there are a few details you should pay attention to.
Omissions
If the applicant omits important details such as criminal record, employment info or references’ contact information, it should immediately raise a red flag. It implies they are hiding something, and these applications should be immediately dismissed.
Using the rental application form template we provided eliminates this possibility because the applicants cannot advance to the next page if they leave any blank fields.
Mismatch in provided information and screening reports
If there are any mismatches in provided information and bank statements, credit records, and former landlord’s references, you have a solid ground to reject the application.
No or unverifiable income
Unemployed applicants or those who cannot provide bank statements about their income have no way to guarantee they will pay their rent on time.
Poor tenant history
If the prospective tenant is breaking their current lease or cannot seem to stick around at one place for more than a few months, you are likely to have trouble on your hands. Of course, maybe their personal circumstances are specific (e.g. job involving frequent relocation), or their current landlord is problematic. So, before you pass the final judgment, ask for clarification.
Bonus tip
Here are a couple more details you should pay attention to.
As we pointed out in the beginning, your rental application form should abide by local, state, and federal laws such as Fair Housing Act and Fair Credit Reporting Act. Since it constitutes the applicant’s permission to access their confidential information, the form requires a disclosure stating specific permissions are granted.
This is just an example – consult the attorney to create a full legal disclosure!
The disclosure should also mention the form is aligned with relevant laws. The applicant’s signature serves as a confirmation that they read the terms and that they agree.
If you want to use this template, all you need to do is sign up for LeadQuizzes – you can use the existing template, or easily customize it to suit your needs! You can add forms, questions, and images and create dozens of forms you can embed in your emails and send them to your clients or prospective tenants.
