Rental application form
A rental application exists to screen, not to charm — you need income, employment, household size and a clean answer on pets, from every applicant in the same shape so they can actually be compared. Free text turns that into paragraphs to read; number and select fields turn it into a spreadsheet. The one thing this form must not skip is consent: screening someone's credit and background without a recorded yes is the part that causes trouble, not the fields above it.
The form beside this text is live. Fill it in and submit it — it validates exactly as it would for a real respondent, and saves nothing.
Consent is a required checkbox, not an assumption
A single-option checkbox field can be marked required, and its label carries the actual consent wording — so the applicant cannot submit without agreeing, and what they agreed to is stored with their response rather than living in a separate signed document.
A closing date protects everyone, not just you
Setting a response cap or closing date in Settings stops new applications the moment you have enough to compare — which matters here specifically because every application past that point is someone who agreed to a background and credit check for a unit that was already filled. The cap is doing the applicant a favour as much as you.
No card required.
Rental application
Live previewHow to build this form
5 steps in the editor. Nothing here needs a paid plan.
- Add short text, email and phone fields for the applicant's contact details.
- Add a date field for the desired move-in date and a select field for employment status.
- Add number fields for monthly income and number of occupants, and a radio group asking whether they have pets.
- Add a checkbox field with your background-and-credit-check consent wording as the label, and mark it required — the applicant cannot submit without agreeing.
- In Settings, set a response cap or closing date once you have enough applications to compare, then export the set to CSV to screen by income and move-in date side by side.
Fields in this form
9 fields, using 8 of the 19 field types available.
| Question | Field type | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Short text | Yes |
| Yes | ||
| Phone | Phone | Yes |
| Desired move-in date | Date | Yes |
| Monthly income ($) | Number | Yes |
| Employment status | Select | Yes |
| Number of occupants | Number | Yes |
| Do you have any pets? | Radio buttons | Yes |
| Background and credit check | Checkboxes | Yes |
What goes wrong with this form
Specific to a rental application form, not general advice about forms.
Leaving the consent checkbox optional
If the box is not required, some fraction of applicants will submit without checking it, and screening them anyway is worse than asking again. A required field is the only way this actually gets agreed to before you act on the application.
Move-in date as free text
A text field produces "ASAP", "1st of next month" and "flexible" — none of which sort. A date field is what lets you compare applicants by the same move-in window without parsing English out of a spreadsheet cell.
Asking for income without employment status
A number alone does not say whether it is salaried, self-employed or a stipend, and each verifies differently. The select field next to it is what makes the number checkable rather than merely collected.
Questions about this form
What should a rental application form ask for?
Nine fields is enough: contact details, desired move-in date, monthly income, employment status, household size, pets, and a required consent checkbox for the background and credit check. Anything past that belongs in the conversation with a shortlisted applicant, not the form that screens them.
Can I require consent to a background check before someone applies?
Yes — add a checkbox field, put the consent wording in its label, and mark it required. The applicant cannot submit until it is checked, and the exact wording they agreed to is stored with their response, not in a separate document.
Is a rental application form legally binding?
No. This form screens applicants — income, employment, household size, consent to a background check — it does not create a tenancy. Submitting it commits neither side to a rental; the binding paperwork is still a signed lease agreement once you have chosen a tenant.
How many rental applications can I collect?
Up to 100 per form on the free plan — 2,000 on Basic, 5,000 on Advanced. A popular listing can reach the free-plan number inside a weekend, so set a response cap or a closing date in Settings once you have enough applicants to compare, rather than collecting until the number runs out on its own.