How to Apply for a Rental Lease
When you apply for a rental lease, you are committing yourself to entering into a binding legal contract with the owner of the property--the landlord--to reside at the property for a specified period of time. The term of the lease can be as short as week-to-week or as long as a year or more. The most typical lease terms are month-to-month. Regardless of the length of the lease term, the application process is similar in each case and there are steps you can take to prepare yourself when applying for this important commitment.
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Instructions
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Get a copy of your credit report and make copies you can give to any prospective landlord to whom you intend to submit an application. By law, you are entitled to one free copy of your credit report in any calendar year from the three major credit reporting companies--Tran Union, Experian and Equifax. This report will be identical to what any landlord could obtain by paying for it.
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Review the laws of your state regarding the application screening fees or deposits that a prospective landlord can lawfully require you to pay as a condition for submitting an application for a rental lease. State laws vary significantly regarding how much can be charged and whether or not the fees or deposits must be refunded in the event your application is denied. The most readily available source for this information will be found through websites maintained by a state's department of consumer affairs, tenant associations or city rental control boards.
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Review the local ordinances of the city or county in which you want to live to determine if the rental housing is subject to rent control. In municipalities where housing is subject to rent control, such as New York City, there are usually rules that apply to the application process, such as a waiting list for medium or low-income units.
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Review any proposed lease carefully to determine what charges you will be expected to pay and confirm these charges in discussion with your prospective landlord. There are no standard leases when it comes to what can be charged in addition to rent, such as sewer and trash removal fees, utilities for common area lighting and security, or even management company monthly administrative fees.
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Tips & Warnings
When it comes to what you will pay to apply for a rental lease--application fees and deposits--do not hesitate to negotiate, particularly if you can provide the prospective landlord with a copy of your credit report indicating a good credit score and free of any eviction-related court cases. Creditworthiness is the ultimate concern for any landlord and there should not be any reason for the landlord to incur expenses on a background check after you provide a good credit report. The laws regulating the charging and handling of application fees and deposits are restrictions on what the landlord can lawfully do, but there is no requirement that you have to incur charges in the application process.
