The Rental Application Process: What to Expect

Expect to fill out an application with your ID, income, and past landlords, pay a screening fee where your state allows one, and wait while the landlord checks your credit, rental history, and background before it approves you, approves you with conditions, or turns you down. State law decides what you can be charged: Massachusetts and Vermont bar application fees, New York caps the screening fee at $20, and Colorado generally bars any fee when you bring a recent portable screening report, one you order yourself. If a screening report leads to a denial or worse terms, federal law requires the landlord to name the company that supplied it, and you can get a free copy from that company if you ask within 60 days.

What will the landlord ask for?

California's Department of Real Estate (DRE) says a rental application usually asks for:

• Names, addresses, and phone numbers of your current and past employers.
• The same contact details for your current and past landlords and for personal references.
• Criminal history information.
• A tax identification number, which may be your Social Security number.
• Your driver's license number.

Have proof of income ready too, such as recent pay records, bank statements, or records of government benefit payments. In California, a landlord must let you verify income that does not come from a job, because state law bars discrimination based on source of income. An applicant there without a Social Security number or driver's license can offer a government-issued photo ID, such as a passport or a foreign driver's license, instead. In Vermont, since July 1, 2025, a landlord cannot require a Social Security number or reject an application that lacks one, and must accept an unexpired government ID or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number for a background or credit check.

If your income or credit falls short of the landlord's standard, it may ask for a cosigner on the lease, someone who agrees to pay what you owe if you do not.

What does it cost to apply?

Screening fees depend on your state. Six examples:

Holding deposits. After a landlord offers you the unit, it may ask for a holding deposit to take the unit off the market. Before you pay, get written terms: the amount, how long the unit will be held, whether the money will be credited to your first month's rent or security deposit, and when it is refundable.

• California: if the landlord does not accept your application, it must return the entire holding deposit. If you are approved and then change your mind, the landlord can generally keep some or all of it, depending on its costs of holding the unit, such as lost rent.
• Washington: a holding deposit cannot exceed 25% of the first month's rent. When you pay, the landlord must give you a receipt and a written statement of when it can keep the money, and it must credit the deposit to your first month's rent or security deposit if you move in. A landlord there cannot charge any fee to put you on a waiting list.

Move-in fees vs. security deposits explains which of the charges due at signing you get back.

What does the landlord check, and how long does it take?

Once you apply, a landlord can order a consumer report on you from a credit bureau or tenant screening company, after certifying that it will use the report only for housing. Tenant screening companies collect records such as whether past rent was paid on time, damage to past rentals, and eviction lawsuits. Landlords can also check your credit score, criminal history, income, and references. In California, if you paid a screening fee, the landlord must give you a copy of the credit report it obtains on you within 7 days after receiving it.

Ask how long the process takes before you pay. The DRE suggests asking how long it will take to get your report and decide, whether the fee is refunded if the check takes too long and you have to rent elsewhere, and whether the landlord will accept a current credit report you already have instead of charging a fee. If you apply to several places, ask each landlord whether it accepts a reusable screening report, one you order yourself and can share with more than one landlord. A California landlord does not have to accept one, but if it does, it cannot charge a screening fee. A Washington landlord must tell you whether it accepts one, and if it does, it can still pull its own report but cannot charge you for it.

What happens after the landlord decides?

If you are approved, you sign the lease and pay the first month's rent and required deposits before you get the keys. The move-out timeline shows when to give notice at your current place, and apartment hunting tips cover what to compare if you are still choosing.

If a report counts against you, the landlord takes adverse action, which includes denying you or approving you only with a cosigner, a larger deposit, or higher rent than other applicants pay. Federal law then requires a notice, which can be oral, written, or electronic, that names the screening company and gives its address and phone number, says the company did not make the decision and cannot explain it, and tells you that you can get a free copy of the report if you ask within 60 days and dispute anything inaccurate. If a credit score was used, the landlord must also give you the score and the key factors that lowered it. Colorado requires a written notice stating the reasons for a denial, which the landlord must make a good-faith effort to send within 20 calendar days after deciding, and Washington requires a written adverse action notice that states the reasons.

Then take these steps:

1. Ask the landlord which item in the report caused the problem, as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) suggests, so you can explain it, for example with proof that a debt was paid.
2. Get your free copy and dispute errors with the screening company, which generally has 30 days to investigate, or 45 days in some cases.
3. Send any corrected report to the landlord and ask it to reconsider, or apply elsewhere with the corrected report.
4. Complain if needed. You can file a complaint with the CFPB about a screening company, or with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) if you think the real reason was discrimination. See your rights during tenant screening and fair housing protections.