5 Rental Application Questions Landlords Should Ask

Rental applications give you, as the landlord, the rundown on any potential renters by providing all of their personal information on paper for you to view and compare with each other. When putting together your own rental application, there are some very specific questions you should ask that will help piece together a good idea of what the candidate will look like on your property. It will only help you so that you can compare all of the applicants. Hopefully, there are many applicants and that the perfect one is in there! To find that perfect tenant, you need to include these five rental application questions.

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1. What is your average monthly income?

The first thing you should know right off the bat on a rental application is the average monthly income of who is applying. This can be for a single person or for a group of roommates applying together. A tenant’s monthly income should, on average, be at least three times that of the rent. If they do not reach that requirement, they will have a difficult time paying for your property and can very easily fall behind on rent. You want to ensure that any applicants you decide to proceed with will have no difficulty paying for the apartment.

In addition to asking about the rent, you should also ask for proof of income, or at the very least, ask if they will be able to provide proof of income if necessary. Usually, this includes the applicants’ last few pay stubs or a letter from their employer. Unfortunately, anyone could simply lie about their income, but you want to weed out anyone dishonest. As you likely know, dealing with evictions is much more difficult than trying to find the right candidate to rent to.

2. Who will live in the unit?

While there may be one main person filling out the application, you do need to know how many people are actually applying for the unit together. This does not only include other people who plan on actually paying rent, but also any kids, partners, and even pets.

This allows you to anticipate any noise or messes that kids or pets can make. Both tend to be quite loud, and if you run a quiet community, this can be difficult to handle.

Plus, depending on your property and rules, you might not allow certain kinds of pets, but could be open to exceptions. Housing a large dog is very different from allowing a cat into your apartment. That being said, the rules are still up to you, and it is your decision how and when to enforce them.

3. What is your rental history?

Requiring rental history is extremely important to include on a rental application. This gives you a chance to look into any past evictions or ask for references from the previous landlord. It also gives a sense of how often they move. Most landlords want tenants who they know will stick around for a few years, so you don’t have to go through the entire process of finding a good tenant again. You want an applicant who shows that they typically stay in their apartments for a few years before moving on.

Other applicants may be first-time renters. First-time renters can be great, but difficult to find out what they would be like as tenants living on your property. If this is the case, it’s not a bad idea to ask for other references, such as an employer or an unrelated friend.

4. Why are you moving?

There are many reasons someone might be moving, and some are to be wary of. Reasons along the line of a new job or desiring a change of scenery are to be expected. On the contrary, some applicants may have been evicted. If an applicant was evicted, you should require a small explanation. Were they evicted due to lack of payment, continuous noise complaints, or something else? You should always request the contact information or contact the previous landlords yourself so that you can learn more about evictions right from the source.

5. What is your preferred move-in date?

Typically speaking, landlords want to get their apartment off the market as quickly as possible so that they can collect rent, so knowing the move-in date is essential. If the apartment is move-in ready already, you’re looking for rental applications that desire a move-in date within a few weeks. Anything over a month can be difficult, considering you want to make money from your rental property. However, the perfect candidate may be worth waiting for.

All landlords should ask these five questions to give you the necessary information you need to choose the best potential tenants to move forward with an interview. From there, you can find the best tenant to fill your apartment or property.