Free Rhode Island Rental Application Form

The Rhode Island Rental Application Form is a formal document used to screen applicants before a lease is signed. It covers everything from employment history to income verification. Using this form allows you to vet candidates thoroughly while staying within the bounds of federal housing laws.

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Table of Contents:

What Is a Rhode Island Residential Rental Application?
Rhode Island Rental Application Sample
What to Include in a Rhode Island Rental Application Form
Rhode Island Rental Application Laws
Other Real Estate Documents
FAQs About Rhode Island Rental Application Form

What Is a Rhode Island Residential Rental Application?

A Rhode Island rental application is a legal document used by landlords and property managers to assess and choose an appropriate tenant for a rental property. They are sometimes known by other common names, such as:

Tenant applications
Rental lease applications
Lease applications
Applications for a rental property

Having a rental application can prove highly important to make sure you get the right tenant into your property. The process of screening prospective residents in this way allows you to discover any issues such as their inability to pay rent or the likelihood to cause a nuisance before signing a contract.

Rhode Island Rental Application Sample

It’s sensible to look over the template of an RI rental application before starting your own. This can help to give you a better idea of what your final form will look like and the kind of information you’ll need to add to it.

Rental Application for Rhode Island Sample

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What to Include in a Rhode Island Rental Application Form

It is important to request the right data from a tenant when asking them to fill in an RI 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 information from the tenant, this usually includes their personal data, rental history, employment details, income information, credit history, personal references, and 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
Potential hazards to the tenant
Shared utility arrangements
Rent control rules
Smoking policy
The security deposit
Associated fees

Rhode Island Rental Application Laws

There are a few laws that must be followed in RI 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

Landlords in Rhode Island generally cannot charge a rental application fee. Under § 34-18-59, you may only charge a tenant for the actual cost of a credit check or criminal background check. Furthermore, if the applicant provides a report dated within the last 90 days, you cannot charge them any fee at all.

Security Deposit

Landlords cannot charge more than 1 months' rent if they are leasing an apartment under Rhode Island law (§ 34-18-19).

Housing Discrimination Law

Rhode Island has robust protections under the Rhode Island Fair Housing Practices Act. In addition to the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA), state law prevents landlords from discriminating against tenants based on:

Race or color
Nationality or ancestral origin
Religion
Sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity/expression
Familial status
Disability
Marital status
Victim status (domestic abuse)
Lawful source of income (including government assistance)
Military status

As a consequence, you are not allowed to ask for any of these details on an RI Rental Application form, nor to include them in the decision-making process. However, in Rhode Island, certain exemptions from fair housing laws exist. These are as follows:

Housing for older persons: it is allowed to ask for an applicant's age for age-restricted communities (such as senior housing).
Familial status: landlords may ask whether children will occupy the premises for two-family owner-occupied buildings.
Private clubs: clubs that do not operate publicly and do not rent for commercial purposes can give preference to certain applicants.
Religious organizations: religion can be used as a basis for giving priority to certain applicants for properties that are owned or managed by a religious organization that does not rent with commercial intent.
Mrs. Murphy exemption: dwellings with four units or fewer, in which one unit is occupied by the owner, and where the landlord is not represented by a real estate agent, are exempt from certain fair housing requirements.

Notice of Eligibility

Tenants must be told about any specific screening criteria, as well as the reasons that they could be denied or approved by the landlord. To show that this information has been shared, a signature of acknowledgment from the tenant is required.

Consent Credit Check

Under the Federal Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), tenants being screened in Rhode Island 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.

FAQs About Rhode Island Rental Application Form

Having a good idea of what you can and cannot usean RI rental application for is important. In our FAQs below, we explain what is and isn’t allowed when you create your own form.

What Is The Screening Process in Rhode Island?

When you wish to rent out your property to a tenant, you can use anRI rental application to check the potential resident before they move in. This allows you to get important background information from the applicant.

In RI 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

What Are Credit References on a Rhode Island Rental Application?

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 Rhode Island rental applications so that landlords can properly assess whether a potential tenant will be able to meet the rental payment schedule.

Do I Need to Ask for a Social Security Number in a Rhode Island Rental Application?

It is not usually necessary to request a Social Security number (SSN) on a Rhode Island rental application. However, you may consider requesting this data from an applicant if you want to run certain background checks on them.

Additionally, you must always get written permission from the tenant on the application form if you want to use their SSN. When you handle someone else’s Social Security information you always need consent first and must disclose that you will properly handle this data.

These days, most screening companies can obtain the applicant’s SSN directly by requesting it securely from the applicant via email. Remember, however, that you must always inform the potential tenant and have their permission before you run any background checks.

You are only a few steps away from your own Rhode Island Rental Application!

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Preview of your Rental Application Rhode Island

RENTAL APPLICATION

The following sections must be completed by the Applicant. Please note that, except for married couples, each occupant who is 18 years of age or older has to complete a separate application to rent.

Shall the Applicant have any question regarding the rental unit, please contact _________ at:
Email Address: _________
Phone: _________

The Applicant is a: (check one)

( ) Tenant
( ) Tenant with co-tenant(s)
( ) Guarantor/co-signor

PREMISES INFORMATION

Application to rent property at the following address:

_________ , _________, RI _________

Type of Property: House
Date of Availability: _________
Proposed Move-In Date: _________

APPLICANT'S INFORMATION

Please attach a copy of your Driver's License, State ID, Military ID, or Passport.

FULL NAME OF APPLICANT: ________________________________________________________________
Date of Birth: _________________________ (Optional. For purpose of obtaining credit reports. Age discrimination is prohibited by state and federal law)
Driver's license number or any valid ID: _________________ State: ______________ Expires: _________________________
Email Address: ____________________________________________________
Home Phone: (______) ___________ Alternative Phone: (______) ___________

CO-APPLICANT'S INFORMATION (if applicable)

Please attach a copy of your Driver's License, State ID, Military ID, or Passport.

FULL NAME OF CO-APPLICANT: ________________________________________________________________
Date of Birth: _________________________ (Optional)
Driver's license number or any valid ID: _________________ State: ______________ Expires: _________________________
Email Address: ____________________________________________________
Home Phone: (______) ___________ Alternative Phone: (______) ___________

OTHER OCCUPANTS' INFORMATION (if applicable)

Name: ____________________________________________________________________
Relation to Applicant: ______________________ Date of Birth: ______________ (Optional)

Name: ____________________________________________________________________
Relation to Applicant: ______________________ Date of Birth: ______________ (Optional)

Name: ____________________________________________________________________
Relation to Applicant: ______________________ Date of Birth: ______________ (Optional)

Name: ____________________________________________________________________
Relation to Applicant: ______________________ Date of Birth: ______________ (Optional)

EMERGENCY CONTACT

In case of emergency, please contact:

Emergency contact #1: ____________________________________________________
Relationship: _______________________
Address: ____________________________________________________________________
Phone: _______________________
Email Address: ____________________________________________________

Emergency contact #2: ____________________________________________________
Relationship: _______________________
Address: ____________________________________________________________________
Phone: _______________________
Email Address: ____________________________________________________

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Pets

Pets are not allowed in the rental property. However, as provided by law, a Service Animal(s) is not considered a pet, and every individual with a disability shall have a right to have a Service Animal(s) on the Property.

Waterbeds

The Landlord prohibits the use of waterbeds on the rental unit.

Smoking and Vaping

The Landlord does not allow smoking or vaping in the rental unit.

CONSENT & ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

By signing this Residential Rental Application, the Applicant accepts and agrees to the following:

(i)	This is only an application to rent and does not guarantee that the Applicant will be selected as a tenant of the premises.
(ii)	The Landlord or Manager or his/her authorized Agent could receive multiple rental applications for the premises and will only select the most qualified individual.
(iii)	Applicant represents the above information to be true and complete.

Applicant hereby authorizes the Landlord or Manager or his/her authorized Agent to do the following:

(i)	Verify all of the personal information provided above.
(ii)	Obtain a credit report, as well as other reports, on the Applicant.
(iii)	Applicant further authorizes the Landlord or Manager or his/her authorized Agent to disclose information to the owners or agents of the premises with whom the Applicant intends to have a rental relationship.

Does the Applicant wish to receive a copy of the reports that we may obtain?

Yes ( ) No ( )

Notice of Non-Discrimination

The Landlord does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any approval/disapproval of this application.

_______________________________	___________
Applicant's Signature	Date

_______________________________	___________
Co-Applicant's Signature	Date