New Jersey Rental Application

What type of information should landlords collect?

Naturally, landlords don’t want to rent an apartment, house, or home to someone they know nothing about. Both paper and online rental applications collect key information about a tenant, including the following:

• Personal information: The names of applicants, co-applicants, and co-signers, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, contact information, and emergency contact information
• Financial details: An applicant’s employment, rental, and income history will help determine whether landlords can expect reliable rent collection
• References: To get to know an applicant better, landlords may ask a tenant to provide personal and professional references
• Rental history: Verifying an applicant’s previous and current residences can inform landlords if the tenant has any outstanding rental issues
• Pets: Landlords should determine whether an applicant has any pets, emotional support animals, or service animals
• Smoking status: Landlords may ask whether the applicant smokes, especially if the property has a no-smoking policy
• Vehicle information: Details like make, model, year, and license plate number help manage parking and property use

New Jersey rental applications collect a range of sensitive personal information from tenants. Federal and state laws govern what landlords can request and how they can request that information during the application process.

This article covers those regulations and other key details about New Jersey rental applications, including pre-screeners, application fees, pet policies, and application denials.

Pre-Screener

Before starting the application process, landlords can ask interested tenants to fill out a pre-screener. This set of questions helps filter out renters who may not be a good fit for the unit, allowing landlords to focus on the most qualified applicants.

Pre-screeners typically include:

• Contact information
• Employment and income status
• Self-reported credit score
• Desired move-in date
• Number of occupants
• Pets
• Smoking status

While pre-screeners are a helpful tool that can save time and prevent issues down the line, they should not replace an exhaustive New Jersey rental application.

Federal Application Laws

Federal rental application laws apply nationwide, creating a consistent legal standard for landlords in every state. Many of these regulations are directly relevant to New Jersey rental applications, so landlords should understand how they apply during the screening process.

Fair Housing Act (FHA)

The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits landlords from discriminating against tenants based on characteristics such as race, color, religion, sex, and others. Landlords may not use discriminatory language in listings, ask about these characteristics in rental applications, or deny housing because of them. They cannot apply stricter lease terms or pursue eviction based on these factors, either.

Property managers and staff must also follow the FHA to avoid violating fair housing laws, which can result in civil and financial penalties. Complying with the FHA ensures that landlords evaluate applicants based on objective criteria, helping them find the most qualified tenants (Fair Housing Act).

Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA)

Like the FHA, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act protects tenants from discrimination based on race, gender, religion, and familial status. It also bars landlords from discriminating against applicants who receive public assistance or have previously lived in public housing.

The ECOA regulates how landlords evaluate rental and credit applications, prohibiting them from denying housing solely for these reasons (Equal Credit Opportunity Act).

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits landlords from discriminating against applicants with disabilities. Landlords may not deny housing based solely on a disability or use discriminatory language in listings or applications. They must also allow tenants with disabilities to make reasonable, necessary modifications to the unit, even if it requires adjusting existing policies (Americans with Disabilities Act).

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

The Fair Credit Reporting Act governs how landlords can obtain and use credit reports during the rental application process. Landlords must secure the applicant’s consent before running a credit check and must issue a notice if the credit report is the reason for denying the application (Fair Credit Reporting Act).

New Jersey Application Laws

In addition to federal laws, New Jersey has its own regulations governing rental applications. These rules limit the questions landlords can ask and how they can use the information when making housing decisions. Because they differ from other states, landlords should be fully familiar with New Jersey landlord-tenant laws.

Landlords should pay close attention to the Fair Chance in Housing Act and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. These laws restrict what information landlords can collect during the rental application process and set clear rules for how they can use it.

Source of income: New Jersey landlords may not discriminate against tenants based on their source of lawful income (New Jersey Law Against Discrimination).

Criminal history: In New Jersey, landlords typically may not ask about or consider an applicant’s criminal history. Exceptions apply only if the applicant has been convicted of methamphetamine-related offenses or is required to register as a sex offender (Fair Chance in Housing Act).

Eviction history: New Jersey law does not directly address whether landlords can reject an applicant based on their eviction history.

Sexual orientation & gender identity: New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination (LAD) prohibits landlords from discriminating against applicants based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression (New Jersey Law Against Discrimination).

Pets, ESAs, and Service Animals

When renting out a house or apartment, landlords must decide whether to allow pets. That said, they cannot deny applicants with an emotional support animal (ESA) or service animal. Also, tenants may still be held responsible for any damages caused by an ESA or service animal.

Pet information: Whether or not pets are allowed, landlords should include a section in the application asking if the tenant has a pet, ESA, or service animal.

Fair Housing Act: Under the FHA, landlords may not discriminate against applicants with an ESA or service animal. They also may not charge pet deposits, pet rent, or additional fees for these animals. Landlords cannot reject an applicant based on the breed, size, or weight of a service animal or ESA.

Denial Process

If a landlord evaluates strictly objective criteria and determines that an applicant isn’t the best fit for the unit, they may deny the application. However, they must handle denials legally and consistently among all applicants.

Common reasons for denying a New Jersey rental application include insufficient income, adverse credit or rental history, and providing incomplete or false information.

Denial notice: New Jersey does not require landlords to provide a formal application denial notice.

Credit/Background denials: If an applicant is denied based on information from a credit or background check, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires landlords to issue an Adverse Action Notice to the applicant that includes the following:

• The name of the credit or background check provider
• A reminder of the tenant’s right to dispute any inaccuracies
• The contact information of the reporting agency

Document storage: New Jersey landlord-tenant law does not require landlords to retain denied applications or screening reports, though keeping thorough records helps protect against potential discrimination claims.