Rental Applications

04/11/2013

What exactly is a rental application? A rental application is a document that landlords use in the process of finding suitable tenants for rental. It is a form that a prospective tenant must fill out that lists pertinent information about the individual such as full legal name, current address, and monthly income. This information will help the landlord determine whether the potential tenant will qualify for renting the unit.

This application will usually also require information about where the tenants used to live and how long they lived there, where they are employed and how long they have worked there. In addition, it may ask about rental-housing history and any criminal history. It will ask how many people will be living in the unit and for a close relative for contact purposes or in case of emergency.

Social security and driver’s license numbers are also critical information included on a rental application. In addition, two forms of identification may be required to make photocopies of to keep on record.

Having a thorough rental application can significantly help you through the screening process and keep accurate records. Many landlords perform credit checks and background checks as a part of this process and include an application fee to cover the costs of administration and 3rd party processing.

Making your rental application and payment options available online can also increase the ease of which your potential renters will apply and increase the number of seriously interested renters for your investment property because they are not limited to traditional business hours to interact with you.

So get a good application in place, make sure it outlines your terms and provides you with all of the information you need to keep accurate records.