Florida Rental Application

What information should landlords collect?

Collecting the right information in a Florida rental application beforehand can help prevent issues later on in the leasing process.

Be sure to collect the following:

• The tenant’s full name and contact information,
• Date of birth,
• Social Security number,
• Employment status and income,
• Rental history,
• Eviction history (if applicable),
• References from previous landlords or employers,
• Pet ownership status, and
• Vehicle details.

Rather than collecting all of this on a paper application, storing it in a binder, and manually inputting the information into a screening service, combine all those tasks with TurboTenant — plus, you can get it all done from your computer or mobile device.

Pre-Screener

Before issuing a rental application form, Florida landlords often use prescreeners to determine whether a candidate meets their minimum rental standards.

Typically, standard pre-screener questions cover:

• Contact information,
• Current employment status,
• Monthly household income,
• Self-reported credit score,
• Intended move-in date,
• Total number of occupants,
• Pet ownership details, and
• Smoking preferences.

Pre-screeners help landlords and tenants avoid wasting time, but they are not a viable substitute for detailed tenant screening reports.

Federal Application Laws

The following laws apply to all rental applications, regardless of whether they’re in Florida or not:

Fair Housing Act (FHA): The FHA prohibits landlords from discriminating against applicants based on the following protected characteristics:

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

A primary focus of the FHA is to prevent landlords from asking leading questions intended to elicit protected information, such as “What country were you born in?”

Federal FHA laws apply to property owners, landlords, property managers, employees, or anyone else who markets rental properties and makes decisions regarding tenant selection (42 U.S.C. §§ 3601–3619).

Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA): This federal law prohibits discrimination in credit-related transactions (including rental applications) involving credit checks or payment plans.

Similar to the FHA, the ECOA forbids landlords from choosing or rejecting applicants based on:

• Race,
• Color,
• Religion,
• National origin,
• Sex,
• Marital status,
• Age (as long as the applicant is legally able to enter a contract),
• Receipt of public assistance income, or
• Whether the applicant has exercised rights under the Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 1691–1691f).

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): The ADA prohibits landlords from discriminating against applicants with disabilities. Further, this law requires landlords to make reasonable accommodations for disabled tenants. Example accommodations include: wheelchair ramps, reserved parking spaces, and other accessibility features.

To avoid potential discrimination claims, landlords should avoid using language within rental applications that could reveal information about an applicant’s disability (42 U.S.C. §§ 12101–12213).

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA): The FCRA regulates how landlords can use tenant credit and background reports during the rental application process.

Landlords must obtain written permission from applicants before running a credit or background check, notify applicants who have been denied housing due to information in the report, and provide an adverse action notice with the name and contact information of the reporting agency (15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.).

Civil Rights Act of 1866: This set of regulations, passed immediately after the Civil War, affirms that all U.S. citizens possess the same personal property rights, regardless of race or color. Racial discrimination in any property transaction (rental, purchase, or otherwise) is illegal (42 U.S.C. § 1981).

Florida Application Laws

While landlords must comply with all of the laws above to meet federal regulations during the Florida rental application process, they must also comply with the 2026 Florida Fair Housing Act.

In addition to the Florida Fair Housing Act (which is very similar to the federal FHA), landlords must comply with the following Florida-specific laws when sending and receiving rental applications.

Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act: Chapter 83 of the Florida Statutes details the rights and obligations of Florida landlords and tenants, including specific legislation regarding rental applications.

Specifically, though landlords are free to charge as they see fit for Florida rental application fees, fees should reflect the actual screening costs. Landlords must keep these fees separate from other charges, like rent and security deposits.

In alignment with the FCRA, Florida landlords must obtain written consent from applicants before running credit checks. They don’t need permission, however, before looking into a tenant’s eviction or criminal history (Fla. Stat. § 83.40-83.683).

Rental applications by servicemembers: Landlords must process rental applications from active-duty servicemembers within 7 days. Failure to do so will result in an automatic approval of the rental application (Fla. Stat. § 83.683).

Sexual orientation & gender identity: In 2021, the Florida Commission on Human Relations announced it would interpret the Florida Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination against renters based on sexual orientation or gender identity (Fla. Stat. § 760.01).

Pets, ESAs, and Service Animals

Landlords who allow pets in their rentals should include a dedicated section in the Florida rental application form to collect key details, including the animal type, breed, and size. Screening parties can set criteria for the types of pets allowed in their rentals, but cannot deny tenants with emotional support animals (ESAs) or service animals.

Per federal law, ESAs and service animals are not considered pets, and landlords cannot deny an applicant housing because of them.

Additionally, landlords can’t reject applicants because of an ESA or service animal’s breed, size, or weight, even if those characteristics conflict with the rental unit’s pet policies. They also can’t charge additional fees, deposits, or pet rent to tenants who own ESAs or service animals.

Denial Process

Florida landlords can only deny rental applicants based on non-discriminatory factors, which include:

• Insufficient income,
• Employment status,
• Poor credit score or history,
• Eviction history,
• Relevant criminal background, and
• False or misleading information in the application.

Landlords must apply these criteria consistently across all applicants to avoid potential fair housing violations.

Denial notice: Florida law doesn’t require landlords to provide tenants with a written denial notice when rejecting a tenancy application unless the denial is based on information obtained from a credit report.

Credit/Background denials: The FCRA requires landlords to provide denied rental applicants with an adverse action notice, which must include:

• The name and contact information of the credit or background check provider,
• A summary of the applicant’s rights, and
• A statement informing the tenant of their right to dispute the information obtained in the report (15 U.S.C. § 1681m).

Document storage: Florida law does not regulate the length of time landlords must retain denied rental applications or screening reports. However, landlords typically retain these documents for at least 2 years after the denial date before disposing of them.

Retaining denied Florida rental applications or screening reports could help protect landlords during legal disputes or investigations from Fair Housing authorities.