Skip to content

Tenant screening questions

Updated 2026-10-18, 7 min read

Engraving of a desk with a closed notebook, a brass pen and an empty chair on the far side
Same questions, same order, every applicant.

Eight questions

The fixed applicant list below — asked in the same order of every applicant, so the file itself shows one standard.

Good screening questions are boring, factual and identical for every applicant. The interesting ones — the ones that feel like getting to know somebody — are usually the unlawful ones.

What to ask the applicant

  1. 01Why are you moving, and when do you need to be in?
  2. 02Who will live in the unit, and which of them are over 18?
  3. 03What is your gross monthly income, and how will you evidence it?
  4. 04Who is your current landlord, and may I contact them?
  5. 05Who was your previous landlord, and may I contact them?
  6. 06Do you have pets? What kind, what weight, how old?
  7. 07How many vehicles will be parked here?
  8. 08Have you ever been party to an eviction action?

The order matters less than the fact that it never changes. Print it into the rental application template so it cannot drift.

Engraved notepad with ruled blank lines
The application is the script: the same questions, written down, in the same order.

What you may never ask

Do not askBecause
Where are you from originally?National origin
Do you have children, or plan to?Familial status
What church do you attend?Religion
Is that a service dog? What is your condition?Disability — you may not ask the diagnosis
Are you married?Marital status, where state or local law protects it
How old are you?Age, where protected locally

An animal kept because of a disability is a reasonable-accommodation request, decided on its own rather than by your pet policy (24 CFR § 100.204), and you may never ask what the disability is (24 CFR § 100.202(c)). HUD rescinded its 2020 assistance-animal notice, the one that barred pet fees for these animals, on September 17, 2025, so check your state's law and get advice before charging a fee or deposit for one.

What to ask the previous landlord

  • Were the dates of tenancy what the applicant told me?
  • Was rent paid in full and on time?
  • Was proper notice given?
  • Was the unit returned in good condition?
  • Would you rent to them again?

Call the previous landlord as well as the current one. A current landlord who wants a difficult tenant gone has an incentive to be generous; the previous one has none.

Engraved front doorstep with two shadows
Two doors on one stoop — what you ask at each of them has to match.

Recording the answers

Write the answers on the application itself, dated and initialled. If you later decline the applicant on something in a consumer report, that record sits beside the adverse action notice the tenant screening guide describes, and the two together are the file.

Sources read for this page

Related in the binder