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Rental application form

The full application, once a pre-screening call says someone is worth it. One copy per adult, the same questions for everyone, and a section for your own notes so you can show how each decision was made.

Download the PDF4 pages · Free · No email required
The first page of the Rental Application Form
Or skip the paper

Every step of this application, done for you.

Cross out the paper. Here is what RentCaddie does instead, from the first click to the finished application.

  1. 1On paper: Print the application

    In RentCaddie: Send your application link, or let people press Apply on your listings page. They fill it out on their phone, with no account.

  2. 2On paper: Hand a copy to every adult

    In RentCaddie: Each adult they list gets their own application by email. A cosigner can apply too.

  3. 3On paper: Collect the fee in person

    In RentCaddie: Set an application fee and, once online payments are set up, applicants pay it by card or bank as they apply.

  4. 4On paper: Photocopy their ID and pay stubs

    In RentCaddie: Applicants upload their ID and pay stubs from their phone, right on the application.

  5. 5On paper: Get their signature

    In RentCaddie: Applicants sign with a finger and type their name before they send it.

  6. 6On paper: Chase the half-finished ones

    In RentCaddie: Someone who starts and stops gets one email saying an unfinished application cannot be considered, with a link back.

An applicant signing a RentCaddie rental application with a finger on their phone.
Applicants sign on their phone before they send it.
  • You are told the moment an application comes in, and every applicant sits on one board by stage. The decision stays yours.
  • Turn on references and RentCaddie emails each one a short form, with reminders to anyone who has not answered.
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What is on the form

  • The property, unit or room, quoted rent, move-in date and lease length
  • The applicant's name, contact details and photo ID, with a box for a cosigner or guarantor
  • Current and previous homes, with landlord contacts and the reason for moving
  • Work and income, including other lawful income, and a checklist of the proof attached
  • How many people will live there and their names, with every adult applying on their own form
  • Pets, vehicles and smoking, with a reminder that an assistance animal is not a pet
  • A short rental record question and space to explain
  • Two references and an emergency contact
  • An application fee record with a note on state fee rules
  • A general permission-to-check section and a signed statement that the answers are true
  • A landlord's section: what was checked, the decision, and the reason

One application per adult, the same questions for everyone

A household is not one applicant. Every adult who will live in the home fills out their own application, with their own income and their own signature, because every adult on the lease is responsible for the rent. A cosigner who will not live there fills one out too, so you are judging the person actually promising to pay.

Then treat every application the same way. Write your rental criteria down before you advertise: the income you need, the rental history you accept, your pet and smoking rules. Measure every applicant against that same page, and keep the completed applications. If anyone ever asks why one person was approved and another was not, the honest answer is a sheet of paper you can hand them.

  • One application for each adult, plus any cosigner
  • Written criteria, decided before you advertise
  • The same questions, in the same order, for everyone
  • Keep every application, approved or not

What this form deliberately does not ask

Federal fair housing law forbids decisions based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or disability, and many states and cities protect more, such as source of income, age, marital status, military status or sexual orientation. So the form asks about the tenancy, never the person. It asks how many people will live there and their names, not whether they have children or how they are related. It asks about income, and counts every lawful source the same way.

It also leaves out a criminal history question. Many states and cities limit when and how a landlord may ask about or consider a criminal record, and some forbid asking on the application at all. If you screen for it, add it only after you have checked your own state and city rules, and apply it to every applicant the same way.

Application fees and permission to check

Application fee rules change at the state line. Some states cap the fee, some require a receipt, some require you to refund what you did not spend on screening, and a few do not allow one at all. Fill in the fee box on the day it is paid and give the applicant a copy.

The permission section on this form is general wording written for a printable form. It is not legal advice and it is not a screening company's own form. Screening reports carry rules of their own about consent and about the written notice you owe someone you turn down because of a report. Have the section reviewed for your state before you use it, and when a screening company asks you to use its own permission form, use theirs.

Common questions

What should a rental application include?
Who is applying and how to reach them, where they have lived and their landlords' contacts, their work and income, who will live there, pets and vehicles, references, and a signed statement that the answers are true. If you will order a screening report, it also needs the applicant's written permission.
Does every adult need to fill out an application?
Yes, if they will live there. Each adult on the lease is responsible for the rent, so each one gives their own income, history and signature. A cosigner who will not live there completes one too, so you can judge the person standing behind the rent.
How much can I charge for an application fee?
It depends on your state. Some cap the amount, some require a receipt or a refund of whatever screening did not cost, and a few do not allow a fee at all. Check your state and city rules before you charge one, and charge every applicant the same.
Can I turn down an applicant because of something in a screening report?
You can decline based on your written criteria, but a decision based on a consumer report usually means you owe the applicant a written notice saying so and where the report came from. The exact rules depend on federal and state law, so check them before you send a decision.

This form is a general-purpose starting point, not legal advice and not written for any particular state. Landlord and tenant law varies by state and often by city. Check your own state's requirements, and have an attorney review anything you plan to rely on in a dispute.

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