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Hey guys, Stephen White here. Today we're going to be talking about the information that you need to collect from your tenant applicants. So what information is important for a landlord to collect from an applicant on the actual rental application? Well, before we dive into that I think its important to point out and make sure you are using the correct application. Certain states have specific rules about rental applications. A good example would be New York state where you can't ask for a person's date of birth. In California it is preferred that you use the California realtor's association application. Of course you can find applications on RentPrep.com in our free resources. But be sure you're making good use of the correct application that you're using applicable to your state. As far as the information you're collecting, obviously you want to start with the most important stuff - name, date of birth, social security number and their address. Just to make a point about the social security number, we're definitely living in a day and age where people don't feel as comfortable giving their social security number. Sometimes that's okay and sometimes it's not. If you're running a background check on the person chances are you're going to want that social security number. If it's something they're not comfortable giving to you there are ways around it. I would definitely recommend if you do end up selecting that tenant at least in the lease process you do gather their social security number. It's an important thing to have for any landlord. In terms of the information you have on the application such as their employment information, residence, previous residence. Again, critical information in terms of the screening process, you want to make sure that the application is filled out in its entirety. Some of the most successful landlords I've worked with have definitely instituted a no blank space policy. Meaning if the applicant hands it back to you missing a bunch of stuff, kindly hand it back and say "I'll accept this when it's been completed in full." Lastly, personal references, something we get asked about a lot, I would not call personal references when it comes to the screening process. Of course you know any friends that you speak to are to say they're great people and are going to give them a glowing review. Personal references are more important sort of after the fact or in a worst case scenario. Why, because people obviously list their relatives, next of kin, mothers, fathers, and if they skip town and abandon your property and leave you owing the balance without any forwarding address. Well those are people you usually want to call to try and get some information on where this person is. So personal references, more important after the fact not necessarily in the screening process. But still very important, critical to get that information on the application. Successful landlords institute that no blank space policy so...

A residential rental application is a document that allows a landlord to make an assessment of a potential tenant's employment, background, credit, and prior leasing history (through references) to make the decision of allowing him or her to lease their property.