Rental application template
A rental application collects what you need to decide on a tenant: where they live now, what they earn, who will live in the home, and their permission to run a screening report. This template asks for that and nothing that could get you into fair housing trouble, and it keeps Social Security numbers off the form. Read it below, then post it as a link or send it to each applicant.
Updated November 5, 2026 · 4 min read
The contract
Gray blanks are yours to fill in before you send. Each signer fills in the blanks in their color.
- You, before sending
- Applicant
Rental Application
This is an application to rent the home at Property applied for from Landlord or management company (the "Landlord"). Every adult who will live in the home fills in and signs a separate application. Desired move-in date: Desired move-in date.
1. About you
- Full legal name: Full legal name
- Other names used in the last seven years: Other names used
- Phone: Phone
- Email: Email
2. Where you live now
- Current address: Current address
- How long you've lived there: Time at current address
- Current monthly rent or mortgage payment: Current monthly housing cost
- Current landlord or property manager: Current landlord name
- Their phone: Current landlord phone
- Why you're moving: Reason for moving
3. Your previous address
Fill this in if you've been at your current address for less than two years. Previous address: Previous address. Previous landlord and phone: Previous landlord and phone.
4. Work and income
- Employer: Employer
- Job title and how long you've worked there: Job title and time employed
- Employer phone for verification: Employer phone
- Gross monthly income from work: Monthly income from work
- Other income you'd like considered, such as benefits, support, a pension or a housing voucher, and the monthly amount: Other income and amount
5. Who will live in the home
Names of everyone else who will live in the home: Other occupants. Each other adult also fills in an application.
6. Pets and vehicles
Pets you plan to keep (kind, breed and number): Pets. Assistance animals are not pets; you can ask the Landlord for a reasonable accommodation separately. Vehicles you'll park at the property (make, model and plate): Vehicles.
7. Anything you'd like to explain
If something in your rental or credit history needs context, such as a lease you ended early or a period without income, you may explain it here: Explanation
8. Emergency contact
Name: Emergency contact name Phone: Emergency contact phone Relationship: Emergency contact relationship
9. Application fee
The application fee is Application fee per adult applicant. It covers What the fee covers. The fee is not a deposit and does not reserve the home. Any part of it not spent on screening will be refunded where the law requires.
10. Permission to screen
The Applicant authorizes the Landlord and its screening company, Screening company, to obtain a consumer report, which may include credit and rental history, and to verify the information in this application with employers and current and previous landlords. The screening company may ask the Applicant for identity details, such as a Social Security number or ITIN, directly; they are not collected on this form.
If the Landlord denies this application, or approves it only on extra conditions such as a larger deposit or a co-signer, because of information in a consumer report, the Landlord will give the Applicant a notice that names the company that supplied the report and explains the Applicant's right to get a free copy of it and to dispute anything inaccurate.
11. Fair housing
The Landlord applies the same written criteria to every applicant and does not discriminate because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status or disability, or any other characteristic protected by state or local law.
12. Decision and what this application is not
The Landlord will tell the Applicant its decision within about Business days to decide business days of receiving a complete application and screening report. This application is not a lease. Neither the Applicant nor the Landlord is bound to rent until both have signed a lease.
13. Applicant's statement
The Applicant states that the information in this application is true and complete. False or missing information may be a reason to deny the application or, if discovered after a lease is signed, to end the lease as the law allows. Electronic signatures on this application count as original signatures.
I authorize the screening described in section 10.
I confirm the information in this application is true and complete.
Applicant
Opens it in SignMaster as a template you can edit and send.
A starting point, not legal advice. Have a lawyer review it for your state and situation.
On this page
What a rental application is for
It's the first document in a tenancy, and it isn't a lease. The applicant gives you facts you can verify, signs a statement that they're true, and authorizes a credit and rental history check. You decide, and only then do both of you sign a lease. Section 12 of the template says plainly that the application binds nobody to rent.
Have every adult who'll live in the home fill in their own copy. That gives you a signed screening consent from each person, and it keeps one applicant's income and history private from the other.
What the template asks for
- The applicant: legal name, other names used (screening reports are matched on them), phone and email.
- Housing history: current address, how long they've lived there, current rent, the landlord's contact and why they're moving, plus a previous address if they've moved recently.
- Income: employer, job title, an employer phone to verify, monthly income, and other income such as benefits or a housing voucher.
- Occupants, pets and vehicles: everyone who'll live there, any pets, and cars that need parking, with a note that assistance animals aren't pets.
- A space to explain: an optional box for a broken lease or a gap in income, so the applicant can give context before you read the report.
- The fee: the amount, what it pays for, and a line that it doesn't reserve the home.
- Screening consent: permission for your screening company to pull a consumer report and verify the answers.
- Notices: your promise of an adverse action notice and a fair housing statement.
Mistakes that cause trouble
- Asking about children, pregnancy, religion, national origin or disability. Familial status and the others are protected under the federal Fair Housing Act, and many states add more, such as source of income or marital status.
- Using different standards for different applicants. Write your criteria down (income multiple, credit floor, references) and apply the same ones to everyone.
- Denying someone over a credit report without telling them. The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires an adverse action notice naming the reporting company; section 10 commits you to it.
- Collecting Social Security numbers on the form. A signed PDF gets emailed and stored; let the screening company collect identity details directly.
- Charging whatever you like. Some states cap application fees or make you refund what you didn't spend on screening, and some cities limit questions about criminal history.
How to take applications with SignMaster
- 1
Open the application
Choose Use this template. It's saved to your account with one signer role, the applicant, who fills in almost every blank.
- 2
Fill in your part once
The gray blanks are yours: your company name, the fee and what it covers, your screening company and how many business days you take to decide.
- 3
Ask for pay stubs or ID if you need them
Add an Attachment field under section 4 so applicants attach pay stubs or an offer letter as they sign. See collect files from signers.
- 4
Send it, or post a link
Email it to each applicant, or turn the template into a public signing link or QR code for your listing. Each applicant fills in the property they want, so one link works for every vacancy.
- 5
Compare applicants side by side
The Responses tab puts every answer to the template in one table, with CSV and JSON export, on any paid plan. Each applicant's signed PDF carries a certificate of completion.
Inviting a waiting list to apply
When a new building or a batch of units opens, bulk send can send the application to everyone on your interest list at once, each in their own envelope. Put each person's name and email in a row; a column named Property applied for pre-fills that blank, and the applicant can still change it. Export the list from Excel as CSV UTF-8 first.
Questions? Answers.
Can a landlord charge a rental application fee?
Usually, yes, but some states cap the amount, require a receipt, or make you refund the part you didn't spend on screening, and a few ban fees altogether. Set the fee in section 9 to what your state allows.
Should a rental application ask for a Social Security number?
Screening often needs one, but it doesn't have to sit on the application. This template has the screening company collect identity details directly, so the signed PDF in your inbox doesn't carry them.
Is an e-signed application enough to run a credit check?
An electronic signature counts as a signature under the ESIGN Act, and the consent in section 10 is in writing. Ask your screening company whether it needs particular wording, and add it in a Text box with the template editor's Markup tools before you start.
Do co-applicants each need an application?
Yes. Every adult who will live in the home should fill in and sign their own, so each one authorizes their own screening. The multiple tenants guide covers the lease that follows.