What can a landlord legally ask on a rental application?

Generally, you may ask for information tied to ability to pay rent and comply with lease rules: identity, employment, income, rental history, references, and consent for credit and background checks. You may not ask about or use federally protected characteristics in decisions. State and local laws may further restrict certain questions (e.g., criminal history timing).

Can I charge an application fee?

In many states yes, but caps, disclosure, and refund rules vary. Some jurisdictions limit fees to actual screening costs or ban fees altogether. Check state and city law for the property location before enabling the fee field in this template.

What fair housing rules apply to rental applications?

The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, and national origin. HUD enforces these rules. State and local laws often add protections. Use consistent criteria for all applicants.

Do I need the applicant's consent for a credit check?

Yes. A consumer credit report requires written permission under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. This template includes an authorization paragraph applicants sign. Provide required adverse-action notices if you deny based on a report.

Is this template the same as a lease?

No. A rental application is for screening before tenancy. After you approve an applicant, use a separate lease agreement to set rent, term, deposits, and house rules.

Should every applicant get the same form?

Yes. Using one standard application and consistent screening standards for each unit helps demonstrate fair-housing compliance. Only toggle optional sections (pets, parking, fee) based on property features, not applicant characteristics.

Rental Application - Alabama

Rental Application Template for Landlords | Doqu

Create a rental application to screen tenants. Collect income, rental history, and references while staying fair-housing compliant. Preview free, download as PDF or Word.

A rental application template is a standardized form landlords and property managers use to collect information from prospective tenants before approving a lease. It helps you compare applicants on income, rental history, employment, and references — while documenting consent for credit and background checks.

This is a single national template. Federal Fair Housing Act rules apply everywhere; state and local laws may add protected classes or limit application fees. Confirm fee caps and screening rules for the property’s location before you charge a fee or run reports.

What is a rental application?

A rental application (tenant application form) asks an applicant to provide identity and contact details, residence and employment history, financial information, references, and authorization for screening. You use the completed form — plus lawful credit and background checks — to decide whether to offer a lease.

Unlike a lease, the application does not create a tenancy. It is an intake and screening document you keep on file if you approve or deny the applicant (subject to record-keeping rules in your state).

A rental application collects facts and consent for screening. It does not guarantee approval, set rent terms, or replace a signed lease.

What can a landlord legally ask?

You may generally ask for information relevant to the applicant’s ability to pay rent and comply with lease rules, such as:

Topic	Typical questions
Identity & contact	Name, phone, email, government ID
Household	Other occupants, pets, vehicles (if parking is offered)
Income & employment	Employer, job title, supervisor contact, income
Rental history	Prior addresses, landlords, rent amounts, reasons for moving
Screening consent	Permission to verify information and pull credit/background reports
References	Personal or professional references (optional)

Questions about eviction history, broken leases, bankruptcy, or criminal convictions may be allowed in some jurisdictions when asked consistently of all applicants and used in a nondiscriminatory way. Local ban-the-box and fair-housing rules vary — verify what you may ask where the property is located.

Fair housing: what you must not do

Under the federal Fair Housing Act, you cannot discriminate in rental applications or screening based on race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation under HUD guidance), disability, familial status, or national origin. Many states and cities protect additional classes (source of income, marital status, veteran status, etc.).

HUD’s housing discrimination overview explains protected classes and complaint procedures. This template includes a fair-housing notice block matching common industry practice; it is not legal advice.

Application fees and screening

Many landlords charge a non-refundable application fee to cover credit and background checks. Whether you may charge a fee, how much, and whether it must be refundable if no check is run depends on state and local law.

State / area	Common rule (verify current law)
California	Fee capped at actual out-of-pocket screening cost; itemized receipt often required
Colorado	Cap on application fee amount (statute updated periodically)
Minnesota	Fee must be reasonable; refund rules if unit is filled
New York (state / NYC)	Strict limits and disclosure rules in many localities
Oregon	Fee caps and refund requirements
Washington	Fee limited to actual cost of screening

Enable the optional application-fee field in the form only if your jurisdiction allows the fee you plan to charge.

What this template includes

The guided form lets you configure the property address, optional co-applicant section, years of residence and employment history to request, optional eviction/broken-lease questions, pets/parking/smoking sections, personal references, application fee language, and applicant (plus optional landlord) e-signature lines.

Applicants complete blank fields on the printed or downloaded PDF — standard for rental applications — and sign the authorization and certification block.

How it works on Doqu

Configure the property

Enter the rental address and choose which optional sections to include (co-applicant, pets, parking, application fee, etc.).

Set screening options

Pick how many years of rental and employment history to require and whether to ask about evictions, broken leases, or personal references.

Preview, sign, and share

Review the live preview, collect the applicant’s e-signature on the authorization block, and download PDF or Word for your records.

Residential Rental Agreement (Sample) — record lease terms after you approve an applicant
Eviction Notice — if a tenant later breaches the lease
Real Estate templates — more landlord and rental forms
Landlord templates — eviction notices and rental applications

Frequently asked questions

Rental Application — other states

Browse rental application templates for other US states.