Arkansas Rental Application

What information should landlords collect?

Rental application forms help landlords collect key information about prospective tenants who may one day live in their homes or apartments. This data helps verify an applicant’s overall reliability and determine whether they’re a good fit for a specific unit.

As part of the application process, landlords should use a form that covers the following details:

• Personal information: Names of all applicants, co-applicants, and co-signers, along with date of birth, Social Security number, and contact details
• Financial and rental information: Employment status, income history, and any prior evictions
• Pet information: Number of pets, along with type, size, and breed
• Smoking status: Whether the applicant smokes or vapes
• References: Personal and/or professional references
• Vehicle information: Number of vehicles and relevant details

Due to the sensitive nature of the data collected through rental application forms, landlords must comply with Arkansas landlord-tenant laws governing the application process. These regulations limit the types of information landlords can gather, how they may use that information to select a tenant, and the kinds of questions they may ask during the application process.

Below, we’ll also take an in-depth look at Arkansas residential rental application templates, including pre-screeners, application fees, denial processes, and more.

Pre-Screener

Before potential tenants apply for a rental unit, landlords can save everyone valuable time by asking applicants to complete a pre-screening questionnaire. A pre-screener covers essential information, including contact details, employment and income status, self-reported credit score, and more.

Pre-screeners can help landlords quickly and easily sort through interested tenants, weeding out those who may not be a good fit for a rental listing. And while these forms can help initiate the rental application process, landlords shouldn’t use them as a substitute for a comprehensive standard application.

Federal Application Laws

Certain federal laws apply to rental application processes nationwide. As such, landlords in Arkansas must ensure they administer tenant screening in accordance with these five nationwide laws:

Fair Housing Act (FHA): The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits landlords from discriminating against applicants on the basis of protected characteristics, including race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability. Landlords cannot deny housing solely because of these characteristics, nor may they ask about them during the application process.

The Fair Housing Act also prohibits discriminatory advertising, housing denial, and unequal lease terms based on protected characteristics. These rules apply to property managers and anyone else involved in the screening process (42 U.S.C. §§ 3601–3619).

Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA): Similar to the FHA, the ECOA prohibits landlords from discriminating against applicants based on the protected characteristics listed above. However, this set of regulations also prevents landlords from discriminating against tenants who receive public assistance.

This law limits how landlords can assess rental and credit applications, creating a more level playing field for all hopeful tenants (15 U.S.C. §§ 1691–1691f).

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): Under the ADA, landlords cannot discriminate against applicants with disabilities or deny applications solely because of a disability. Rental listings and communications with applicants should avoid language that could be viewed as discriminatory toward those with disabilities.

Additionally, landlords must allow tenants to make reasonable modifications to the property or dwelling unit, at their own expense, to ensure equal access (42 U.S.C. §§ 12101–12213).

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA): The FCRA regulates landlords’ use of credit reports in the rental application process. Landlords must obtain an applicant’s consent before initiating a credit check, and must also notify them if they denied an application solely due to poor credit history (15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.).

Civil Rights Act of 1866: This longstanding federal law prohibits housing discrimination based on race and ensures all U.S. citizens have the same rights to make and enforce contracts (including residential rental agreements). This law applies to tenant screening and rental applications nationwide (42 U.S.C. § 1981).

Arkansas Application Laws

In addition to federal laws, Arkansas has a variety of state-wide laws that govern the questions landlords can ask and how that information can be used in rental application templates.

The Arkansas Fair Housing Act, like the federal Fair Housing Act, prohibits discrimination during the rental application process. Here are a few things landlords should consider during tenant screening:

Criminal history: Landlords in Arkansas may inquire about a tenant’s criminal history during the application process. There is no specific state law requiring landlords to evaluate criminal history on a case-by-case basis.

Portable tenant screening reports: As of 2026, Arkansas has no laws prohibiting tenants from using portable tenant screening reports. Landlords can choose whether to accept them in their screening process.

Pets, ESAs, and Service Animals

Pet information: If a landlord decides to allow tenants with pets, they should include a section of the application for tenants to disclose information about their animals, such as the number, size, and breed of pets.

Fair Housing Act: As in the rest of the country, landlords in Arkansas cannot deny housing or discriminate against applicants due to an emotional support animal or a service animal, no matter the animal’s breed, weight, or size. Additionally, landlords cannot charge a pet deposit, pet rent, or other pet fees for emotional support animals (ESAs) and service animals.

With that in mind, tenants may still be held liable for the damages these animals may cause.

Denial Process

During the application process, Arkansas landlords will inevitably need to decline some applicants. In such cases, landlords should handle denials legally and apply the same criteria to all applicants. Valid reasons for denial include insufficient income, poor credit or rental history, and incomplete or false information on the application.

Denial notice: Although some states require landlords to issue denial notices to rejected applicants, Arkansas does not.

Credit/Background denials: If the landlord denied housing based on the results of a credit or background check, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires landlords to provide applicants with an adverse action notice that includes the name of the credit or background check provider, an explanation of the tenant’s right to dispute any inaccuracies discovered, and the contact information of the reporting agency (15 U.S.C. § 1681m).

Document storage: Unlike in other states, Arkansas landlord-tenant law does not require landlords to retain denied applications for a set time period. However, storing important screening documents is commonplace among landlords who aim to prevent future disputes with former applicants.