North Dakota Rental Application

What information should landlords collect? 

A positive landlord-tenant relationship in this Great Plains state begins with a rental application. This form helps landlords screen applicants effectively, select qualified tenants, and manage their investments effectively.

Your residential rental application form should ask for:

• Applicant, co-applicant, and co-signer names,
• Social Security numbers,
• Dates of birth,
• Email and phone number,s
• Emergency contacts,
• Employment, rental, and income histories,
• References,
• Current, previous, and past addresses, and
• Information on smoking, pets, and vehicles.

Because landlords use this form to collect sensitive information about renters, federal and state laws govern the types of questions they can ask and how they use that information during the screening process.

Below, we’ll cover North Dakota landlord-tenant laws, pre-screening, tenant screening laws, pets, the denial process, and more.

Free resource: Use TurboTenant’s free rental application form, complete with sample questions, to screen potential tenants. This easy-to-use template will keep your application forms neat, organized, and legally compliant.

Pre-Screener

When reviewing applications, landlords don’t want to sort through a mountain of paperwork trying to find out who meets their baseline criteria. That’s why pre-screeners exist.

With a quick pre-screener in place, landlords can focus on identifying the best fit rather than worrying about who might make rent collection a hassle or who burned their last landlord.

Your North Dakota pre-screener should ask for:

• General contact details,
• Household size,
• Move-in timelines,
• Employment info,
• Income,
• Credit scores (self-reported),
• Smoking statuses, and
• Pets/service animal information.

If the pre-screener results align with the property’s criteria, landlords can send a fillable North Dakota rental application to gather more information. Remember, though: While the pre-screener is a useful first step, it shouldn’t replace the standard application form.

Federal Application Laws 

Understanding federal laws is crucial for maintaining a compliant tenant screening process. Here are the five federal laws every landlord should know before choosing a tenant:

Fair Housing Act (FHA): Landlords can’t discriminate against applicants based on these seven protected characteristics:

• Race,
• Color,
• National origin,
• Religion,
• Sex,
• Familial status, or
• Disability.

The FHA bans advertising that discriminates or offers unequal rental terms. This law applies to all landlords, property managers, and employees who select renters (42 U.S.C. §§ 3601–3619).

Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA): Landlords can’t discriminate against applicants receiving public assistance, including those who have lived in public housing. This law also dictates how landlords assess credit reports and outlines guidelines for reporting to applicants (15 U.S.C. §§ 1691–1691f).

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): Landlords can’t discriminate against an applicant solely based on a disability, and they are required to accommodate the renter’s condition after move-in (42 U.S.C. §§ 12101–12213).

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA): Landlords must obtain an applicant’s written consent before accessing their credit history, and they must notify the applicant if they deny the application based on credit information found during their background check (15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.).

Civil Rights Act of 1866: Landlords can’t discriminate based on race or color and must treat all applicants equally (42 U.S.C. § 1981).

North Dakota Application Laws

Beyond federal law, landlords must also comply with the rental application requirements set out in the North Dakota Housing Discrimination Act.

Landlords can consider criminal background and eviction history when evaluating applicants, as these are not protected characteristics. Sexual orientation and gender identity are also not protected under state law. However, landlords must apply the same screening criteria to every applicant.

Source of income: “Status with regard to public assistance” is a protected characteristic in North Dakota, so landlords can’t deny or discriminate against applicants based on their source of income, including Section 8 vouchers (N.D. Cent. Code § 14-02.5).

Age: As of 2026, age is a protected characteristic, so landlords can’t consider it when making a decision (N.D. Cent. Code § 14-02.5).

Marital status: “Status with regard to marital status” is also protected, so landlords can’t consider whether a tenant is married during the screening process (N.D. Cent. Code § 14-02.5).

Portable tenant screening reports: Landlords can accept portable tenant screening reports, but no laws require their use or regulate how landlords must use them.

Pets, ESAs, and Service Animals

In 2024, there were 89.7 million pet dogs and 73.8 million pet cats in the U.S. But are landlords factoring in these animal companions when reviewing North Dakota rental applications? Here’s what to remember about pets, emotional support animals (ESAs), and service animals during the application process:

Pet information: Ask applicants to list the number of pets or service animals they have and provide details about each in the application.

Fair Housing Act: The FHA prohibits landlords from discriminating against applicants with ESAs or service animals. According to federal law, landlords can’t:

• Deny an applicant based on their ESA or service animal,
• Deny an application based on the weight, size, or breed of an ESA or service animal, or
• Charge a pet deposit, pet fee, or monthly pet rent for ESAs or service animals.

Landlords can, however, hold tenants liable for property damage caused by pets or service animals.

Denial Process

Ensure the application process remains legally compliant from start to finish by handling denials consistently across all applicants.

In North Dakota, landlords can deny applicants based on insufficient income, credit history, rental history, criminal background, or incomplete or false information.

Denial notice: North Dakota law doesn’t specify a formal denial process for landlords.

Credit/Background denials: Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, if a landlord denies an applicant based on a credit or background check, they must send an adverse action notice that includes:

• The reporting agency’s name and contact information, and
• A summary of the applicant’s right to dispute errors (15 U.S.C. § 1681m).

Document storage: No North Dakota law addresses how long landlords must retain applications or screening reports, but landlords should retain them in case they need to defend against discrimination claims.