Free Kentucky Rental Application Form
A Kentucky Rental Application Form is a screening tool you use to gather details from potential tenants before leasing. It covers personal, financial, and employment info. The form helps you assess eligibility. It also allows you to follow state and federal laws on discrimination and applicant consent.
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What Is a Kentucky Residential Rental Application?
Landlords use Kentucky rental applications to screen and assess potential tenants before committing to an official lease. This legal document allows you to safely and confidentially collect this data from the applicant to make an informed decision on if they are the right option for your rental property.
Rental applications are also sometimes known as:
- Applications for a rental property
- Lease applications
- Rental Lease applications
- Tenant applications
The rental application document you use must be designed with KY’s statutes (KRS Chapter 283) in mind. Nevertheless, you can use a rental agreement to collect the following information:
- The tenant’s rental history
- Information about their income
- Details on criminal record and credit history
- Personal references for the applicant
Kentucky Rental Application Sample
Looking over a readily prepared template of a rental application can make it much easier to create your own. Review our document sample below to get more familiar with what your application form will look like when it’s completed.

What To Include in a Kentucky Rental Application Form
It is important to request the right data from a tenant when asking them to fill in a Kentucky rental application and to make sure they are properly informed about the contract. This will be essential to make sure you get the right tenant into your property.
Almost all application forms for rental properties request some or all of the following information:
- Personal data
- Rental history
- Employment details
- Income information
- Credit history
- Personal references
- Permission for background checks
Additionally, landlords must provide vital disclosures to ensure that potential residents can safely use the property. They must provide details about:
- The property's condition (Move-In Checklist)
- Potential hazards (e.g., Lead-Based Paint for pre-1978 homes)
- The name and address of the property manager/owner
- Shared utility arrangements
- The security deposit (including the bank account location and account number)
- Associated fees
Note that in Kentucky, rent control is banned under state law (KRS § 65.875).
Kentucky Rental Application Laws
There are a few laws that must be followed in Kentucky when you create a rental application for tenants. Failure to comply with these rules could lead to serious legal consequences and allow the tenant to sue.
Application Fee
You can charge as much as you wish as a rental application fee (No Statute). There are no laws in Kentucky providing a set limit, although it is recommended to only charge enough to cover the costs of any background checks. Any amount charged to the tenant is also non-refundable.
Security Deposit
Kentucky doesn't set any limits on how much you can charge as a security deposit (No Statute). However, if you do charge a deposit, Kentucky law (KRS § 383.580) requires that you place the funds in a separate account used only for that purpose and provide the tenant with the account location and number.
Housing Discrimination Law
Kentucky has a specific state law, the Kentucky Fair Housing Act, which mirrors and expands upon federal protections. Under state and federal law, it is illegal to discriminate based on the following characteristics:
- Race and Color
- National Origin
- Religion
- Sex (including Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation)
- Familial status
- Disability
As a consequence, you are not allowed to use these details as a basis for rejection on a KY Rental Application form, nor to include them in the decision-making process.
Notice of Eligibility
You must disclose the screening criteria used during the application process, as well as anything that could lead to a refusal. While the referenced regulation (900 KAR 10:120) specifically pertains to Kentucky Health Benefit Exchange eligibility, general best practices in Kentucky real estate dictate that landlords provide a signature of acknowledgment to prove screening criteria were shared.
Consent Credit Check
Under the Federal Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), tenants being screened in Kentucky must consent to any credit checks you wish to carry out. To make sure you comply with the law, the applicant must provide written acknowledgment of the screening on the application form.
Other Real Estate Documents
There are various other legal documents that landlords must take into account when considering new tenants. Get expert guidance on preparing other personalized property forms with our other free printable templates for the following legal forms:
FAQs About Kentucky Rental Application Form
Understanding what your KY rental application can and cannot do is vital before you create your own from scratch. Find out more about how these screening documents work and what you need to know when writing them.
Creating a Kentucky rental application can be easily done with the help of our contract maker and template tools. When you fill out a rental application form, you will usually request the following information from the tenant:
- Personal data
- Rental history
- Employment details
- Income information
- Credit history
- Personal references
- Permission for background checks
You must also include important legal disclosures on the property and the lease agreement being proposed. This will outline details on the condition of the property, any hazards, and information on aspects such as security deposit and fees. Our template designer will help you add the data that must be added.
When you wish to rent out your property to a tenant, you can use a KY rental application to check the potential resident before they move in. This allows you to get important background information from the applicant.
In Kentucky you might use a rental application to find out any of the following about a prospective tenant:
- Whether they can afford rent or not
- If they have a positive or negative rental history
- If they are employed
- Their credit history
- Whether they have committed any crimes or felonies
A credit reference is a document that provides information on the credit history of an applicant for a rental property. This may be requested on Kentucky rental applications so that landlords can properly assess whether a potential tenant will be able to meet the rental payment schedule.
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