[Editor’s Note: The contents of this article do not constitute legal advice. Please be sure to check with a legal expert in your market before implementing these items into your documents.]
To be successful in the business of landlording, you have to know that the person who you are entrusting with your investment is going to care for your property and help you prosper in this business, rather than assist you going down in flames.
The legal part of the application is where the landlord covers their hiney and makes sure the applicant is fully aware of what happens with the information they supplied. To avoid any misunderstandings, I make sure my application includes the following information.
10 Legal Disclosures I Include in My Rental Applications
1. The Applicant’s Assurance
The applicant agrees that the information in their application is true and that an incomplete application or information discovered to be false is grounds for denial.
What landlord wants a tenant who lies from the very beginning?
2. The Application Fee
This is where the applicant is told in writing that their application fee is non-refundable and will be used to cover the landlord’s costs to verify the information they have listed on their application.
Related: How to Successfully (& Legally) Raise the Rent as a Landlord
3. Permission to Contact
Here the applicant is made aware of who the landlord (or the landlord’s representative/agent) will be contacting to obtain information as to whether the applicant is a suitable candidate for tenancy. Really, the applicant simply gives the landlord permission to contact whomever they deem necessary.
4. Liability
Make sure to include a clause that releases the landlord from any consequences that arise from screening the applicant.
5. Extended Authorization
We like to include a line or two that the information supplied by the applicant on the application may be used at any time during their tenancy or after their tenancy has ended. The information on the application is especially helpful for collecting debts after a tenant has vacated.
6. Consumer Report Information
If the landlord will be collecting a consumer report (for the background and credit check), the applicant must be given the name and address of the agency and told of their right to obtain a copy and dispute the accuracy of the report in the event of their denial.
7. Holding Fee
If the tenant is approved, provide the terms of when the security deposit, also known at this point as the “Holding Fee,” or “Deposit to Hold” must be paid to guarantee their position.
We allow our tenants 24 hours from the time of approval to supply the holding fee and also sign the Deposit to Hold Agreement, which states the specifics of how long the unit will be held for the applicant, as well as the consequences should they fail to meet all of their obligations and perform by the given date. No tenancy is guaranteed to the applicant until they have been approved and have paid the holding fee.
Related: 6 Common Application & Screening Mistakes Property Managers Make
8. Failure to Perform
Should the tenant fail to supply the holding fee for the rental within the specified time period (24 hours), the applicant is made aware that the rental will be made available to other applicants.
9. Move-in Requirements
This is where the tenant is made aware of what will be required of them after they are approved and before they are given keys, such as paying all move-in funds, deposits, fees, transferring utilities, signing a lease, and so forth.
10. Grounds for Denial
Finally, the applicant needs to be made aware that if they fail to meet the minimum standards for qualification due to information received from any sources or if they fail to perform during the application process, they will be denied.
Do you have anything you’d add to this list? Do you include all of these items in your application?
Comment below!
