Apartment Applications: How Landlords Send Free Digital Forms

Sending rental candidates detailed apartment applications is among the best ways to protect your investment properties. But if you rush the rental application and tenant screening process, you could end up with tenants who miss rent, squabble with the neighbors, or endanger the community.

That’s why you need a solid, legally compliant application form to spot reliable tenants and avoid the nightmare ones. To help you out, we’ll walk you through how to send applications for free, what questions to ask, which to avoid, and how to make sense of the tenant background checks that arrive in your inbox.

Keep reading to learn how to send applications digitally and avoid renting to tenants who skip payments, ignore rules, or vanish without notice. Or, if you’d rather cut straight to the chase, start sending and receiving apartment applications right away.

Apartment Applications Can Help You Find Quality Tenants

When several tenants apply for the same apartment, how should you decide the best fit? In other words, what factors separate a reliable renter from a risky one?

Reveal great fits by gathering key details through a well-structured, legally compliant apartment application.

By collecting the right information, you’ll build a clear and accurate profile of each applicant. After they complete the application, you’ll receive a report showing employment status, rental history, credit score, and criminal background will help narrow the field and highlight the most qualified renters.

Your goal is to find quality tenants who pay rent on time, respect your property, and re-sign the lease year after year. Unvetted applicants, on the other hand, could miss payments, damage your unit, or break lease terms with reckless abandon.

Did You Know? All TurboTenant apartment applications come with detailed tenant-paid screening, which gives landlords an up-close look at an applicant’s criminal history, credit report, and eviction records (where allowed by law).

How to Send & Receive Apartment Applications

When filling a vacancy, you should start by:

• Marketing your rental across several high-trafficked platforms
• Scheduling showings for interested parties
• Sending digital apartment rental applications to candidates

When it comes time to send an application, there’s no need to build one entirely from scratch, as our free landlord software can handle the nitty gritty for you. Here’s how:

Step 1: Sign Up for a Free TurboTenant Account

First, sign up for a free TurboTenant account, and within a minute or two, you’ll be able to send unlimited rental applications to potential renters at no cost to you. Over 750,000 landlords already use the platform, making it one of the most trusted tools for streamlining the rental process.

One of the biggest things I’m always touting to my friends is that they need to get away from some of the time and energy they’re putting into things that can be done so much better and for literally next to nothing. – Craig Fisher, TurboTenant User

Step 2: Enter Basic Information About Your Apartment

Next, navigate to the “Properties” tab in your landlord dashboard and complete the basic information about your rental. Specify the housing type, address, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and square footage so renters know, without a doubt, which property they’re applying for.

Step 3: Invite the Renter to Apply for Your Property

Select the “Applicants” tab in your landlord dashboard and click the “Invite to Apply” button. Choose the property you just created, then enter the renter’s first and last name along with their email and phone number. Then, click “Invite.”

Next, fill in the rent and security deposit amount, and select the application type to send: Premium or Standard. Both include background, credit, and eviction checks, but Premium adds income analysis. In either case, the tenant will be responsible for covering the processing fee. Or, if you like, you can cover the charge yourself. Your call.

Step 4: Analyze the Completed Application and Screening Report

Once a renter completes their application and background check, we’ll send you an email prompting you to access their reports. Head to your dashboard to review their completed application for details such as income, rental history, smoking status, pets, and vehicle information.

You’ll also gain access to the applicant’s screening report, which includes credit score, criminal history, eviction records, and income analysis. With all vital information stored neatly in one place, you can confidently compare applicants to decide who’s the best fit for your rental.

Pro tip: Run a demo apartment application to see the exact form your tenants will fill out, submit, and share with you during the process.

Processing and Analyzing Apartment Applications

Once you receive a completed apartment application, you’ll need to review every relevant detail thoroughly. From verifying employment to checking references, each step below will help you decide whether an applicant is cut out to rent your property:

Review the Completed Rental Application

Once you receive the apartment application, start with a broad-strokes review. Look at income, number of occupants, pet details, smoking status, co-signers, and more. You’ll want to make sure the basics align with your rental requirements before digging too much deeper.

Verify Employment and Rental History

Next, verify the applicant’s employment status with the listed employer. Ask the applicant to give the employer consent to verify the information they’ve provided.

Then, review the applicant’s rental history across past addresses. Large gaps, frequent moves, or past evictions can raise red flags and may warrant a closer look before making your decision.

Analyze Credit, Criminal, and Eviction Checks

Now is where you might uncover some deal-breakers. Tenant background checks can reveal details applicants leave off the rental application (missed payments, past evictions, criminal charges, etc.), so take your time and scrutinize the results.

Start by analyzing an applicant’s credit score. Typically, a score above 700 indicates a financially responsible tenant, while a score below 600 may be cause for concern. Don’t use the credit score as your end-all be-all; looking at recent data often paints a clearer picture of the applicant’s current financial behaviour.

Next, review any criminal history that pops up on the background check and look for serious offenses that could put your property or its neighboring units at risk. Important: Check local laws to understand what types of offenses you’re allowed to consider when making a decision.

Finally, verify whether a tenant has ever been evicted. A history of eviction is often a significant cause for concern, as it may indicate that the applicant has had trouble paying rent or following lease terms in the past. Again, comply with state and local laws when analyzing eviction records.

Important legal note: When analyzing tenant screening reports, document your findings in detail and ensure any rental decision you make aligns with fair housing and screening laws.

Look for Inconsistencies or Red Flags

Did an applicant omit crucial information in their application? Are you finding conflicting details between the apartment application and the background check? Does the candidate have unexplained gaps in their employment or rental history?

If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, you should be very tentative about moving forward with a potential tenant.

In instances that require clarification, always give the applicant a fair chance to explain themselves. However, if their answers don’t hold up, trust your instincts and proceed with extreme caution.

Check in With the Applicant’s Past Landlords

While you may have reviewed an applicant’s rental history already, now it’s time to contact past landlords and gather more specific details. Ask them questions like: Did your old tenant pay rent on time? Did they follow the lease terms? Would you rent to them again?

Speaking directly with an old landlord can reveal information that reports might miss and help determine the applicant’s reliability.

Finally, always comply with fair housing laws and avoid asking questions that could be perceived as discriminatory or leading in nature. Violating these rules could put you at legal risk and undermine the fairness of your screening process.

Document EVERYTHING During Your Decision-Making Process

When interviewing tenants, making decisions based on screening reports, checking references, or reviewing inconsistencies in an application, document everything. Write down what influenced your decision and keep a record of every step.

This practice will help you immensely if someone ever questions your rental decisions. A clear paper trail will prove that you made a fair call, followed the law, and handled the screening process professionally from start to finish.

Federal Laws That Regulate Rental Applications

If you’re creating your own rental application, you should always understand the federal laws that limit what you can ask applicants. We already covered fair housing a bit, but we’ll break it down in further detail, as well as highlight some other laws you must understand.

The following nationwide regulations aim to protect tenant rights and help prevent discrimination:

Fair Housing Act (FHA): If you’re screening tenants, you can’t reject someone because of their race, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or family status. These protections apply from the first inquiry to the final decision.

Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA): Landlords must treat all applicants equally when evaluating credit history. Discrimination based on age, sex, race, or use of public assistance is prohibited under federal law.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): Landlords must offer reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities during both the application process and the rental period. Failing to comply with this requirement can result in serious legal consequences.

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA): The FCRA requires landlords to obtain written permission before running a credit check and must disclose any decisions made based on the screening results to the applicant. Failing this step could violate tenant rights under federal law.

Civil Rights Act of 1866: All citizens have the right to rent and own property, no matter their race or skin color. This protection has been in place since shortly after the Civil War.

Statewide Laws Regulating Rental Applications

Federal laws apply nationwide, but many states have enacted regulations that impact rental applications. To stay compliant, consult your state’s landlord-tenant laws.

Information Landlords Should Collect in Rental Applications

Landlords have the right to collect sufficient information to make an informed and legally sound decision. A solid apartment application includes financial details, rental history, and background information that help reveal whether an applicant will make a responsible long-term tenant.

The following information is legal for landlords to collect:

• Full legal name: Matches ID and keeps records accurate
• Contact information: Makes it easy to follow up quickly
• Employment details: Verifies income stability and job consistency
• Monthly income: Confirms the applicant can afford the rent
• Rental history: Shows reliability with past landlords
• Landlord references: Offers insight into tenant behavior
• Number of occupants: Confirms who will live in the unit
• Pet information: Helps enforce pet policies and deposits

Information Collected During a Tenant Background Check

• Credit score: Offers insight into payment habits and debt
• Criminal background: Flags offenses that may impact community safety
• Eviction history: Signals potential issues with lease violations or nonpayment

Information Landlords Shouldn’t Collect in Rental Applications

Landlords must avoid questions that violate fair housing laws or invade an applicant’s privacy. An apartment application should focus solely on relevant criteria tied to the applicant’s ability to pay rent and adhere to lease terms. Asking the wrong questions can violate screening laws and could result in fines or legal action.

The following information is illegal to collect:

• Race or ethnicity: Protected under federal law and irrelevant to screening
• Religion: Cannot factor into any rental decision
• National origin: Avoid questions about birthplace or citizenship
• Disability status or medical history: Violates Fair Housing protections
• Pregnancy or family status: Considered familial status discrimination
• Marital status: Violates familial protections
• Age: Off-limits unless in age-restricted housing

Use TurboTenant’s Free Digital Apartment Application Template

Finding quality tenants to fill your rentals starts with a rock-solid apartment application reviewed by legal professionals from TurboTenant. With our all-in-one landlord software, you can send and receive applications for free while staying compliant and streamlining the entire process.

In addition to rental screening, TurboTenant can help market your rentals across dozens of popular listing sites, generate state-specific lease agreements, collect rent for free, handle accounting and bookkeeping, and more — all from one centralized dashboard.

Sign up for a free TurboTenant account today to take the guesswork out of finding great renters.

FAQ: Apartment Rental Applications