Tennessee Rental Application

What information should landlords collect?

To find qualified tenants, landlords must collect vital information to guide their decision-making. A standard Tennessee rental application form typically requests the following details from each applicant:

• Personal information: Full legal names of all applicants, co-applicants, or co-signers, along with contact details, date of birth, Social Security numbers, and emergency contacts
• Financial information: Employment status, income sources, and indicators of creditworthiness
• References: Current employer and previous landlord contact information for verification
• Rental history: The applicant’s current address and a record of where they’ve lived in recent years, including payment history
• Animals: Whether the applicant has pets, including type, breed, size, age, and whether any qualify as service or Emotional Support Animals (ESAs)
• Smoking status: If the applicant smokes, and their intent to smoke on the property
• Vehicle details: Make, model, year, and license plate number of all vehicles associated with the applicant

Because applications involve sensitive personal information, federal and Tennessee laws set clear limits on what landlords can ask for and how they can use that information when selecting tenants.

To help landlords stay compliant, TurboTenant allows users to send and receive unlimited free applications tailored to Tennessee laws with every free account. And don’t worry, our legal experts regularly review state laws to ensure you stay compliant.

Pre-Screener

Tennessee law doesn’t require landlords to pre-screen tenants, but doing so can save time that would otherwise be spent sorting through unqualified applicants. It’s a simple way to narrow your applicant pool before diving into the full screening process.

A residential pre-screener typically asks for:

• Income,
• Employment status,
• Pet information,
• Number of occupants,
• Smoking/vaping status,
• And more.

Collecting these details helps you quickly identify strong candidates and filter out poor fits early. But keep in mind that pre-screeners aren’t a substitute for a full Tennessee rental application form and a complete screening process.

Federal Application Laws

Several federal regulations govern rental applications, and landlords must follow these rules when evaluating applicants and conducting background checks. Complying with the following laws helps ensure a fair screening process and reduces your risk of legal issues.

Fair Housing Act (FHA): The FHA prohibits landlords from discriminating against rental applicants based on the following protected characteristics:

• Race,
• Color,
• National origin,
• Religion,
• Sex,
• Disability, and
• Familial status.

Questions that attempt to reveal protected information, like “Where were you born?” are off-limits under the FHA. The law applies to landlords, property managers, their employees, and anyone involved in advertising rental properties or selecting tenants (42 U.S.C. §§ 3601–3619).

Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA): The ECOA prohibits discrimination in transactions involving credit checks or payment terms, including rental applications. In addition to the protected characteristics covered under the FHA, it prohibits landlords from approving or rejecting applicants based on:

• Marital status,
• Age (as long as the applicant is legally able to enter into a contract),
• Receipt of public assistance income, or
• Whether the applicant has exercised rights under the Consumer Credit Protection Act.

These protections apply when evaluating creditworthiness and setting payment terms (15 U.S.C. §§ 1691–1691f).

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): The ADA protects applicants with disabilities from discrimination and requires landlords to allow tenants with disabilities to make reasonable modifications to the dwelling unit, like installing handrails or a wheelchair ramp (42 U.S.C. §§ 12101–12213).

To avoid discrimination claims, landlords should avoid questions that could reveal information about a tenant’s disability. For example, asking “Do you have any medical conditions I should be aware of?” could lead to a costly ADA violation.

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA): The FCRA outlines how landlords must handle credit and background reports during the tenant screening process.

Landlords must obtain written permission from applicants before accessing their credit or background reports. If they deny an application based on information in either report, landlords must provide an adverse action notice that includes the name and contact details of the reporting agency (15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.).

Civil Rights Act of 1866: This federal law guarantees all U.S. citizens equal rights to own, lease, and use property, regardless of race or color (42 U.S.C. § 1981).

Tennessee Application Laws

Beyond federal guidelines, state law also governs the types of information landlords can request on a Tennessee application form and the circumstances under which they can legally reject an applicant based on that information.

As of 2026, Tennessee protects renters under the Tennessee Human Rights Act, which mirrors the federal FHA in many ways. The act aims to prevent discrimination in the application process based on race, religion, national origin, sex, disability, or familial status (Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 4-21-601—607).

Source of income: Tennessee law does not prohibit landlords from discriminating against rental applicants based on their source of income. Landlords can legally refuse to rent to those who intend to use housing vouchers, such as Section 8, or other public assistance to pay rent.

Criminal history: In Tennessee, landlords may consider an applicant’s criminal history during the screening process, but they must do so carefully under the federal Fair Housing Act. Policies that result in blanket denials for applicants with criminal histories can lead to discrimination claims if they disproportionately impact protected classes.

Eviction history: Tennessee landlords can factor an applicant’s eviction history into tenant selection decisions.

Sexual orientation & gender identity: Tennessee law does not provide specific protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. However, the federal FHA prohibits sex-based discrimination, which the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) interprets to include both sexual orientation and gender identity (HUD No. 21-021).

Pets, ESAs, and Service Animals

In Tennessee, landlords can enforce no-pet policies in their rental properties.

However, the federal FHA classifies service animals and emotional support animals (ESAs) separately from pets, so landlords cannot apply pet restrictions to them. As such, landlords must accommodate tenants with disabilities who need assistance animals.

Additionally, landlords cannot charge pet fees, rent, or deposits for service animals or ESAs living with a tenant. That said, tenants remain responsible for any damage their animals cause to a rental unit.

Pet information: During the Tennessee application process, landlords should ask applicants whether they have pets, ESAs, or service animals. If pets are allowed, the application form should request details such as the number, type, breed, size, and age of each animal.

Fair Housing Act (FHA): As noted earlier, federal fair housing laws protect applicants who have ESAs or service animals. Landlords cannot deny housing or impose pet-related fees based on the animal’s breed, size, or weight, even if those restrictions would otherwise violate the property’s pet policy.

Denial Process

Landlords must lawfully deny applicants and apply consistent screening criteria to all prospective tenants. In 2026, valid reasons for rejection include insufficient income, poor credit, past evictions, criminal history, or providing false or incomplete information on the application.

Denial notice: Tennessee law doesn’t require landlords to inform applicants of a rental denial or explain the reason. However, federal law requires notice if the landlord bases the denial on information obtained from a credit or background report.

Credit/Background denials: Under the FCRA, when a landlord rejects an application based on information in a credit report, they must issue the applicant a written adverse action notice (15 U.S.C. § 1681m).

This notice must include:

• The name of the company that performed the credit or background check,
• A statement notifying the applicant of their right to dispute any inaccuracies in the report, and
• The contact details of the agency that supplied the report.

Document storage: Tennessee law doesn’t require landlords to retain records of rental application denials, but we consider it a best practice to store rejected applications, screening reports, and related documents for 1 to 2 years. Keeping these records can help protect against discrimination claims and create clear documentation of the selection process.