Questions to Ask Potential Tenants
For landlords and small property owners screening rental applicants. The questions follow the order the screening runs in: the first phone call, the showing, rental history, income and work, how the household would live in the unit, and the last checks before you approve. Each has a note on what a good or a worrying answer sounds like, and the notes and the guide mark what fair housing rules keep off limits, including family, religion, disability and national origin.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
First call
When do you need to move in?
Why ask it
Ask this first, because a date that does not fit ends the call kindly for both of you. A move within a few weeks of when the unit is ready is the easy case. Someone who needs keys tomorrow may be leaving somewhere in a hurry, so ask what is behind the rush, and someone looking three months ahead is usually still browsing.
Why are you moving from where you live now?
Why ask it
The answers you hope for are short and dull: a job, more room, a shorter commute, the owner selling. Pay attention to where the current landlord appears in the story. A long account of everything that landlord did wrong may be true, and it is one to check with that landlord before you take a side.
How many people would live here, and will every adult fill out an application?
Why ask it
You need the head count to set against what the unit and the local occupancy rules allow, and every adult's name for the screening and the lease. Stop at the number. Who is related to whom, whether any of them are children and how old they are all fall under family status, a protected category in United States fair housing law and in many other places.
Does your household's monthly income come to at least three times the rent?
Why ask it
Three times is a common yardstick and not a rule, so put in the figure you have set and give the same one to every caller. A clear yes and an honest 'not quite, but I have a co-signer' are both answers you can work with. In some places a housing voucher or benefits must be counted like wages, so find out how that works where the property is.
I run a credit and background check on every adult who applies. Are you comfortable with that?
Why ask it
'Sure, send me the form' is the answer of someone with nothing to manage. A pause is not a refusal: many people with an old debt just want to explain it first, so invite that. Written consent is normally needed before you order any report, so ask your screening service what it requires and get the signature first.
Would any animals be living here with you?
Why ask it
Ask before you state your pet policy, so the answer is not shaped to fit it. If the caller says the animal is a service or support animal for a disability, do not quote a pet fee or ask about the condition. Those animals are usually treated differently from pets, and the housing agency for your area can tell you how such requests are handled.
Does anyone who would live here smoke or vape?
Why ask it
Follow the answer with what your lease says, whether that is no smoking indoors or none anywhere on the property. 'I do, and only outside' from someone who accepts the rule is fine. A caller who argues with the rule before seeing the place is unlikely to keep it after moving in.
Can you pay the first month's rent and the security deposit before move-in?
Why ask it
Give the total in dollars so nobody has to do the sum on the phone, and find out first whether your area caps what a landlord may collect up front. Asking to spread the deposit over a few months is not a character flaw, but it does mean the tenancy starts with no cushion, so decide ahead of time whether you allow it.
How long do you expect to stay?
Why ask it
Each turnover can mean empty weeks, a cleaning bill and another round of these calls, so the plan matters as much as the rent. 'A year, then we hope to buy' is an honest answer, and you can decide whether it suits you. Be more careful with a caller who cannot say at all.
What does your next place need to have?
Why ask it
If the list includes a fenced yard, a garage or laundry in the unit and yours has none, say so now and save the trip. When what they describe matches the place, the showing is mostly a formality. People who settle for a home without the thing they wanted often move on when the first lease ends.
When can you come to see it, and can every adult who would sign the lease come too?
Why ask it
A showing with one partner often means a second showing for the other, or a lease signed by someone who has never seen the bathroom. Ask them to confirm by text that morning. An applicant who misses the appointment without a word has shown you how they treat a commitment before you spent anything on screening.
The showing
Before we walk through, may I see a photo ID?
Why ask it
It is a safety step when you are meeting a stranger alone, and it lets you check that the name matches the one on the application. Ask everyone, and take any government photo ID. Insisting on one particular document, or asking where someone was born, moves toward national origin, which fair housing rules protect.
Now that you have seen the place, what about it would not work for you?
Why ask it
Objections you hear today can be answered or accepted. The ones you never hear turn into a notice to leave when the first lease is up. One fair request, such as a loose railing fixed, shows somebody looking closely, while a list of upgrades wanted before they will even apply tells you what the repair requests will be like.
What questions do you have about the lease or about how I manage the property?
Why ask it
Careful tenants ask how repairs are reported, how rent is paid and what happens at renewal. Answer fully, since they are screening you as well. Having no questions is not a mark against anyone, though it is a reason to say the main lease rules aloud yourself.
How does this compare with the other places you have seen, and are you applying anywhere else?
Why ask it
The answer tells you how fast to move and whether your rent is in line with the street. 'I have applied for two others' is not disloyal, it is how people find housing, so give them your timeline. If someone has been looking for months, a gentle 'what has held things up?' is fair.
Would you like an application, and when could you get it back to me?
Why ask it
Offer one to every adult who views the unit, along with your written criteria, and let nobody leave without one because of a feeling you had. A complete form back the same evening shows real interest. Note the time each one arrives if you plan to take them in order.
Rental history
Where do you live now, and how long have you been there?
Why ask it
Two or three years at one address is the most reassuring line on an application. Several moves in a short span are not a no, but each one deserves a reason, and the reasons should not all be someone else's fault. Write down what you hear and compare it with the form.
When does your current lease end, and have you given notice?
Why ask it
A tenant who knows the end date and the notice period has read their lease, which bodes well for yours. If they would be leaving months early, ask how they are settling that with the landlord. 'They do not know I am looking' means your reference call will be news to that landlord, so agree on when you may make it.
May I contact your current landlord and the one before that?
Why ask it
Ask for both. The current landlord may want a difficult tenant gone and can be generous for that reason, while the earlier one has nothing to gain either way. A quick yes with names and numbers is a good sign, and 'I rented from my uncle' is fine as long as it is said up front.
Have you ever paid rent late, and what happened?
Why ask it
Plenty of long-time renters have had one late month, and the honest version comes with a season and a cause. That answer, with the landlord told ahead of time, is better than a flat 'never' that the reference call then contradicts. Ask what they did about the following month.
Have you ever been evicted, or asked by a landlord to leave?
Why ask it
Put it to every applicant in the same words. A filing may turn up in the screening report anyway, so hearing it from them first counts in their favor, and the circumstances matter: a dispute settled years ago is not a recent judgment for unpaid rent. Before you rely on an eviction record, learn which ones your local rules let you weigh.
Have you ever left a rental before the lease was up?
Why ask it
A job transfer handled with notice and a paid fee is ordinary life. Walking out with two months owing is the version you are screening for, and the difference shows in whether they can say how it was settled. Ask whether that landlord would confirm it.
Do you expect to get your whole deposit back from your current place?
Why ask it
An easy 'yes, we have looked after it' fits a tenant who has. If the answer turns into a list of things the landlord will probably charge for, you have a preview of your own move-out, and specific items to raise on the reference call.
What might a past landlord tell me that you would rather I heard from you first?
Why ask it
This hands the applicant the first word on a noise complaint or a deposit dispute, and people who take the chance usually come across better for it. Compare their account with the landlord's. Small differences are normal, and it is the story they left out entirely that should slow you down.
If you have not rented before, who can speak to how you handle a monthly obligation?
Why ask it
Students, people who owned their last home and new arrivals have no landlord to call, and that is a gap in the file, not a mark against them. Decide in advance what stands in: an employer, a record of utility or phone payments, a co-signer. Then accept the same substitutes from everyone.
Income and work
Where do you work, and how long have you been there?
Why ask it
Length of time matters more than the title. A job that started last month is fine with an offer letter stating the pay. If the income is not from a job at all, such as a pension, benefits or a business, move straight to which documents show it and leave the reasons alone.
What is your total monthly income before taxes, counting everything you want considered?
Why ask it
Let the applicant build the list: wages, a second job, support payments, benefits. Count what they name and can document, and do not go fishing for sources they did not mention. The figure you write down here is the one the paperwork has to match.
What can you give me to verify that income?
Why ask it
Have your own list ready, for example recent pay stubs, an offer letter, or tax returns and bank statements for someone self-employed, and hold a salaried applicant and a freelancer to the same level of proof. Willingness is the first signal. 'My boss can just tell you' with nothing on paper is the answer to be careful with.
May I call your employer to confirm that you work there?
Why ask it
Get the permission in writing, because many employers will say nothing without it and some confirm only dates and title even then. Ask for the main company number, not a cell phone. An applicant on probation who would rather you did not call can offer documents in its place, which is reasonable.
Would the rent here be more or less than you pay now?
Why ask it
Years of paying a similar amount on time is stronger evidence than any income formula. A big step up is not disqualifying, but ask what changed to make it affordable: a raise, a second earner, a loan paid off. 'We will make it work' is a hope, and you need a number.
Is anything about your work or income likely to change during the lease?
Why ask it
A contract ending, a seasonal layoff or a planned return to school is far better heard now than in month four. Leave the question exactly this open. Suggesting causes yourself, such as a pregnancy, retirement or a health problem, takes you into family status, age and disability.
Would anyone else be paying part of the rent or co-signing the lease?
Why ask it
A parent covering a student or a relative backing a first lease is common and workable. The co-signer fills out the same application and gets the same checks, because theirs is the income you would be relying on. How binding that signature is depends on where the property is, so have the wording checked before you count on it.
Rent is due on the first. How would you plan to pay it?
Why ask it
Name the methods you accept and see whether one suits them. A payday that falls on the fifth is a logistics problem you can solve now by agreeing on a due date and writing it into the lease. If someone wants to pay only in cash, give a receipt every time.
Living here
What kind of animal is it, how big, how old, and how long have you had it?
Why ask it
A ten-year-old dog that has lived in two rentals without a complaint is a different risk from a puppy bought last month. Ask to meet the animal and to see vaccination records or a note from a previous landlord. Read your own insurance policy first, since some exclude certain animals.
Who looks after the pet while you are at work or away overnight?
Why ask it
Neighbors do not complain about dogs so much as about dogs left alone for ten hours. A walker, daycare, a crate routine or someone working from home are the answers that settle it. 'He is fine by himself' deserves one more question about how they know.
Are you thinking of getting a pet, or another one, during the lease?
Why ask it
The answer is rarely a firm no, and that is fine. Use the question to say that any new animal needs your written approval first, and what deposit or fee would apply. A tenant who heard the rule at the showing has no excuse for the surprise kitten halfway through the lease.
If anyone in the household smokes, where would they do it here?
Why ask it
Walk to the spot together. 'On the back step with the door shut' is a plan, and a shrug is not. Point out the neighbors' windows and any shared entrance, and say plainly whether your rule covers vaping, cannabis and the balcony, because those are the edges people test.
How many vehicles would you keep here, and are any of them a trailer, a boat, a work truck or a car that does not run?
Why ask it
Set the number against the spaces you actually have and tell them where visitors park. The ordinary cars are rarely the trouble. It is the project car on blocks or the trailer on the lawn that draws a complaint from next door or a notice from the city, so name what your lease does not allow.
Would you run a business from the unit, or have customers or regular deliveries coming to the door?
Why ask it
A laptop job changes nothing for you. A salon chair, a childcare business or pallets in the garage can touch your insurance, the zoning and the neighbors' patience, so ask what a normal week looks like. Check your policy and the local rules before you say yes.
Would you bring anything heavy or filled with water, such as a large aquarium, a waterbed or a piano?
Why ask it
These are the items that mark floors and leak into the unit below. A yes is usually manageable on a ground floor, or with a renter's policy that covers water damage. Say now if your lease limits tank sizes, so nobody learns it on moving day.
Do you carry renters insurance, or would you take out a policy if the lease asks for one?
Why ask it
An applicant who already has a policy has thought about what a kitchen fire or a burst hose would cost them. If you intend to require one, say the coverage amount and when you need proof. Requiring a policy is allowed in some places and limited in others, which is one to settle before the lease is printed.
Do you expect to have guests who stay for more than a week or two at a time?
Why ask it
The point is the line your lease draws between a guest and an occupant, so read them the clause. A relative visiting each winter is easy to agree to. Someone who will be there most nights needs to apply like any other adult, and you can say that without asking what the relationship is.
Would you ever want to bring in a roommate, sublet, or rent the place out by the night?
Why ask it
'Possibly a roommate next year' is a fair answer, and the reply is that anyone new applies first. Nightly rentals are the ones to be firm about, since they bring strangers into the building and may break your insurance terms or local rules. An applicant who asks how flexible you are on this has probably thought about doing it.
Mowing, shoveling snow and taking the bins out are the tenant's job here. Are you willing to take that on?
Why ask it
Describe the job honestly, including how long the driveway takes in February, and let the applicant answer for themselves. Do not decide from someone's age or how they move that they cannot manage it, since plenty of people hire a service. If none of this applies to your unit, skip the question.
Do you plan to paint, put up a satellite dish or change anything else in the unit?
Why ask it
An applicant who answers with a list before signing will likely ask before drilling, too. Say which changes need your written permission and which have to be undone when they leave. A request to alter the unit because of a disability, such as grab bars or a ramp, comes under its own rules. Learn them before you answer one.
Before approving
Is there anything on your application you would like to correct or add before I start checking it?
Why ask it
It gives a graceful way to restore an address that was left off or to fix a rounded-up salary. Look at the dates, because a gap in the address history is where a tenancy that ended badly can hide. A correction offered now is honest. The same thing found by you later is not.
There is an application fee for each adult, which pays for the screening report. Shall I go ahead and run it?
Why ask it
State the amount, what it buys and whether any of it is refunded when the unit goes to another applicant, and give a receipt. Fee caps and a duty to share the report exist in some areas, and your screening service or local housing office will know which apply. Do not take fees from five households for a unit you have already promised.
Before I open your credit and background report, what on it would you like to explain?
Why ask it
Medical bills, a divorce or a collection account from years ago read very differently when they come with dates and what has been paid since. Set your minimum standards before you open the report, so the explanation is weighed against a rule and not a mood. What you may consider from a criminal record, and how far back, is restricted in many places, so check before you ask about convictions at all.
Can you put the utilities in your name by the move-in date?
Why ask it
Read out which accounts would be theirs. Opening one can take a deposit and a few days, so it belongs on the move-in checklist. If a provider will not open an account for someone, ask the applicant why, since an unpaid balance at an earlier address is one common cause.
If I approve the application, how soon could you sign the lease and pay the deposit?
Why ask it
Agree on a date, because an approved applicant who goes quiet for ten days keeps the unit off the market for nothing. Say how long you will hold it and what holds it. Before you accept money to reserve a rental, learn the local rules on when it has to be returned.
Before I decide, what else should I know about your application?
Why ask it
This is where a co-signer, a job starting next month or a planned long trip gets mentioned. If the applicant volunteers something about family, faith, health or where they are from, do not write it down or follow it up. Thank them and bring the talk back to the tenancy.
How should I reach you with a decision, and by when do you need one?
Why ask it
Give a day and keep to it, and tell every applicant the outcome, including the ones you turn down. If a credit or background report is part of the reason for a no, you may be required to send a written notice saying so. Ask your screening service what that notice has to contain.
How to screen rental applicants fairly
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before the first call
Write your criteria down first
Decide the income multiple, the minimum credit standard, the pet and smoking rules and the number of occupants the unit allows before you list it. Written criteria let you answer 'why not me?' with a rule you set in advance. Hand a copy to anyone who asks for an application.
Ask everyone the same questions
Print the list and work through it with every caller, in the same words. Asking one applicant something you did not ask another is how a fair process goes wrong, and it often begins as friendliness: the extra question for one person, the skipped one for another. A script also makes the answers comparable.
Learn the local rules before you advertise
Application fees, deposit limits, how criminal and eviction records may be used, whether vouchers must be accepted and how long you have to answer an applicant all differ by country, state and city. A local landlord association, the housing agency or a lawyer who handles rentals can tell you what applies to your property. A general list like this one cannot.
Split the list across the conversations
The First call group takes about ten minutes and decides whether a showing is worth anyone's time. Keep The showing and Living here for the walk-through, when the yard and the parking are in front of you both. Rental history and Income and work can be asked aloud or left to the application form, then checked.
Questions to leave out
Family and children
Do not ask whether someone is married, pregnant or planning children, how old the children are or who is related to whom. Ask how many people would live in the unit and stop there. A rule against children, or steering a family toward the ground floor, is the same problem in another form.
Religion, race and where someone is from
Leave out anything about faith, places of worship, holidays, birthplace, accent or first language, and do not describe the neighbors in those terms either. 'You would fit in well here' can cause as much trouble as 'you might not'.
Disability and health
Do not ask about a diagnosis, medication, a wheelchair or why someone has an assistance animal, and do not decide for an applicant that the stairs are too much. A request for an assistance animal or for a change to the unit has its own process, so learn it before one arrives.
The list where your property is
In the United States the federal list covers race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability and family status. States and cities add to it, often with age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, military status or source of income, and other countries have laws of their own. Find the list for your property's address and screen as if every item on it were printed at the top of your script.
Small talk counts
Forbidden questions are mostly asked while being friendly on the stairs: 'Do you have kids?', 'Where is that accent from?'. If an applicant brings such things up, let it pass without a follow-up and keep it out of your notes.
Reading the answers
Check the story against the paper
The move-in date, the current address, the employer and the income are each said aloud once and written on the application once. Where the two versions differ, ask about it before you assume the worst. Honest people misremember a date. They rarely forget an eviction.
A flaw explained early
An applicant who says on the first call 'my credit took a hit two years ago, and here is what happened' has given you something to verify. Weigh it against your written minimums. If they still fall short, a co-signer or another arrangement you offer to everyone in that position may close the gap, where that is allowed.
A thin file
A first-time renter or someone new to the country may have no landlord to call, no credit history and a job that started last month. Decide beforehand which substitutes you accept, and keep in mind that no history and bad history are different findings.
The applicant you like
Charm is not a screening criterion, and neither is an unease you cannot attach to an answer. If you want to skip the checks for someone pleasant, run them anyway. If you want to turn someone down and cannot name the criterion they missed, look again at why.
Deciding and replying
Verify before you approve
The applicant's answers are the first half. The calls to the landlords and the employer, and the reports, are the second, and nothing said at the showing replaces them. Promise the unit to nobody until those are back.
Keep the same notes for everyone
Record the date, the answers and the criterion each applicant met or missed, and keep the file for the ones you declined as well. Ask locally how long such records should be kept. Notes made at the time are what you would rely on if a decision were ever questioned.
Take applications in a set order
A common method is to process complete applications in the order they arrive and offer the unit to the first one that meets the written criteria. It removes the temptation to pick a favorite, and a few places require it. Whichever order you use, choose it before the first application comes in.
Say no plainly and promptly
Tell declined applicants as soon as you know, in a sentence that points to the criterion. Do not invent a kinder reason, such as saying the unit is taken while it is still advertised. If a report played a part, ask your screening service what notice you owe the applicant.