What Can Landlords Ask on a Rental Application? Legal and Illegal Questions

A landlord can ask anything on a rental application that relates to whether the applicant can pay the rent and follow the lease: identity, income and employment, rental and eviction history, consent to run credit and background checks, the number of people who will live in the unit, pets and smoking. A landlord should not ask about anything tied to a protected class under the federal Fair Housing Act (race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status and national origin), or under state and local law, which often adds source of income, age, marital status, citizenship or immigration status and more.

Two rules sit on top of the questions themselves. First, ask every applicant the same questions and judge them by the same written criteria. Second, application fees are capped in some states (New York limits background and credit check fees to the lesser of actual cost or $20, for example), so check your state before you charge one.

Below: a question-by-question table, the federal rules behind it, state examples on source of income and fees, and sample written criteria. To build the application itself, use the free rental application form.

Quick answer: which questions are OK

"Depends" means state or local law, or the way you ask, can make it a problem.

Federal law: what you cannot ask about

The Fair Housing Act

The Fair Housing Act, at 42 U.S.C. §3604, bars refusing to rent or setting different terms because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status or national origin, and §3604(f) does the same for disability (the statute says "handicap"). Section 3604(c) also covers any "notice, statement, or advertisement" that shows a preference or limitation based on those traits. A question on an application is a statement, so a bad question can be evidence of discrimination even if you never use the answer.

Familial status means one or more children under 18 living with a parent or custodian, and it also covers someone who is pregnant or getting custody of a child (42 U.S.C. §3602(k)). Ask "How many people will live in the unit?", not "How many children?"

Disability questions

HUD's regulation at 24 CFR 100.202(c) makes it unlawful to ask whether an applicant, anyone who will live with them, or anyone associated with them has a disability, or to ask about its nature or severity. It allows a few narrow questions if you ask every applicant, including whether the applicant can meet the requirements of tenancy, whether they are a current illegal user of a controlled substance, and whether they have been convicted of illegally manufacturing or distributing one. So "Can you pay rent on the 1st and follow the lease rules?" is fine. "Do you have any medical conditions?" is not.

Pets and assistance animals

Ask about pets. But an assistance animal for a person with a disability is not a pet, and a request to keep one is a request for a reasonable accommodation under §3604(f)(3)(B), not something your pet policy or pet fee decides. Put a line on the application telling applicants not to list assistance animals as pets. HUD withdrew its assistance animal notices (FHEO-2020-01 and FHEO 2013-01) effective September 17, 2025, according to its April 2026 notice, but the statutory duty did not change. For pets that are pets, a pet addendum records the terms.

Occupancy

You can limit how many people live in a unit. The Act does not override "reasonable local, State, or Federal restrictions" on the maximum number of occupants (42 U.S.C. §3607(b)(1)). HUD's occupancy standards statement of policy, which adopted the Keating memo (63 FR 70256, December 18, 1998), says "two persons in a bedroom, as a general rule, is reasonable," but that the standard is rebuttable. Your local housing code may set its own limit. Set the limit by the unit, not by who is applying.

Credit and background checks: FCRA rules

Tenant screening reports (credit, eviction and criminal record reports from a screening company) are consumer reports under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. You need a permissible purpose to get one. 15 U.S.C. §1681b(a) lists them, including the consumer's written instructions (§1681b(a)(2)) and a legitimate business need in connection with a transaction the consumer started (§1681b(a)(3)(F)(i)). A signed authorization on the application covers this.

If anything in a report plays a part in a decision against the applicant, you must send an adverse action notice. The FTC's guide, Using Consumer Reports: What Landlords Need to Know, lists common adverse actions: denying the application, requiring a co-signer, requiring a deposit you would not require of another applicant or a larger one, and charging higher rent. Notice is required even if the report played only a small part. Under 15 U.S.C. §1681m(a) the notice tells the applicant which screening company supplied the report, that they can get a free copy from it within 60 days, and that they can dispute inaccurate or incomplete information. Details are in how to screen tenants, and if you approve with a co-signer, lease co-signer agreements covers the paperwork.

Criminal history questions

Federal law does not ban asking about criminal convictions, but it is the riskiest question on the form.

HUD's 2016 Office of General Counsel guidance on criminal records is gone. A Federal Register notice published July 17, 2026 lists "OGC Guidance Application of Fair Housing Act Standards to Use of Criminal Records" (April 4, 2016) among documents withdrawn effective September 25, 2025, which "should not be relied upon as authoritative." HUD's fair housing office also withdrew its 2022 memo implementing that guidance, effective September 17, 2025 (April 2026 notice). That notice adds that "Any actions that do not comply with the text of the Fair Housing Act continue to be subject to enforcement."

What that means for your application, as of October 2026:

• The Act still bars using criminal history as cover for treating applicants differently by race, national origin or another protected trait. Apply one written policy to everyone.
• Ask about convictions, not arrests, and define which offense types and how far back you consider. "Any criminal record" is hard to defend.
• The Act expressly does not prohibit turning down someone convicted of illegally manufacturing or distributing a controlled substance (42 U.S.C. §3607(b)(4)).
• Many states and cities restrict criminal history screening. Check yours before you put this question on the form.

State and local layers

Federal law is the floor. States and cities most often change two things.

Source of income

Several states make it illegal to reject an applicant because of a lawful source of income such as a housing voucher. Examples:

• New York: Executive Law §296(5)(a)(1) lists "lawful source of income" among the protected classes for rentals, along with citizenship or immigration status, age, marital status and others.
• Washington: RCW 59.18.255 bars refusing to rent based on source of income, which includes housing assistance, Social Security, veterans and other benefits. If you use an income test, you must first subtract any voucher or subsidy from the rent.
• California: SB 329, effective January 1, 2020, made housing vouchers a protected source of income under state fair housing law, according to the state's Civil Rights Department.
• Colorado: C.R.S. §24-34-502(1) prohibits source-of-income discrimination, and C.R.S. §38-12-801(2.5) requires most written rental agreements to include a statement saying so (landlords with 5 or fewer single-family homes and 5 or fewer total units are exempt). See Colorado landlord-tenant law.

Where source of income is protected, asking about all income so you can count it is fine; using a voucher as a filter is not. For the inspection, lease addendum and payment steps once you approve a voucher holder, see Section 8 for landlords.

Application fee limits

• New York: Real Property Law §238-a(1)(b) limits background and credit check fees to the actual cost or $20, whichever is less. You must give the applicant a copy of the check and the receipt or invoice from the company that ran it, and you must waive the fee if the applicant gives you a check completed within the past 30 days.
• California: Civil Code §1950.6 limits the screening fee to an inflation-adjusted cap and your actual costs, and requires an itemized receipt. The City of Berkeley's rent board lists the 2026 maximum as $68.96.
• Illinois: Public Act 104-0479, listed with an effective date of January 1, 2027, bars application fees, including background checks, over $50 (with a narrow exception for a third-party check that costs more and is billed with receipts within 14 days). It applies to leases entered after it takes effect and exempts owner-occupied buildings of 6 or fewer units.

Cities can add their own fee and screening rules. Check landlord-tenant law by state and your city before you set a fee.

Coming January 1, 2027: Colorado application disclosures

Colorado's HB 26-1196 adds C.R.S. §38-12-904(1.7), effective January 1, 2027. Every rental application must include:

1. A notice of the information and data you will try to access when screening
2. A general description of the factors you will consider, including credit history, rental history, income and criminal background, if applicable
3. Whether you use a third-party screening service, and if so its name

The law says it does not require you to adopt or disclose fixed disqualifying criteria.

Consistency: same questions, written criteria

Most fair housing trouble on applications comes from inconsistency, not from one bad question. Write your criteria before you advertise, give every adult the same application and fee, review applications in the order received, and note the reason for each decision. The rental application form includes a screening authorization you can hand to every adult. The full process is in the tenant screening checklist, and the protected classes are covered in more depth in fair housing laws for landlords.

Worked example: written screening criteria

A hypothetical example for a two-bedroom unit renting at $1,800 a month:

Screening criteria, 123 Main St., Unit 2

1. Income: combined gross monthly income from all lawful sources of at least 2.5 times the rent ($4,500). Where housing assistance is used, the test applies to the tenant's share of the rent only.

2. Rental history: no unpaid balance owed to a prior landlord, and no eviction judgment in the past 3 years.

3. Credit: we review payment history; medical debt is not considered.

4. Criminal history: we consider only convictions in the past 5 years for offenses involving violence against people or serious property damage. Arrests without conviction are not considered.

5. Occupancy: maximum 4 occupants, subject to local code.

6. Pets: one cat or dog under 40 lb with a pet addendum. Assistance animals are not pets and are handled as accommodation requests.

7. Smoking: no smoking anywhere on the property.

8. Fee: $40 per adult applicant, covering a credit, eviction and criminal report from [screening company]. Applications are reviewed in the order received.

9. Adverse action: if a report contributes to a denial or conditions, you will get a written notice of your rights.

Adjust each line to your state and city: the $40 fee would exceed New York's $20 limit, Washington requires subtracting vouchers before an income test, and some cities restrict the criminal history line.

Sources

Official sources cited above (checked 2026-10-27):

• 42 U.S.C. §3604, discrimination in the sale or rental of housing
• 42 U.S.C. §3602, definitions (familial status)
• 42 U.S.C. §3607, exemptions (occupancy limits, drug manufacture or distribution convictions)
• 24 CFR 100.202, prohibited inquiries about disability
• HUD occupancy standards statement of policy, 63 FR 70256 (December 18, 1998)
• HUD Office of General Counsel: Notice of the Withdrawal of OGC Guidance Documents (July 17, 2026)
• HUD FHEO: Notification of Withdrawal of Guidance Documents (April 2026)
• 15 U.S.C. §1681b, permissible purposes of consumer reports
• 15 U.S.C. §1681m, requirements on users of consumer reports
• FTC: Using Consumer Reports: What Landlords Need to Know
• New York Executive Law §296
• New York Real Property Law §238-a
• Washington RCW 59.18.255, source of income
• California Civil Rights Department: source of income enforcement (SB 329)
• City of Berkeley Rent Board: tenant screening and application fees
• Illinois Public Act 104-0479
• CFPB: What is a tenant background check and what rights do I have?
• Colorado HB 26-1196, 2026 Colo. Sess. Laws ch. 326
• Colorado Revised Statutes Title 38 (OLLS 2024 printout)