Tenant Reference

Why this form exists, and what it will not do

Tenant Reference is for a former roommate, manager, or neighbor who saw the tenancy. The moment to use it: the applicant asked you to confirm how they lived, and the new landlord will read it. 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 Writer section asks for Your name, Phone, How you know the tenant. The Tenant section asks for Tenant name, Address you shared or managed, Dates. The Record section asks for Paid their share on time, Noise, guests, and care of the place, Would you live with them again.

Your name. The person writing. Phone. A number the new landlord can call. How you know the tenant. Roommate, manager, or neighbor. Tenant name. The applicant. Address you shared or managed. The home.

Dates. From and to. Paid their share on time. Only if you actually know. Noise, guests, and care of the place. What you saw. Would you live with them again. Yes or no.

People send this back, or refuse it, for ordinary reasons. You did not live with them or manage the property. You describe medical or family matters. You say they paid rent when you never saw the payments. 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. Tenant Reference 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

• You did not live with them or manage the property.
• You describe medical or family matters.
• You say they paid rent when you never saw the payments.

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 Tenant Reference 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

• Rental Inspection Checklist
• Move-In Inspection
• Move-Out Inspection

Questions