California Rental Application

What information should landlords collect?

A California rental application gives landlords their first chance to screen potential tenants. As such, it’s important to collect key information to assess whether an applicant is a good fit or not.

Information landlords collect within a rental application typically includes:

• Name and contact info
• Employment and income details
• Rental and eviction history
• Landlord references
• Smoking and pet status
• Vehicle information
• And more

TurboTenant, a property management platform for landlords, provides free online rental application templates to save you time and money.

Pre-Screener

Before sending out a rental application, many California landlords use a pre-screener to check whether or not an applicant meets minimum renter criteria.

Common pre-screeners ask for tenant contact information, employment status and job title, monthly household income, self-reported credit score, intended move-in date, number of occupants, pets, smoking/vaping habits, and more.

Pre-screeners save time for everyone involved but aren’t a suitable alternative to a comprehensive rental application or tenant screening report. Landlords can use them to filter out unqualified candidates but should think twice about using them to select their next tenant.

Federal Application Laws

Before diving into California state landlord-tenant regulations, we’ll first discuss the federal laws that influence rental application practices across all 50 states.

Fair Housing Act (FHA)

The federal Fair Housing Act restricts housing discrimination based on a candidate’s race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, and familial status.

Landlords can’t ask questions within rental applications that attempt to reveal protected characteristics, such as inquiring about where an applicant was born or whether or not they have children.

The FHA applies to anyone involved in renting, managing, or marketing property, including landlords, property managers, and their employees.

Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA)

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act strictly prohibits credit-related discrimination during rental application reviews that involve credit checks or payment plans.

Similar to the FHA, landlords can’t choose or deny tenants based on an applicant’s race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age (if legally able to contract), receipt of public assistance, or whether the applicant has rights under the Consumer Credit Protection Act.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, landlords cannot discriminate based on an applicant’s disability and must provide candidates with reasonable accommodations (like installing handrails or providing assigned parking spaces) if the landlord selected them as tenants.

Landlords must avoid asking questions on rental applications that hint at or attempt to uncover a tenant’s disability. For example, asking if an applicant has a health condition, physical limitation, or mental illness is strictly forbidden by law.

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

The Fair Credit Reporting Act governs how landlords can collect and use credit or background reports. In the United States, all landlords must:

• Obtain written permission to run credit and background reports
• Notify applicants if you deny their application based on the results of their report
• Provide an adverse action notice with the reporting agency’s contact info

Civil Rights Act of 1866

The Civil Rights Act of 1886 guarantees all U.S. citizens the right to buy, lease, or hold property, regardless of race or color. The federal government prohibits discrimination in any property-related transaction.

California Application Laws

In addition to the federal regulations covered above, California landlords must follow state and local housing laws like the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), which essentially mirrors the federal Fair Housing Act.

Below are additional California-specific rules that are relevant to rental applications:

Application Fee Law

California landlords can charge rental application fees, but only up to a state-defined maximum that adjusts annually for inflation. Landlords must also issue tenants a receipt and cannot charge more than the actual cost of screening. The landlord must refund the fee to the applicant if they never conduct the tenant screening (California Civil Code § 1950.6).

Credit Reporting Disclosure

Landlords must notify applicants in writing if they plan to request a credit report during the screening process. If the landlord denies the application based on information found within the report, they must also provide the name and contact details of the credit reporting agency (California Civil Code § 1785.20.5).

Criminal Background Checks

For properties with five or more rental units, landlords cannot ask about an applicant’s criminal history on the application or during initial screening and may only consider criminal background after making the tenant a conditional offer. If the landlord withdraws the offer, they must issue the applicant written notice and allow them a chance to respond (California Government Code § 12952).

California Civil Code § 1940.3

California landlords may not ask about or use an applicant’s immigration or citizenship status when making rental decisions. They can, however, request information to verify identity or run background checks as long as they apply the same screening procedures consistently to all applicants (California Civil Code § 1940.3).

Reasonable Accommodation Requirements

California landlords must make reasonable accommodations for tenants with disabilities, including adjusting the property’s policies or making physical accommodations that allow equal access to housing (California Government Code §§ 12927(c)(1), 12955.3, 12955.1(b)).

Emotional Support Animals

In alignment with federal laws, California law does not consider emotional support animals (ESAs) to be pets. Landlords cannot deny housing, charge pet-related fees, or enforce breed and weight restrictions for ESAs. Falsely claiming a pet as an ESA or forging paperwork is illegal and subject to penalties (California Health & Safety Code §§ 122317, 122318).

Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act (CCRAA)

The CCRAA outlines how landlords can collect and use an applicant’s credit information. Landlords must get written permission before pulling a credit report and notify a candidate of any denial based on the report. Tenants have the right to challenge any inaccurate credit data (California Civil Code §§ 1785.1–1785.36).

California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)

Some landlords must disclose how they collect, store, and share personal applicant data. Applicants can request access to their data, ask for its deletion, or opt out of its sale at any time. Note: The CCPA only applies to landlords who meet certain business-size thresholds (California Civil Code § 1798.100).

Denial Process

Landlords must reject tenants based on objective, non-discriminatory criteria. Common and legal reasons to deny an applicant include:

• Insufficient income
• Unverifiable or unstable employment
• Poor credit score or history
• Past evictions
• Criminal record
• False or incomplete information in the rental application

Denial Notice

California doesn’t require landlords to issue applicants a written denial notice unless they base their decision on the information found in a credit report. If so, landlords must comply with FCRA rules when notifying the tenant.

Credit/Background Denials

If a landlord denies a candidate based on a background or credit check, they must issue an adverse action notice with the following information:

• The name and contact info of the credit or background agency
• A summary of the applicant’s rights
• Instructions on how to dispute the report with the reporting agency

Denied Application and Screening Report Storage

California law doesn’t require landlords to hold onto denied applications or screening reports for any period of time after receiving them. 

Common practice, however, is to keep these documents securely for at least two years. By retaining denied applications and screening reports, landlords will be better prepared to defend themselves against legal action from applicants or audits from housing authorities.