Free Rental Application Form Template: Every Section and Field, Ready to Copy

Below is a complete rental application form you can copy for free: every section and field a landlord needs for a house, condo or apartment, with notes on why each is there. There is no rental application PDF to download. Copy the template into your own document, add your property details, and save it as a PDF or print it if you want a free printable rental application. It works as a house rental application form as written.

It is general information, not legal advice. Rules on what you may ask, what you may charge and how you may check vary by state and city, so check yours before you use it.

How to use this template

• One application per adult. Every adult who will live in the home fills in their own. It keeps income, history and consent separate for each person.
• Same form for everyone. Use the identical form for every applicant for the same home.
• Only ask what you will use. Every field below has a reason. If you will not check it, leave it out; you are responsible for keeping what you collect safe.
• Leave the most sensitive numbers to the screening company. If you run credit or background checks, the screening company can collect Social Security numbers and dates of birth directly, so they never sit in your inbox or a filing cabinet.

The rental application form template

Copy everything from here to the end of Section 12.

Section 1: The property

• Property address
• Unit number, if any
• Monthly rent
• Requested move-in date
• Requested lease length

Section 2: Applicant

• Full legal name
• Other names used in the past (for checking records)
• Phone number
• Email address
• Preferred way to be contacted
• Photo ID type (to be shown in person or uploaded; do not write the number here)

Section 3: Co-applicants

• Names of every other adult applying for this home
• Confirmation that each has submitted their own application (yes or no)
• Name and contact of any guarantor or co-signer, if you accept one

Section 4: Current address

• Street address, city, state, ZIP code
• Move-in date at this address
• Monthly rent or mortgage payment
• Rent or own
• Landlord or property manager name
• Landlord phone and email
• Reason for leaving

Section 5: Previous address

Repeat Section 4 for the previous address. Ask for as many years of history as you will actually check, and state it on the form, for example: "List every address for the past [number] years."

Section 6: Employment and income

Ask for the amount of other income, not its source. Some states and cities protect source of income, such as housing vouchers, and treating it differently can be unlawful there.

Section 7: References

• Previous landlord (if different from current): name, phone, email, address rented, dates
• One personal or professional reference: name, relationship, phone, email
• Emergency contact: name, relationship, phone

Section 8: Occupants

• Full names of everyone else who will live in the home
• Total number of occupants

Ask for names and the total, not ages or relationships. The number matters for your local occupancy code; the rest is not yours to screen on.

Section 9: Pets

Add a line at the end of the section: "Assistance animals are not pets. If you need an assistance animal because of a disability, tell us separately and we will handle it as an accommodation request." More on that below.

Section 10: Vehicles

• Number of vehicles
• Make, model, color and license plate for each
• Parking needed (garage, driveway, street)

Section 11: Other questions

• Do you or any occupant smoke? (If your home is non-smoking)
• Have you ever been asked to leave a rental, or broken a lease? If yes, explain. (Check your state and city rules first; some limit eviction and criminal history questions)
• Can you pay the move-in amount of [first month plus deposit] by [date]? (Yes or no)
• Anything else you want us to know

Section 12: Documents, consent and signature

Documents to attach or bring:

• Photo ID
• Proof of income: recent pay stubs, an offer letter or bank statements
• Landlord reference contact, if not listed above

Authorization text you can adapt:

"I confirm the information in this application is true and complete. I authorize [landlord or company name] to contact the employers, landlords and references I have listed to verify it. I understand that false or missing information can be a reason to decline my application."

Signature, printed name and date.

If you run credit or background checks, add a separate paragraph that names the screening company you use, and have the applicant sign that company's own authorization. Get this written permission before any report is ordered.

Consent and screening: who does what

A rental application is not a background check. If you want credit or criminal history, a tenant screening company produces the report, with the applicant's written permission. The FTC's guidance for landlords also says that if you turn someone down, or require something extra such as a co-signer or a larger deposit, because of what a report says, you must give them an adverse action notice with the screening company's contact details and their right to a free copy and to dispute it (FTC, Using Consumer Reports: What Landlords Need to Know, checked September 2026).

What you may not ask on a rental application

The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination because of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status and disability (HUD, Housing Discrimination Under the Fair Housing Act, checked September 2026). Leave off anything that asks about those, directly or indirectly:

• Race, ethnicity or color
• Country of birth, ancestry or "where are you from"
• Religion or place of worship
• Sex, gender, marital status or who the applicant is partnered with
• Whether they are pregnant, have children or plan to
• Ages of children or other occupants
• Disability, health conditions or medications
• Whether they need a wheelchair, service animal or other accommodation (they may tell you; you may not require it on the form)

A person with a disability can ask for a reasonable accommodation, such as an exception to a no-pets rule for an assistance animal. Read HUD's current guidance before you answer one. State and local laws can protect more characteristics, such as source of income, age or sexual orientation, so check yours.

Application fees

Whether you may charge a fee to apply, and how much, depends on your state and sometimes your city. New York, for example, limits it in its Real Property Law; renting without an application fee quotes that rule and covers the case for not charging one at all. If you do charge, say so in the listing, before anyone fills in the form.

After the application comes in

1. Check it is complete and signed.
2. Review applications in the order you received them, against the criteria you wrote before listing.
3. Verify: call the previous landlord as well as the current one, confirm employment, compare the documents with the application.
4. If you screen, order the report only after written permission.
5. Make a decision and tell every applicant the outcome in writing.
6. Store applications securely, and destroy what you no longer need under your state's rules.

Paper form or online application

Accepting applications online instead

Loftfolio puts an application form on every listing on your rentals website. Applicants never pay a fee to apply, because Loftfolio has no screening product; it does not run credit or background checks. You can ask an applicant for photo ID, proof of income or a reference, and they upload it to their application. Each application becomes one record with a status, notes and a message thread.

Only applications made on your own site become records. If someone asks about the home through a listing site, email or phone, reply with the listing's link and they apply there. Leases and screening stay outside Loftfolio.

→ See how Loftfolio works for landlords