Application to Rent — RPI Form 553

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This form is used by a leasing agent, property manager or landlord when an individual prospective tenant applies to rent a property and they are screened for creditworthiness and qualification for payment of rent, to obtain financial, employment and personal information on the tenant and authorize the landlord to obtain a credit report.

Your use of RPI Form 553

Prospective residential tenants and the rental application

A residential landlord or property manager initially assesses whether a prospective tenant meets their expectations and requirements for occupancy of a residential property by use of a rental application prepared and submitted by the prospective tenant.

A rental application, like a job or credit application, is used by a landlord to determine whether a prospective tenant qualifies to rent or lease a property. [See RPI Form 553]

Information the residential rental application typically asks of prospective tenants includes:

the names, addresses and phone numbers of:
- current and past landlords;
- current and past employers;
- people to use as references;
the applicant’s social security number;
the applicant’s driver’s license number;
general credit information, such as automobiles and financial accounts; and
eviction and bankruptcy history.

By submitting the rental application to the landlord, the prospective tenant authorizes the landlord to obtain a credit report from a credit reporting agency.

Landlord’s screening criteria and screening process

Landlords who conduct an application screening process for prospective tenants are required to hand all prospective tenants a rental application form together with a writing stating the landlord’s screening criteria. [See RPI Form 553]

The criteria for a residential landlord’s application screening process include:

applications are screened in the order received;
the first prospective tenant who meets the landlord’s screening criteria is approved for tenancy;
subsequent applicants in the queue after an approval are not considered and are not charged an application screening fee;
application screening fees are refunded to unselected prospective tenants whose applications are collected concurrently within the earlier of:
- seven days after selecting another prospective tenant; or
- 30 days after the application was submitted;
the prospective tenant may request the landlord to apply the application screening fee to another rental unit the landlord has available; and
the landlord need not refund the screening fee to a prospective tenant who is denied occupancy when they do not meet the landlord’s screening criteria. [Calif. Civil Code §1950.6(c)(2)]

Application screening fees

As part of screening a prospective tenant, the landlord may charge a nonrefundable application screening fee to cover the costs of obtaining information about the prospective tenant, including a credit report. [CC §1950.6(a)]

The amount of the application screening fee is limited to the landlord’s out-of-pocket costs of gathering information, including the cost of screening the tenant’s credit history and the reasonable value of time the landlord spends obtaining information on the prospective tenant. The fee may not exceed the statutory base amount of $30 per applicant, established in 1998 and adjusted annually for inflation. [CC §1950.6(b)]

A residential landlord may not charge a prospective tenant an application screening fee when no rental unit is immediately available or will become available within a time frame which accommodates the prospective tenant. [CC §1950.6(c)(1)]

The landlord provides the prospective tenant with a receipt for the fee when paid personally, or by mail or email with the tenant’s permission. The receipt itemizes the out-of-pocket expenses and time the landlord spent obtaining and processing the tenant’s information. [CC §1950.6(d)]

When the landlord does not check the tenant’s references or credit, the landlord returns any amount of the screening fee not used to the tenant. [CC §1950.6(e)]

When a prospective tenant pays an application screening fee, the landlord provides them with a copy of the tenant’s consumer credit report within seven days of the landlord’s receipt of the report. [CC §1950.6(f)]

Reusable tenant screening reports

Landlords may choose to accept a reusable tenant screening report supplied by the prospective tenant and prepared by third-party screening providers. The prospective tenant shares the link to the online report with the landlord.

The reusable tenant screening report gives the landlord information about the tenant’s creditworthiness and displays the prospective tenant’s:

name;
contact information;
verification of employment;
last known address; and
eviction history. [CC §1950.1(a)]

A reusable tenant screening report is:

prepared within the previous 30 days by a consumer reporting agency at the request and expense of the prospective tenant;
made available to the landlord or available through a third-party website; and
available to the landlord at no cost to access or use. [CC §1950.1(e)(6)]

When the landlord accepts a reusable tenant screening report displaying a date indicating it is current, the landlord is barred from charging the tenant:

a fee to access the report; or
an application screening fee.

Pet addendum with rental application

Residential landlords and property managers who allow household pets often put restrictions on a tenant’s pets to limit damage and risk to the property, including restrictions on the species, breed, size, age and number of pets.

In the recent past, tenants with household pets were unaware of a landlord’s pet policy until after they apply to rent a unit, and only then do they learn the full details of the landlord’s pet policy through an addendum to the rental or lease agreement.

However, beginning April 1, 2027, a residential landlord discloses their pet policy upfront. Their pet addendum is provided through a hyperlink or other means for prospective tenants to independently access the pet addendum:

on the property’s website;
in any digital advertisement under the landlord’s control and in any digital advertisement on a third-party website, as long as the third party allows a hyperlink or other electronic access; and
on residential rental search engines the landlord supplies with information, as long as the search engine allows a hyperlink or other electronic access. [CC §1942.7.5(b)(1); See RPI Form 563]

Critically, the landlord always provides their pet addendum as part of any rental application they provide to prospective tenants. On the landlord’s electronic delivery of the rental application, the landlord will include the pet addendum. [CC §1942.7.5(b)(2)]

The residential rental application form includes a space for the prospective tenant to acknowledge receipt of the attached pet addendum. The Realty Publications, Inc. (RPI) Application to Rent contains this provision. [See RPI Form 553]

Analyzing the rental application

A leasing agent, property manager or landlord uses the Application to Rent published by RPI when an individual prospective tenant applies to rent a property and they are screened for creditworthiness and qualification for payment of rent. The form allows the landlord to obtain financial, employment and personal information on the tenant and authorizes the landlord to obtain a credit report. [See RPI Form 553]

The Application to Rent contains:

date and city;
the amount of monthly rent the tenant is to pay;
property address;
the amount of the application screening fee and method of payment;
the amount of deposit for first month’s rent the tenant paid and method of payment;
a checkbox indicating the tenant acknowledges receipt of the property’s Pet Addendum [See RPI Form 563];
a blank for the landlord to list their application screening criteria;
applicant information for two different applicants, including:
- name;
- date of birth;
- social security number;
- driver’s license number and state;
- phone number; and
- email address [See RPI Form 553];
names of additional occupants;
rental history, including:
- whether the applicant has ever been a party to an eviction;
- whether the applicant has ever filed for bankruptcy;
- present residence, including:
  - address, city and zip code;
  - length of residency;
  - monthly rent amount;
  - landlord or agent’s name;
  - landlord or agent’s Department of Real Estate (DRE) license number;
  - landlord’s address, phone number and email address;
  - reason for moving;
  - moving date;
- previous residence, including:
  - address, city and zip code;
  - length of residency;
  - monthly rent amount;
  - landlord or agent’s name;
  - landlord or agent’s DRE license number;
  - landlord’s address, phone number and email address [See RPI Form 553];
- employment information for up to two applicants, including:
  - name of employer;
  - employer’s address;
  - employer’s phone number and email address;
  - length of employment;
  - position;
  - wages;
  - pay period;
  - union;
  - previous employer;
  - previous employer’s address;
  - previous employer’s phone number and email address;
  - additional income amount;
  - source of additional income; and
  - the person receiving the additional income [See RPI Form 553];
general credit information, including:
- up to two automobiles, with the following information:
  - make;
  - year;
  - model;
  - license number and state; and
  - lender;
- bank name;
- checking account number;
- savings account number;
- two credit references, including:
  - name of creditor;
  - address of creditor;
  - account number;
  - amount of balance due; and
  - phone number;
- personal reference;
- address of personal reference;
- phone number and email address of personal reference;
- nearest relative with name and relationship;
- address of nearest relative;
- phone number and email address of nearest relative;
- emergency contact with name and relationship;
- address of emergency contact;
- phone number and email address of emergency contact [See RPI Form 553]; and
signatures: the applicant(s) sign and date the form, authorizing the landlord to complete a credit check. The landlord signs and provides their name, phone number and email address to acknowledge receipt of the application to rent and credit screening fee. [See RPI Form 553]