Rental Application

Why this form exists, and what it will not do

Rental Application is for an adult applying to rent a house, apartment, or room from a private landlord. The moment to use it: the landlord asked for an application and did not hand you one. It sits in the Housing and rentals group on Papero. Applications, inspections, receipts, and letters for tenants and small landlords.

Fill it in this browser. Papero does not create an account, does not upload the answers, and does not keep a copy after you close the tab. When the preview looks right, print it or download a PDF. The PDF is built on your device. A blank download leaves the lines empty so someone else can fill them by hand.

Work through the page in order. The Applicant section asks for Full legal name, Phone, Email, Date of birth, Social Security last four. The Current home section asks for Current address, How long there, Current landlord, Landlord phone, Monthly rent now, Reason for leaving, Previous address, Previous landlord and phone. The Work section asks for Employer, Employer phone, Job title, Employed there since, Monthly take-home, Other monthly income. The Unit section asks for Property address you want, Monthly rent asked, Move-in date, Other occupants, Pets, Vehicles, Smoking. The History section asks for Eviction filed in the last seven years, Explanation. The Reference section asks for Personal reference name, Reference phone. The Emergency section asks for Emergency contact, Emergency phone. The Permission section asks for Landlord may contact my employer and current landlord.

Full legal name. Match your photo ID. Phone. A number you answer. Email. An inbox you check. Date of birth. On the ID. Social Security last four. Four digits only. Current address. Where you live now, with the unit, city, and ZIP. How long there. Months or years. Current landlord. Name. Write "owner" if you own. Landlord phone. A working number. Monthly rent now. What you pay. Reason for leaving. One sentence. Previous address. The home before this one. Write "none" only if this is your first residence. Previous landlord and phone. Name and a working number, or "owner" if you owned it. Employer. Current employer. "Self-employed" needs a year and a trade. Employer phone. A supervisor or HR line. Job title. The job you hold now. Employed there since. The date you started.

Monthly take-home. Money that reaches you. Other monthly income. Benefits or a second job you can document. Write 0 if none. Property address you want. The unit you are applying for. Monthly rent asked. The figure the landlord quoted. Move-in date. The day you could start. Other occupants. Names and ages of everyone who would live there. Do not omit a person. Pets. Type and weight, or "none." Vehicles. Make and plate, or "none." Smoking. Whether anyone in the household smokes. Eviction filed in the last seven years. Answer honestly. A yes with an explanation is better than a false no. Explanation. Dates and outcome, or "not applicable." Personal reference name. Not a spouse and not this landlord. Reference phone. A number they will answer. Emergency contact. Name and relationship. Emergency phone. A number that is not your own. Landlord may contact my employer and current landlord. A no here is a common reason an application is set aside.

People send this back, or refuse it, for ordinary reasons. Income is stated with no employer. The current landlord's phone is missing. People who will live there are left off. Read the finished page once as if you were the person receiving it. If a line would make you call back, fill that line.

Sign on the Signature and Date line. A typed name in the signature spot is weaker than ink on a printed page. Date it the day you sign, not the day you hope the other person signs.

What this page cannot do: This is not a lease, not a court filing, and not a city-mandated disclosure. Many cities add rent rules, just-cause eviction rules, and security-deposit deadlines on top of state law. Housing built before 1978 usually needs the federal lead-paint disclosure; this page does not replace that pamphlet or that signature. If a landlord hands you a portal or a paper packet, use theirs. Papero is not a law firm, not a government agency, and not the office that will accept or reject the paper.

State note for your state. Rental Application does not contain your state's required clauses, font size, language, or filing fee. Counties and cities inside your state sometimes add their own rule on top of the state. Before you rely on this for a lease, a school, a court, a bank, or an agency, compare it with the form that office publishes. If the office has no form, this template is a clear record of what you wrote and what you signed on this date.

After you print, use dark ink. Write "not applicable" on a line that does not apply, so a clerk does not treat a blank as a missing fact. Initial a correction beside the line. Do not cover a dollar amount with correction fluid. Each person who has a signature line signs their own name. One person cannot sign for another unless a statutory power of attorney, on the form that office accepts, already says so. Give the other party a copy the same day. On your copy, note the date and whether you handed it over, mailed it, or uploaded it to their portal. Attach copies of supporting papers, not your only original, unless the office demanded the original. Do not attach a Social Security card, a passport image, or a bank statement unless the recipient told you to, and then only in person or through their secure portal. Email is a common way those images are stolen. If the recipient is a government office, stop and use the form on that office's own site. Papero does not transmit this page, does not notarize it, and does not store it.

Keep a copy. Give the other party a copy. If you later change a fact, fill the form again and date the new copy. Do not scribble a second story into the margin of a page someone already signed. Write the date you handed it over, and how, on your own copy.

Before you rely on it

• Income is stated with no employer.
• The current landlord's phone is missing.
• People who will live there are left off.

This is not a lease, not a court filing, and not a city-mandated disclosure. Many cities add rent rules, just-cause eviction rules, and security-deposit deadlines on top of state law. Housing built before 1978 usually needs the federal lead-paint disclosure; this page does not replace that pamphlet or that signature. If a landlord hands you a portal or a paper packet, use theirs.

How to fill and print it

1. Fill the lines. Type into the Rental Application in this browser. Write "not applicable" on a line that does not apply. What you type stays in this tab and is not uploaded.
2. Check the preview. The boxed preview is the page that prints. Read it once as the person who will receive the paper.
3. Print or download. Use Print, or download a filled PDF or a blank PDF. The file is built on your device.

More Housing and rentals forms

• Apartment Application
• Room Rental Application
• Simple Residential Rental Agreement

Questions