A California rental application tells you who will live in your rental, where they have lived and how they will pay the rent. When every applicant answers the same questions, you can compare renters fairly and show that you did.
This guide covers what to ask, how to pre-screen leads, the federal and California laws that apply, application fees, assistance animals, and how to approve or deny an applicant.
What should a California rental application ask?
An application collects personal and financial details, so ask only what you need to apply your written rental criteria. Your California rental application should ask for:
- Applicant and co-signer names, email, phone and date of birth,
- A Social Security number, entered securely,
- The desired move-in date and everyone who will live in the home,
- The current address and current landlord’s contact details,
- Employer, job title and monthly income,
- Any housing voucher or rental assistance,
- Pets, assistance animals, vehicles and smoking, and
- Past evictions and consent to screening.
The Rentari application covers all of this in six short sections. Renters can upload a pay stub, photo ID, bank statement or reference letter, and you choose which background questions to ask, with up to four of your own.
See it first: open the whole application before you send it.
Pre-screen your leads
Not every lead fits your rental. A short pre-screener shows who meets your basic criteria before anyone spends time or money on a full application.
Send the Rentari pre-screener from Leads. Your California pre-screener asks every lead for:
- Monthly household income,
- Desired move-in date,
- How many people would live there,
- Pets, and what kind,
- Smoking, and
- A self-reported credit band.
When a lead’s answers fit, invite them to apply. Remember: pre-screener answers are what the renter tells you, so verify them with the application and screening.
Federal application laws
Federal law sets the baseline for every screening decision in California. These five laws shape how you screen applicants:
Fair Housing Act (FHA): You may not treat applicants differently because of these seven protected characteristics:
- Race,
- Color,
- National origin,
- Religion,
- Sex,
- Familial status, or
- Disability
It also bars ads that show a preference and different rental terms for different applicants (42 U.S.C. § 3604).
Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA): Bars credit discrimination, including because income comes from public assistance. Courts differ on whether a lease counts as credit, so count assistance income the same way as wages (15 U.S.C. § 1691).
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): Covers places open to the public, such as a leasing office. Disability rules for the rental home itself come from the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. § 12182).
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA): Covers credit, criminal and eviction reports. You need the renter’s consent before screening. Rentari collects it before our screening partner, RentButter, runs the checks (15 U.S.C. § 1681b).
Civil Rights Act of 1866: Bars race discrimination when renting any property, including homes the Fair Housing Act exempts, such as some small owner-occupied buildings (42 U.S.C. § 1982).
Criminal history: HUD warns that blanket bans on applicants with any criminal record can be discriminatory, and an arrest alone does not show that a person did anything.
Further reading: HUD fair housing rights and obligations and FTC guidance for landlords.
California application laws
Beyond federal law, California has its own rules on application fees and fair housing. Check both before you send an invite.
California Law
California application and screening fees
The rule: An application screening fee may not exceed your actual out-of-pocket cost of gathering information about the applicant, including a screening or credit report and the reasonable value of your time, and never more than $30 per applicant, a figure you may adjust each year by the Consumer Price Index from January 1, 1998 (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.6(a), (b)).
You may not charge a screening fee when you know or should know that no unit is available now or within a reasonable time (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.6(c)(1)).
You may charge the fee only if, when you collect it, you offer one of two processes: consider completed applications in the order received under written screening criteria given with the application, approve the first qualified applicant and charge only applicants actually considered; or refund the whole fee to every applicant not selected within 7 days of choosing a tenant or 30 days after the application, whichever is first (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.6(c)(2)).
Give the applicant a receipt that itemizes your out-of-pocket costs and time (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.6(d)).
If you do not check references or obtain a credit report, return any part of the fee not used for those purposes (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.6(e)).
If the applicant paid a screening fee, give the applicant a copy of their consumer credit report by personal delivery, mail or email within seven days after you receive it (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.6(f)).
From April 1, 2027, you must have a written pet policy, even one that bans pets, link it on your website and in digital ads, give a copy with every rental application, and, on written request, refund the application fee within seven business days if failing to disclose it before charging the fee left the applicant ineligible or led them to withdraw (Cal. Civ. Code § 1942.7.5 (Stats. 2026, ch. 1025, SB 1296)).
You may choose whether to accept reusable tenant screening reports. For an accepted qualifying report, charge neither an access fee nor an application screening fee. The statute specifies a report prepared within the prior 30 days at the applicant's request and expense, available to you at no cost, with the required identity, contact, employment, address, lawful eviction-history and currency information. Acceptance does not determine approval or remove other screening protections; a more protective local policy can apply (Cal. Civ. Code section 1950.1).
The CCPA can cover a qualifying for-profit business that collects personal information, determines its processing purposes and operates in California, subject to revenue or personal-data volume and sale/sharing thresholds. CPPA's coverage FAQ also describes related entities and separate service-provider duties. Review the applicable business and information exemptions before deciding which privacy duties apply (California Privacy Protection Agency, coverage FAQs4 and16).
If the CCPA covers the business and information, provide the required notice at or before collection: categories collected, purposes, sale or sharing, and the retention period or criteria, including the required sensitive-information disclosures. Keep collection, use, retention and sharing proportionate to the disclosed purposes, and retain information only as reasonably necessary for them. The section also requires appropriate reasonable security (Cal. Civ. Code section 1798.100(a), (c), (e)).
For covered information, privacy rights can include knowing, correcting or deleting information, opting out of sale/sharing, limiting sensitive-information use and equal treatment for exercising rights. The CPPA explains verification requirements and exceptions, including legal obligations and legal claims. Evaluate the applicable request and exception rather than promising automatic deletion of every application or report (California Privacy Protection Agency, rights and exceptions FAQs7 and10).
Local rules: Cities and counties can add their own limits. Check local rules before you set a fee.
In Rentari: You choose an optional application fee when you send the invite. It is paid to you on top of any screening fee.
California Law
Fair housing in California
Protected classes: A housing owner may not discriminate against or harass anyone because of race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of income, disability, veteran or military status, or genetic information. Screening policies must also follow the housing criminal-history protections described by the Civil Rights Department; a record in a report does not itself establish a lawful reason to reject an applicant (Cal. Gov. Code § 12955(a); California CRD: housing screening guidance).
Source of income: Source of income means lawful, verifiable income paid to the tenant or to the landlord for the tenant, including public assistance and housing subsidies such as Section 8 vouchers (Cal. Gov. Code § 12955(p)(1)).
Criminal history: CRD's housing guidance prohibits considering arrests without convictions, sealed or expunged records, and juvenile justice records, and prohibits blanket bans on everyone with a criminal history. For a permitted conviction, assess its direct relationship to tenancy, safety and property, including the nature and severity of the conduct and time elapsed. Verify the actual record and outcome; reporting eligibility alone does not establish that a housing decision is lawful (California CRD: criminal history in housing).
Criminal history: Government Code 12952 regulates employment screening by covered employers; its conditional job-offer procedure is not a statewide rental-offer rule. Check the actual housing regulations and any city or county fair-chance ordinance for the property before asking about or using criminal history. The local timing, notices and exceptions require a separate review (Cal. Gov. Code section 12952; California CRD: housing protections).
Criminal history: A screening service may combine credit, rental, eviction, criminal or reference information, or supply a risk score. Confirm the lawful housing purpose and applicable authorization and disclosure requirements before ordering, and certify housing-only use to the reporting company. Review discrepancies and outcomes instead of treating a score, a court filing, frequent moves or an unverified reference as an automatic rejection rule. Limit access and securely dispose of reports when finished with them (FTC: using consumer reports for housing).
Screening: If a consumer report influences an adverse action even partly, FTC guidance requires a notice. This includes a denial or report-based additional cosigner, deposit or rent requirement, subject to separate California limits. Identify the reporting agency with its address and telephone number, explain that it did not make the decision, and state the right to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information and request a free agency report within 60 days. Use a written notice for a clear record; a credit score used in the decision triggers additional written or electronic score disclosures. This duty is separate from California's seven-day consumer-credit-report copy rule (FTC: adverse-action notice requirements; Cal. Civ. Code section 1950.6(f)).
Immigration status: A landlord or agent may not ask about immigration or citizenship status or require a status statement, representation or certification from a tenant, applicant, occupant or prospective occupant. Disclosing status information to harass, intimidate, retaliate, influence a move-out or recover possession is also prohibited (Cal. Civ. Code section 1940.3(b)).
Immigration status: Section 1940.3 permits information or documents necessary to verify an applicant's financial qualifications or an applicant's or prospective occupant's identity. It also preserves compliance with federal legal duties, including qualifying housing programs, and court subpoenas, warrants or orders. Apply these defined exceptions to the actual verification purpose (Cal. Civ. Code section 1940.3(c)).
Pets, ESAs and service animals
Ask about animals on every application, but treat an assistance animal differently from a pet. Here is what to keep in mind:
Pet information: The Rentari application asks whether an animal will live at the property and lets the renter mark an assistance animal.
Not a pet: A service animal or emotional support animal is not a pet. Under federal fair housing law you generally can’t:
- Charge a pet fee, pet deposit or pet rent for one, or
- Apply your pet breed, size or weight limits to it.
Damage: The renter stays responsible for any damage the animal causes.
In Rentari: An assistance animal is routed as a fair housing request and is never charged a pet fee.
Approvals and denials
Apply the same written criteria to every applicant, and handle each decision the same way.
Approval: Choose Accept complete household in the household decision. Your lease draft is ready to review. Before move-in, check California’s deposit rules:
Lawful reasons to deny: Deny only for reasons in your written criteria that you apply to every applicant, such as income below your standard, credit history, rental history including unpaid rent or eviction judgments, or incomplete or false information. Use criminal history only where California and local law allow it, and weigh the offense and how long ago it happened.
Adverse action notice: If a screening report contributes to a denial, or to terms such as a co-signer, a higher deposit or higher rent, federal law requires a notice that:
- Names the reporting company and how to reach it,
- Says that company did not make the decision,
- Explains the renter’s right to a free copy of the report within 60 days, and
- Explains the right to dispute the report.
In Rentari: Choose Deny selected applicants and send individual notices in the household decision to send each notice. You make the decision.
Record keeping: Federal law sets no retention period for a private landlord’s applications. A fair housing lawsuit can be filed up to two years after a decision, so keep each application, your written criteria and the decision at least that long (42 U.S.C. § 3613(a)(1)(A)).
Screening reports: When you no longer need a screening report, destroy it securely. The FTC Disposal Rule covers consumer reports (16 C.F.R. Part 682).
California rental application questions
Can I charge an application fee in California?
Yes, up to your actual out-of-pocket screening cost and never more than $30 per applicant adjusted by the Consumer Price Index since 1998. You must offer a first-come screening process or refund every applicant not selected, and give an itemized receipt (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.6(b), (c), (d)).
Who pays for screening on Rentari?
In most states the renter pays the screening fee at the end of the application and nothing is charged to you. Where a state requires the landlord to pay, the invite tells you. The fee is shown before payment.
Can I ask about criminal history?
You choose whether the application asks about criminal convictions; it is off by default. Check California and local rules first, and avoid blanket bans.