Rental Application Template Form

A rental application form is a document given to a prospective tenant by landlords or property owners. They use this form to screen prospective tenants and decide if they are eligible to rent the property. It is used to assess information like, an individual's employment status, background, credit, and prior leasing history (through references) to make the decision of allowing him or her to lease their property.

How do you use a Rental application form?

Rental applications are designed to help landlords find the best tenants for their rental properties.  They do this by asking questions related to a tenant’s financial stability, prior rental experiences, and sometimes criminal history.

• Payment/Rental History; Most rental application forms include data on the prospective tenant’s credit/income and employment history, along with prior rental history. These questions are designed to help a landlord determine if a tenant will be able to afford the monthly rent, consistently pay their rent on time, and if they have had issues with landlords in the past.

• Disclosing Criminal History; Some rental applications also include questions on criminal history and/or sex offender status, for the protection of the other residents.  There are some protections for tenants, here, however, that we address in more detail later in the article.

• Proof of Screening Process; Rental applications also show that the landlord has a screening process in place, and shows evidence of what the landlord is looking for in a tenant.  This can offer protection to both the landlord and tenant in case there are questions of discrimination later on.

• Who Needs to Fill One Out?; Anyone over the age of 18 who will be living in the rental unit should complete a rental application form.

• Processing Time; While only a few states even address this issue (which we look at under Approving/Denying the Application), it’s a best practice to turn the application around as quickly as possible. This way, tenants don’t move on to another rental unit because they are tired of waiting to hear back from the landlord.

After downloading this form and filling in the blanks, you can easily customize the style, typography, details, and appearance of your Rental application form. If this isn't the right document that you are looking for, then certainly take a look at the other letters that Bizzlibrary.com has to offer. We have many letters ranging from cover letters to business letters and thank you notes.