Rental applications that arrive complete, ID and pay stubs attached

Build the application

1. 1

   Start from an application

   Use your own, or the library's rental application, which asks about current and previous addresses, employment and income, occupants, pets and vehicles. Its fields belong to one role, Applicant.

2. 2

   Add the ID

   Drag two Photo fields from Files and Photos and label them ID front and ID back. Each takes one JPEG or PNG, printed inside its box on the page. The separate Driver's license field only records the number as text.

3. 3

   Add proof of income

   An Attachment field labeled Proof of income, allowing PDFs and photos, with Most files set to 5. Say what counts beside it: recent pay stubs, an offer letter, a benefits statement.

4. 4

   Make answers checkable

   Rules on the email and phone fields, a Date field for the move-in date with Earliest date set to Today, and required fields for anything you actually use to decide.

If you run credit or background checks, include your screening authorization as pages of the same document. A public link works from one template, so the authorization has to travel with the application. The library's background check authorization is a starting point for the wording.

Two ways in

The public link suits an open listing with many inquiries: put it in the listing and on the yard sign. A direct send suits the applicant you just showed the unit to, with their name already on it. Both kinds land in the same Responses table.

Looking after what they upload

• Uploads are checked. SignMaster confirms each file is really a PDF, JPEG or PNG, up to 10 MB, and lists every one on the certificate with its SHA-256 fingerprint.
• Teammates see what their role allows. Someone who can only see their own envelopes doesn't see applications sent by others.
• Copies go to everyone on the envelope. The signed PDF includes the ID and pay stubs, so add an owner as Receives a copy only if they should see them.
• Codes add a second check. A code you share by phone means a forwarded email alone can't open the application.

Same questions, same documents, for everyone

The federal Fair Housing Act protects people renting a home from discrimination because of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or disability, and many state and local laws add more groups. A template helps you be consistent: every applicant gets the same questions, the same required documents and the same steps.

• Ask only for what your written screening criteria use, and apply the criteria the same way to every applicant.
• Application fees, questions about criminal history, source-of-income rules and how long you may keep documents are set by state and local law, and they vary widely.
• If you turn someone down or add conditions based partly on a credit, criminal or eviction report, the FTC explains that the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires an adverse action notice naming the reporting agency and the applicant's rights.

Review and decide

Open the template's Responses tab and filter to Completed. Each applicant is a row, with monthly income, move-in date, occupants and pets as columns, and the uploads listed by file name. Download the CSV to line applicants up against your criteria, then open a row for the ID photos and pay stubs. When you've chosen, send the lease from your residential lease agreement template, with every adult signing their own copy.