Michigan Rental Application

What type of information should landlords collect?

To find the most suitable tenants, you need to gather essential information to guide your decisions. A typical Michigan rental application asks each applicant for the following:

• Personal information: Names of all applicants, co-signers, and co-applicants, plus contact info, date of birth, SSN, and emergency contacts
• Financial information: Employment, income, rent payment history, and credit indicators
• References: Employer and landlord contact info for verification
• Rental history: Current address and recent rental history
• Animals: Type, breed, size, age of pets, and whether any qualify as service or support animals
• Smoking status: Whether the applicant smokes or plans to smoke on the property
• Vehicle details: Make, model, year, and license plate for each vehicle

By nature, rental applications ask for sensitive personal details, so both federal and Michigan laws regulate what landlords can ask and how they can use that information when selecting tenants.

With TurboTenant, every free account allows you to send and receive unlimited Michigan-specific rental applications. And worry not; our in-house legal team stays up-to-date with state and federal laws to help you stay compliant.

Pre-Screener

A pre-screener collects key data about a potential renter upfront: income, job status, pets, household size, and more. This early filter helps identify strong leads and eliminate weak ones before proceeding to the comprehensive rental application process.

Michigan law doesn’t mandate pre-screeners, but landlords who utilize them avoid wasting precious time on unqualified applicants. By asking candidates a series of questions before they apply, landlords quickly eliminate tenants who don’t fit their criteria.

Federal Application Laws

Federal law sets the foundation for how Michigan landlords screen rental applicants. These regulations apply throughout the application and background check process and carry legal consequences for non-compliance. Complying with these laws promotes fairness between landlords and applicants, reducing the likelihood of legal issues in the future.

Fair Housing Act (FHA)

The Fair Housing Act prohibits landlords from rejecting applicants based on any of the following protected traits:

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

Any question that uncovers protected information, such as “Do you plan to have kids?” violates the law.

The Fair Housing Act applies to landlords, property managers, staff, and anyone responsible for advertising rentals or selecting tenants.

Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA)

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits discrimination in credit-related decisions, including those involving rental applications and payment arrangements.

Like the Fair Housing Act, the ECOA prevents landlords from basing approvals or denials on the following protected traits:

• Race
• Color
• Religion
• Sex
• Marital status
• National origin
• Receipt of public assistance income
• Age (depending on if the applicant is legally able to enter a contract)
• Whether the applicant has exercised rights under the Consumer Credit Protection Act

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

The Americans with Disabilities Act protects applicants with disabilities from discriminatory treatment. It requires landlords to offer them reasonable accommodations, such as allowing a service animal at the unit or adjusting lease policies to meet specific needs.

To avoid discrimination claims, landlords should skip questions that attempt to uncover a disability. For example, asking an applicant something like “Will you need special modifications to the unit?” crosses the line and could invite legal action.

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

The Fair Credit Reporting Act sets clear rules for how landlords use credit and background reports during screening.

Before pulling any report, landlords must obtain written consent from the applicant. And, if the landlord rejects anyone based on the information from the report, they must send them an adverse action notice with the reporting agency’s name and contact information.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

The Civil Rights Act of 1866 gives every U.S. citizen the same right to buy, lease, and use property, regardless of race or color. Landlords who violate this law, whether intentionally or not, can face serious legal consequences.

Michigan Application Laws

In addition to federal laws, Michigan regulates the types of questions landlords can ask on rental applications and outlines when and how they can legally deny someone based on the information they receive.

Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) essentially reinforces the federal Fair Housing Act by banning housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, or familial status.

The ELCRA also protects against discrimination based on age, marital status, sexual orientation, and gender identity. The Michigan Department of Civil Rights outlines these regulations in detail within its official Fair Housing brochure.

Source of income: As of April 2, 2025, Michigan landlords who own five or more rental units are prohibited from denying applicants based on income sources such as housing vouchers, Social Security, disability benefits, or other lawful earnings (MCL 37.2502).

Criminal history: Michigan landlords may not ask about or review an applicant’s criminal history until after making them a conditional rental offer based on non-criminal criteria. They can only consider certain convictions (like recent felonies, arson, or sex offender offenses), and applicants must have the opportunity to respond before the landlord denies them (House Bill 4878).

Eviction history: Michigan law allows landlords to review eviction history during the screening process, but they must still apply screening standards consistently across all applicants.

Sexual orientation & gender identity: Michigan law bars landlords from denying applicants or mistreating tenants based on sexual orientation or gender identity (MCL 37.2102).

Pets, ESAs, and Service Animals

Michigan landlords may enforce no-pet policies in their rentals.

However, the federal Fair Housing Act treats service animals and emotional support animals (ESAs) differently. Because these types of animals are not considered pets, landlords must allow them in their rental units if a tenant provides proper documentation to prove their status.

As such, landlords may not charge pet fees, rent, or deposits for service or emotional support animals. Tenants must still pay for any damage caused by those animals within the rental unit.

Pet information: Landlords should inquire about applicants’ pets, service animals, and emotional support animals during the application process. If pets are allowed in the rental, the form should include questions about the number of pets, type, breed, size, and age.

Fair Housing Act: Federal law protects applicants who require service animals or emotional support animals. Landlords may not deny housing or charge pet fees based on the animal’s breed, size, or weight, even if the animal doesn’t meet the landlord’s criteria for in-unit pets.

Denial Process

When landlords deny an applicant, they must follow the law and apply consistent screening standards to everyone. In Michigan, valid reasons for denial include low income, bad credit, eviction history, unverifiable employment, or certain types of criminal convictions.

Denial notice: Michigan landlords must notify applicants of a denial, explain the reasons, and share any consumer report used in the decision with the tenant. They must also give applicants a chance to respond before finalizing the decision (House Bill 5605).

Credit/background denials: The FCRA requires landlords to send a written notice when they deny an application based on credit report information, which must explain that the decision came due to details surrounding the applicant’s credit history.

The notice must include:

• The name of the company that ran the credit or background check
• A written statement explaining the applicant’s right to dispute the report
• Contact information for the agency that provided the report

Document storage: Michigan law doesn’t set a required timeline for retaining screening records from rejected applicants. Still, best practice dictates that landlords hold onto them for at least 5 years to help defend against discrimination claims and demonstrate compliance with fair housing laws.