Tenant Screening Forms - Find the Right Tenant & Weed Out the Rest
Landlords shouldn’t tie a blindfold over their eyes and hand their keys to just anyone, but that’s what happens when they don’t screen their tenants. Screening tenants is about having the right forms in place and knowing the right questions to ask.
With The LPA’s tenant screening forms, you’re in the driver’s seat with who gets to rent your property.
Part of the Essential Landlord Forms Package
All of the below screening forms are included as part of the Essential Landlord Forms package. For only $149/year you can download and save these forms along with our ironclad leases, addendums, rent collection and property management forms.
The LPA rental application includes the best tenant screening information needed from a potential tenant to give you an idea if they are a great candidate for your rental.
A streamlined version of the original rental application with only the key essentials to conduct a quick and efficient screening of the potential tenant.
The LPA commercial rental application is a legally binding document that is designed to screen potential business tenants for buildings, office space, retail stores, and other commercial space.
Remove any doubt of whether the tenant is being up front with you. Not only will you have the tenant’s full authorization to do a criminal report with law enforcement agencies, but also the written authorization required to obtain a credit report. Keep in mind that the LPA rental application already credit authorization and screening fee agreement.
Ever rent to a tenant who was pushy and you couldn’t say no? Protect yourself with a denial letter to inform the applicant that their application was not approved. Simply check off the appropriate reason(s). If you reject an applicant because of negative information on his credit report, an Adverse Action Letter is needed to comply with FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) regulations.
The pet request and application is made for existing tenants as well as prospective tenants who desire to have a pet in the rental. This form allows the landlord to decide whether to accept or reject the request for a pet before entering into a Pet Agreement Addendum.
Have you ever wondered if the landlord reference is really the landlord reference? This handy qualifier helps you interview past and current landlord references.
A tenancy verification request form allows you to request a detailed tenant authrized written verification of tenancy from the potential tenant’s current or past landlord or property manager.
The employment verification form allows the landlord to request a tenant authorized written verification of employment from the tenant’s employer. This allows the employer to share confidential information such as income with the prospective landlord or property manager.
Before giving out the address of your rental property and committing your time to a doomed appointment with an unqualified renter, you can use the Tenant Finder™ telephone worksheet to more carefully evaluate which prospects are worth meeting with. Keep a stack on hand to screen all your potential tenants.
Score your Tenant Finder™ worksheet to evaluate the prospective applicant. Before making an appointment to show your property to an applicant, examine your findings. The LPA Tenant Finder™ prospect qualifying chart will help you determine a more accurate score for each applicant.
This is a popular Rental Binder used by many Realtors, landlords, and real estate agents across the US. Although many people actually use it as a basic rental agreement, it’s not really meant to be a rental agreement or rental application. It’s a pre-contract form used as a binder receipt to show an offer has been made with an earnest money deposit. Upon written acceptance of the offer by the owner/agent of the rental, it becomes a binder, whereby it is agreed that the rental will not be rented to anyone else before the agreed lease signing date. When not using the LPA Rental Applicationa, this form is especially helpful to rental agents and real estate brokers who collect their real estate commission from the tenant or the landlord because it provides a written agreement to pay the rental commission.
Benefits of Using Lease, Addendum, and Disclosure Forms from LPA
Judges and attorneys highly recommend these forms and advise landlords to take advantage of them. What benefits does a landlord receive with these documents?
They make your tenant’s obligations clear, allowing good tenants to do their due diligence.
A clear lease can save you thousands of dollars in legal fees since it spells out exactly what is required.
Protect your property by reducing your exposure to bad tenants and evictions. Bad tenants don’t like strong leases.
Use tested and proven addendums to your lease that have protected landlords already. The worst time to find out that you don’t have something important included in your lease is in the moment.
The Specific Lease Index allows you to verify your state’s requirements and any state-imposed limitations affecting your lease rental agreement. State requirements are listed with corresponding LPA lease clause numbers.
Utilize the Specific Notice Period Chart for the number of days a tenant has to cure default with pay rent or quit notice.
Additional Membership Benefits
Becoming a member of the Landlord Protection Agency also offers additional benefits to make property management much easier. Here are other benefits landlords enjoy with a membership.
Heads-Up Email Notices
Free Tenant Credit Reporting
Instant Credit Reports & Tenant Screening Background Checks with Discounts!
A specific pre-written set of emails disclosing payment reminders, renewal options, and lease violations so that you don’t have to create these. The work is already done for you. Copy, paste, and send!
As a landlord, receive guidance to report current and former tenant payment history, habits, and behaviors to national credit bureaus and our in-house tenant reporting database. All consumer reporting is done in strict compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) guidelines.
Great tenants are found through careful tenant screening. Use quick check credit reports through TransUnion Smartmove and receive the information you need about prospective tenants before they sign a lease.
Landlord Knowledge Bank Resources
Gain access to the Tips & Articles Library, Landlord Newsletter archive, and our Ask the Attorney Q&A section where you can submit your questions and receive answers from John Reno, an eviction attorney.
Best Practices for a Great Landlord-Tenant Relationship
A great landlord-tenant relationship is built on trust. By using these forms, you make communication easier and clearer. When you have concrete documentation on hand, there is less room for heated disagreements and false accusations.
Reviews
“We have known John Nuzzolese personally and used The LPA for about 7 years now. We feel they are a valuable resource for the Landlord community! So much so, that we have even shared their services with our North Florida Landlord Association (NFLLA). Thank you for all you do and keep up the great services you provide!” Dave & Laura Knollmueller
“Being a landlord is lot more than simply putting a for rent sign in the yard and living happily ever after. As a private lender, our goal is to ensure our clients understand the good, the bad and the ugly of being a landlord. We refer all our clients, novice and seasoned to John Nuzzolese & The LPA. Tips, tricks, traps and the right information and documentation every landlord needs to be aware of in order to minimize your risk & enjoy the benefits of what should be a profitable experience.” Sam Ally
Get All the Essential Forms for $149 with a one-year membership!
FAQs
What are the qualities of an ideal tenant?
An ideal tenant is someone who has regular monthly income, a great credit history, pays on time, and respects your property.
What is a rental application?
A rental application is a document used by landlords to discover more about a potential tenant. The document asks questions about residential history, employment, income, and particular background information. Rental applications are used by landlords at first to assess whether the prospect is a good fit for their rental. If so, then other documents including authorization for a background and credit check are the next steps in the tenant screening process.
Can a prospective applicant be charged for a credit and background check?
Yes, our rental application provides the option to charge the applicant the processing fees for the background and credit check.
When are rental application fees collected in the tenant screening process?
The rental application fee is collected at the time the applicant applies. This way, the landlord can begin processing the application and arrive at a decision to rent the property.
