Arizona Rental Application

What information should landlords collect?

Since a rental application form is a landlord’s first opportunity to get to know a potential renter, they must cover all essential information. Property management software (like TurboTenant) often offers landlords free rental application templates to send and receive applications digitally.

Rental applications gather the information landlords can use to determine who will fill their vacant properties. Still, federal and state laws dictate what type of information landlords can collect and how they can use it to accept or deny an applicant.

Arizona rental applications should collect information regarding the following:

• Personal info: The applicant’s name (and co-applicant or co-signer), date of birth, personal email, social security numbers, emergency contact, smoking status, vehicle details, and more.
• Financial details: Employment status, income history, and credit details (unless landlords are conducting their own tenant screening).
• Personal and professional references: Landlords sometimes ask for employment verification through a letter or phone call and potentially request references from previous landlords.
• Rental history: Knowing an applicant’s previous rental experiences could help landlords make an informed decision on the application.
• Pets: If landlords accept pets in the house/apartment/home, knowing this information from the applicant beforehand can be helpful.

Streamline your application collection process and invite renters to apply digitally.

Pre-Screener

Sometimes, a landlord will ask an applicant to complete a quick pre-screener before going through the application and screening process. Doing so can save the landlord and the applicant time by seeing if they’re a good fit before they apply.

Pre-screeners often cover the basics, like:

• General contact info
• Employment status
• Current income
• Self-reported credit score
• Desired date of move-in
• Number of occupants
• Smoking status
• Pets

Check applicants at a glance with a TurboTenant pre-screener. They’re included with every application.

Federal Application Laws

Several federal anti-discrimination laws have been passed to ensure all U.S. residents have an equal playing field regarding housing.

Fair Housing Act (FHA): The Fair Housing Act is a federal law prohibiting landlords from discriminating against applicants based on protected characteristics, including:

• Race
• Color
• National origin
• Religion
• Sex
• Familial status
• Disability

Not only is it illegal to deny an application based on one of the above characteristics, but it is also illegal to inquire about any of them. Asking questions on an application like, “What is your religion?” or “What is your sexual orientation?” is strictly against the law.

This law applies to landlords, property managers, and any employee who works on the property or in the property management office (Fair Housing Act).

Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA): Landlords are not allowed to discriminate against applicants based on the same criteria in the FHA, nor anyone who has received public assistance or has lived in public housing of any kind. This law also establishes guidelines for how a landlord can assess credit reports and provides reporting guidelines for applicants (Equal Credit Opportunity Act).

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): Landlords can’t deny an application based on an applicant’s disability and must also provide renters with reasonable accommodations for their disability (Americans with Disabilities Act).

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA): The Fair Credit Reporting Act directs landlords to get written consent from an applicant before running a credit check. Landlords must also notify tenants when they’re denied because of their credit history (Fair Credit Reporting Act).

Civil Rights Act of 1866: Landlords must treat all applicants equally and cannot decide based on race or color (Civil Rights Act of 1866).

Arizona Application Laws

While the federal government has established a broad set of rules regarding how landlords should treat applicants when applying for a rental, each state will also impose guidelines according to its specific landlord-tenant laws. Online rental applications must follow all the same rules as paper applications.

The Arizona Residential Landlord Tenant Act is a comprehensive set of laws that govern all aspects of housing and property rental in the state. As with the Federal Fair Housing Act, Arizona also prohibits rental decisions based on protected characteristics and requires that landlords treat all applicants equally.

Source of income: While no state laws currently ban a landlord from denying a rental application based on a source of income (including Section 8 housing vouchers), many cities in the state, including Tempe and Phoenix, have passed laws to prevent this practice.

Criminal history: Arizona does not have a specific law that prohibits or allows a landlord to deny an application based on criminal history; however, landlords must consistently apply all screening policies to all applicants.

Eviction history: While the law in Arizona doesn’t specifically address using eviction histories as a qualifier, Arizona landlords can legally factor in a tenant’s eviction history before making a decision.

Sexual orientation & gender identity: The Arizona Fair Housing Act prohibits landlords from weighing sexual orientation or gender identity in the application process (Arizona Fair Housing Act).

Pets, ESAs, and Service Animals

If a landlord allows pets in their rental units, it’s wise to include a section in the Arizona rental application to collect information about the animal(s).

Landlords cannot discriminate against an applicant if they have an emotional support animal (ESA) or a service animal. However, the tenant can be held liable for any damage the animal may cause to the unit.

Pet information: Landlords can legally ask applicants if they have pets, including ESA’s or service animals.

Fair Housing Act: The FHA prohibits landlord discrimination against an applicant for having an ESA or service animal. Landlords cannot charge pet rent, a pet deposit, or any pet fees for service animals or ESAs. They also cannot deny housing based on the animal’s breed, size, or weight.

Denial Process

To avoid potential issues, landlords should process all Arizona rental applications similarly. While landlords can deny applications based on insufficient income, poor credit history, adverse rental history, criminal backgrounds, and incomplete or false information, they should apply denials consistently across the board.

Denial notice: Arizona does not require landlords to deliver a formal denial notice to applicants.

Credit/background denials: If the applicant is denied based on their credit history, the FCRA requires landlords to notify the tenant with the following information:

• Name of the firm that ran the credit or background check
• An explanation of the tenant’s right to review and dispute the report
• Contact details of the reporting agency

Document storage: Arizona law requires landlords and property managers to store documents that contain tenant-specific information, including Arizona rental applications, for at least one year after the expiration of the rental agreement, or from the application date if the applicant is denied (ARS 32-2175).