Rental Applications: A Guide for Landlords & Agents 

A rental application allows you to find out key information about the applicants to your property. In this article, learn the questions you should ask on your rental application form, what information you should provide and the next steps in the lettings process. 

What is a rental application?  

A rental application is a form that a landlord or letting agent provides to potential tenants to find out who they are and whether they are suitable for the advertised property. 

An application enables you to gain a well-rounded view of each applicant, what their needs are and whether the property is right for them. While certain questions are a legal requirement, such as full name, address, and date of birth, you can also include questions relevant to your needs. However, you must not discriminate based on gender, disability, race, sexuality or religion.  

What should be included in a rental application? 

When you supply a rental application form to prospective tenants, you must fill out information related to your legal obligations as a landlord or letting agent, the key selling points of your property, and your needs and expectations of each applicant. 

Your renter’s application form should start with the following: 

• Your contact details. Your name and contact information so applicants can get in touch.  

• Property information. Where the property is located and the date that it will be available for rent. 

• Lettings type. Whether you are looking for short or long-term applicants and the minimum term.   

• Whether the property is furnished, partly furnished or unfurnished. Including which larger items and appliances are included. 

• Rental payment requirements. Ongoing monthly rent payments (amount) and when this is due, plus the security deposit. 

• Key property features. Further information on additional features, such as garden and parking.  

You must also state what you will not accept at your property, such as pets (see notes below), young children or smoking, and include any penalty fees for lost items, such as house keys.  

Note that in England, the Renters (Reform) Bill (2023) stops you from placing a complete ban on pets. You may not unreasonably withhold consent when a tenant requests to have a pet in their home – you are legally required to fully consider all requests. The Tenant Fees Act (2019) is currently being revised and if proposed changes take place, you may need insurance to cover potential damage by tenant’s pets. 

Landlords and lettings agents in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, can no longer place a blanket ban on pets, but allowing pets is discretionary, but terms must be outlined within a tenancy agreement. 

H3 Questions for applicants 

Your rent application form should ask applicants for information that can help you gain a wider understanding of who they are, their current situation and their rental history. This should include:  

• Their personal information. Full name, date of birth, current address and contact details. If there is a joint applicant, their details should also be captured 

• An emergency contact.  

• Rental history (and/or mortgage history). Contact details of the applicant’s previous landlord, so you can contact them for a reference. Also, ask for mortgage details if relevant.  

• Employment history. Whether they are in full-time or part-time work and how long they have been in their position. 

• Proof of income. You can ask tenants to provide separate documents that illustrate proof of income so that you can be reassured that applicants can pay rent on time (and in full) each month. 

• Financial history. This can include whether they have ever made late rental payments or declared financial bankruptcy. 

• Criminal history. Convictions or serious offences. 

• Tenant references. Personal or professional reference – people who can highlight the tenant’s trustworthiness and suitability. 

• Additional information. Add sections that help you to gain a more complete view of an applicant’s behaviours and characteristics, such as: 

• Whether they drive or require parking availability (and for how many applicants) 

• Whether they smoke 

• Whether they have pets (how many and what kind of animals). 

An application form for tenants should also ask for permission to run a credit check as part of the background checks. These checks are paid for by the landlord or letting agent in England, Scotland and Wales. They should form part of your risk assessment and enable you to see whether an applicant has ever been declared bankrupt or has poor credit, to help you make an informed decision.  

Rental application form (template) 

Today’s date:	Property availability date:
Property address:
Lettings type:
Furnished/Partly Furnished/Unfurnished
Monthly rent:
Security deposit:
Pet deposit (if applicable):
Applicant 1 details	Applicant 2 details
Full name:	Full name:
Date of birth:	Date of birth:
Address:	Address:
Driving license details:	Driving license details:
Contact details	Contact details
Home phone:	Home phone:
Mobile:	Mobile:
Email:	Email:
Employment details	Employment details
Current employer:	Current employer:
Employer address:	Employer address:
Position:	Position:
Start date:	Start date:
Supervisor position:	Supervisor position:
Monthly income:	Monthly income:
Other sources of income:	Other sources of income:
Previous employment:	Previous employment:
Employer address:	Employer address:
Position:	Position:
Start date:	Start date:
Supervisor position:	Supervisor position:
Monthly income:	Monthly income:
Other sources of income:	Other sources of income:
Current rental information or mortgage company
Name:
Contact number:
Monthly rent or mortgage payments:
Move-in date:	Move-out date:
Previous rental information or mortgage company
Name:
Contact number:
Monthly rent or mortgage payments:
Move-in date:	Move-out date:
Tenant references
Name:	Name:
Address:	Address:
Contact number:	Contact number:
Emergency contacts
Emergency contact:	Emergency contact:
Relationship:	Relationship:
Contact details:	Contact details:
Occupants
List all occupants (including those 18 years or younger)
Pets
Do you have pets? Yes/No    If yes, please provide further details (Type/Breed/Age/Weight)
Vehicles
Do you have a car? Yes/No    If yes, please provide information (if applicable)
Make:	Make:
Model:	Model:
Year:	Year:
Credit history
Bank name:
Bank Address:
Contact number:
Checking account number:
List all credit obligations with minimum monthly payments:
Have you ever declared financial bankruptcy? Yes/No    If yes, please provide details
Have you provided any late rental payments in the last year?    If yes, please provide details
Have you ever broken the terms of a tenancy agreement?    If yes, please provide details
Have you ever been evicted? Yes/No    If yes, please provide details
Do you intend to use a guarantor? Yes/No    If yes, please provide details
Criminal history
Have you ever been convicted of a serious crime? Yes/No    If yes, please provide details
The above applicant and/or applicants declare that all statements made are true and complete. Applicant and/or applicants authorise information to be verified and for landlords or letting agents to obtain credit reports on the above applicant and/or applicants. If an applicant provides any false information, the respective landlord or letting agent is legally authorised to reject the application and to recoup all fees through processing the application.
Signature of Applicant 1	Date:
Signature of Applicant 2	Date:
Signature of landlord or lettings agent	Date:

 

Receiving an application: next steps   

Once you have received a completed rental application from a prospective tenant, you will need to assess whether the applicant is the right fit for your property. This may involve further screening checks.  

After you have decided on the right tenant for your property, you can provide the successful applicant/s with a legal tenancy agreement.  

Many landlords or letting agents allow applicants to sign tenancy agreements online via electronic signature or you can ask for applicants to sign the contract at a lettings’ office. If your tenant has a guarantor, they will also need to sign the agreement to state they will pay the rent if your applicant/s are unable. 

Once you and your applicant have both signed the agreement, this is a legally binding contract. Applicants will then be required to pay the first month’s rent upfront and provide the required deposit, all of which should have been outlined in the rental application. 

We make the rental application process easy 

At Landlord & Tenant Protection, we want to make lettings simple, for landlords, letting agents and tenants.  

Our unique portal allows you to set up your properties and lettings details online. You can then share an application link with prospective tenants, who can complete the online form and upload any documents, like copies of payslips, quickly and easily. Once you have decided to issue an agreement, you can do that on our portal too!  

We have also removed the need for tenant references or a guarantor. Instead, at the end of each tenancy, landlords will provide tenants with a unique rating, covering many aspects of the lettings process, such as communication, paying on time or the standard of property. You can gain ultimate peace of mind by checking your applicant’s star rating before issuing a contract.  

Learn more about how we work and our innovative Tenant Reference Rating. 

H2 FAQs 

H3 How long does a UK rental application take? 

A UK rental application form for tenants can take up to five days to process. On average, landlords and letting agents will respond to applicants within 72 hours, once they have completed background checks and have spoken with employers, previous landlords or checked out character references.  

Are tenancy application forms legally required? 

Tenancy application forms are not a legal requirement, nor are they legally binding. They are simply used to gain the applicant’s consent for background checks and provide landlords and lettings agents with the necessary information to progress an application.  

Once landlords and letting agents have received a rental application and chosen the successful applicants, a tenancy agreement is produced and signed by all parties. The tenancy agreement, unlike the application form, is a legally binding contract. 

Can I ask a tenant to provide a guarantor? 

If you have concerns about your applicant and their ability to make their rental payments each month, for example, due to a low credit score or lack of rental history, you can request for them to provide a guarantor.