Rental application form (PDF and Word)

A free rental application form in PDF and Word, with a signed screening authorization, a fair housing statement and no questions about protected classes.

Signed by: Applicant.

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Free, no sign-up. Updated September 30, 2026 by Suresh Ganapathy.

A rental application is the form a prospective tenant fills out before a landlord agrees to rent to them: contact details, where they’ve lived, where they work, references, and a signed authorization to run a credit and background check. Small landlords use it to compare applicants on the same facts. This free rental application form comes as a PDF and a Word file, and it’s built to keep you away from the questions that cause fair housing trouble.

When should a landlord use a rental application form?

Use it for every applicant, every time, before you offer a lease. The consistency is the point. If one applicant gets a friendly chat and another gets a credit check and three reference calls, you’ve created exactly the kind of uneven treatment fair housing complaints are made of.

Picture a hypothetical landlord with a two-bedroom unit in Tampa listed at $1,750. Five people tour it on a Saturday. With the same form in everyone’s hands, the landlord can line up income, rental history and references side by side on Monday and make a decision they can explain.

The application is only the first step. Once you pick someone, you sign a residential lease agreement or a month-to-month rental agreement. If you’re renting a spare bedroom in a home you live in, the room rental agreement fits that setup better, and you can still screen with this form first.

What’s on our rental application form?

Most of it is what you’d expect, with a few deliberate choices.

The unit and the move-in date. Which property the person is applying for, the rent they understand it to be, and when they want to move in. This avoids the “I thought it was $1,650” conversation.

Applicant details and other occupants. Name, phone, email, and the number of people who will live in the unit. We ask for the names of other adults, and each adult fills out their own application. We don’t ask about children’s ages or family relationships, for reasons covered below.

Rental history. Current and previous addresses, landlord contacts, rent paid and reason for leaving. Past landlords are usually the most useful reference you’ll get.

Employment and income. Employer, position, how long, and monthly income, plus a line for other income such as benefits or support payments. Ask for proof the same way from everyone.

Pets, vehicles and references. Practical items that affect parking, pet rules and the lease itself.

Application fee. The amount, what it pays for, and whether any of it is refundable. We left the amount blank on purpose.

Screening authorization and certification. The applicant confirms the information is true and authorizes you, or a named screening company, to check credit, rental history and public records for this application only.

What can’t you ask on a rental application?

Leave out anything tied to a protected class. HUD lists them: the Fair Housing Act bars housing discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status and disability. The statute itself goes further than refusing to rent. It also covers setting different terms for different people and publishing any statement or notice that shows a preference or limitation based on those traits. An application form is a statement you publish, so a question like “Do you plan to have children?” or “Where were you born?” is a problem even if you never act on the answer.

That’s why our form asks how many people will live in the unit but not their ages or how they’re related, and why it has no questions about health, disability, religion or national origin. If an applicant asks for a reasonable accommodation, such as an assistance animal under a no-pets policy, handle that as a separate conversation rather than a question on the form.

State and local fair housing laws often protect more groups, like source of income. Some also limit what you can ask about past evictions or criminal records. New York’s attorney general, for example, says a landlord there can’t deny an applicant based on a past legal conflict with a landlord. We left eviction and criminal history questions off the template for that reason. If your state allows them and you want to ask, check the rules first.

How do credit checks and adverse action notices work?

Federal law lets you pull a tenant screening report, but it comes with duties. The FTC explains that a landlord may get a consumer report on someone applying to rent or renew a lease, and must certify to the reporting company that the report will be used only for housing.

The duty people forget is the adverse action notice. If anything in the report leads you to deny the application, require a co-signer, ask for a deposit (or a bigger one), or charge more rent than you charge others, you must tell the applicant. The FTC says the notice has to include the name, address and phone number of the company that supplied the report, a statement that the company didn’t make the decision, and a notice of the applicant’s right to dispute anything inaccurate or incomplete. That applies even if the report played only a small part. The FTC also counts a screening company’s score or recommendation based on your criteria as a consumer report.

Are rental application fees limited?

In some states and cities, yes. New York’s attorney general says the most a landlord there can charge for a credit and background check before signing a lease is $20. Other places set their own caps or require refunds of unused fees, and plenty have no specific rule. Charge what the screening actually costs you, write the amount on the form, and look up your state’s rule before you post the listing.

How do applicants fill it in and sign it?

Give every applicant the same form and the same list of documents to attach, such as recent pay stubs.
Each adult who will live in the unit fills out and signs a separate application.
Collect sensitive identifiers (like a Social Security number) through your screening service if it offers that, rather than on a form that gets emailed around.
Review applications against written criteria you set in advance, such as income of a set multiple of the rent.
Keep completed applications secure, and dispose of them securely when you no longer need them.

Signing electronically works well here. The federal ESIGN Act says a signature or contract can’t be denied legal effect just because it’s electronic. For a primer, see are electronic signatures legally binding. Download the form, fill in your property details, and send it for e-signature with any tool you like. (We’re building SignWren for exactly this; join the waitlist if you’d like early access.)

This template and guide are general information, not legal advice. For a specific rental or dispute, talk to a lawyer licensed where the property is.

The rental application template

Download as Word

Template from signwren.com. General information, not legal advice. Check your state's rules and adapt it before you use it.

RENTAL APPLICATION

Fair housing statement. [Landlord or company name] does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status or disability, or any other characteristic protected by state or local law. Every applicant is asked the same questions and screened against the same written criteria.

Each adult (18 or older) who will live in the unit must complete and sign a separate application.

1. The rental

Property address: [street, unit, city, state, ZIP]

Monthly rent as advertised: [$ amount]

Desired move-in date: [date]

Desired lease: ☐ 12 months ☐ Month to month ☐ Other: [describe]

2. About you

Full legal name: [first, middle, last]

Other names used in the last 7 years (for screening only): [names, or "none"]

Phone: [number] Email: [email]

Government-issued photo ID: ☐ Driver's license ☐ State ID ☐ Passport ☐ Other: [type]. You will be asked to show it; the number is collected through the screening service, not on this form.

3. Who will live in the unit

Total number of people who will live in the unit, including you: [number]

Names of the other adults who will live in the unit (each completes their own application): [names]

4. Rental history

Current address: [street, city, state, ZIP]
Dates lived there: [from] to [present]
Monthly rent: [$ amount]
Landlord or manager: [name, phone, email]
Reason for moving: [reason]

Previous address: [street, city, state, ZIP]
Dates lived there: [from] to [to]
Monthly rent: [$ amount]
Landlord or manager: [name, phone, email]
Reason for moving: [reason]

5. Employment and income

Current employer: [name]
Position: [title] Start date: [date]
Supervisor or HR contact: [name, phone]
Gross monthly income from this job: [$ amount]

Previous employer (if less than 2 years at current job): [name, dates, phone]

Other income you want considered (for example benefits, support payments, investment income or a second job): [source and monthly amount]

You may be asked for proof of income, such as recent pay stubs, a benefits letter or bank statements. The same proof is requested from every applicant.

6. Vehicles

Vehicle 1: [year, make, model, color, plate number and state]
Vehicle 2: [year, make, model, color, plate number and state]

7. Pets

Do you plan to keep any pets in the unit? ☐ No ☐ Yes: [type, breed, weight, number]

An assistance animal for a person with a disability is not a pet. If you need a reasonable accommodation, tell the landlord separately and it will be handled outside this form.

8. References

Personal reference (not a relative): [name, phone, relationship]

Emergency contact: [name, phone]

9. Application fee

The application fee is [$ amount] per adult applicant. It covers [the cost of the credit and background report, and time spent verifying the application]. The fee is ☐ non-refundable once screening has started ☐ refundable if the unit is rented to someone else before your application is processed ☐ other: [describe]. The fee will not be more than the amount allowed by state or local law.

Paying this fee does not reserve the unit. The unit is reserved only when a lease is signed or a separate written holding agreement is made.

10. Authorization to check credit and background

I authorize [Landlord or company name] and its screening company, [screening company name, address and phone], to obtain consumer reports about me, including my credit history, rental history and public records, and to contact the landlords, employers and references I have listed, only to evaluate this rental application (and, if I become a tenant, any renewal or extension of my lease).

I understand that if the landlord denies my application, requires a co-signer, requires a deposit or a larger deposit, or charges me higher rent because of information in a consumer report, I will receive a written notice that includes the name, address and phone number of the company that supplied the report, a statement that the company did not make the decision, and my right to dispute the accuracy or completeness of the information in the report.

11. How your information is handled

The landlord will use the information in this application only to evaluate it and to manage any tenancy that follows. The landlord will keep this application and any reports secure and dispose of them securely when no longer needed.

12. Applicant's certification

I certify that the information in this application is true and complete to the best of my knowledge. I understand that false or incomplete information may be a reason to deny my application or, if discovered after a lease is signed, a reason allowed by the lease or by law to end it.

I agree this application may be signed electronically, and an electronic signature has the same effect as a handwritten one.

Signatures

Applicant
Signature: ______________________________
Name: [full name]
Date: [date]

For the landlord's use: Date received [date]. Fee received [$ amount]. Decision ☐ Approved ☐ Approved with conditions ☐ Denied. If a consumer report played any part in a denial or conditions, adverse action notice sent on [date].

Quick answers

What questions can't a rental application ask?

Under the federal Fair Housing Act, landlords can't refuse to rent, set different terms, or advertise a preference based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin or disability. Leave anything that touches those out of the form. State and local laws often add more protected groups.

Does a landlord need permission to run a credit check?

The FTC says landlords may get a consumer report for someone applying to rent or renew a lease, and must certify to the reporting company that they'll use it only for housing. Our form includes a signed authorization so the applicant knows exactly what will be checked.

What if the credit report leads me to turn someone down?

You have to send an adverse action notice. The FTC says that applies if you deny the application, require a co-signer, require a deposit or a larger one, or charge more rent than other applicants because of the report, even if it played only a small part.

Is there a limit on rental application fees?

In some places, yes. New York's attorney general says the most a landlord there can charge for a credit and background check before signing a lease is $20. Check your state and city before you set the fee.

Sources

This template and guide are general information, not legal advice. Laws vary by state; for anything important, have a lawyer licensed where you are review it.

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