A Delaware 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 Delaware laws that apply, application fees, assistance animals, and how to approve or deny an applicant.
What should a Delaware rental application ask?
An application collects personal and financial details, so ask only what you need to apply your written rental criteria. Your Delaware 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 Delaware 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 Delaware. 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.
Delaware application laws
Beyond federal law, Delaware has its own rules on application fees and fair housing. Check both before you send an invite.
Delaware Law
Delaware application and screening fees
The rule: You may charge an application fee to check a tenant's credit worthiness of up to 10 percent of the monthly rent or $50, whichever is greater. Give a receipt for the full amount paid and keep complete records of application fees for at least two years (25 Del. C. § 5514(d)).
Demanding more than the allowed fee entitles the applicant to double the fee charged (25 Del. C. § 5514(d)).
Apart from an application fee, a security deposit, a surety bond fee, a pet deposit or a deposit that holds the unit for a set time, you may not ask for or take any other payment ("assurance money") from an applicant. A fee for a credit or other investigation may not exceed its actual cost (25 Del. C. § 5310(a)).
Keep the records of every application for six months; the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Unit investigates complaints (25 Del. C. § 5310(b)).
No nonrefundable fee may be charged as a condition of occupancy, other than an optional service fee for actual services (25 Del. C. § 5311).
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.
Delaware Law
Fair housing in Delaware
Protected classes: You may not refuse to rent, or charge more rent, because of race, creed, religion, marital status, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, source of income, occupation, military status, housing status, familial status or any other basis Delaware's Fair Housing Act protects (25 Del. C. § 5116(a), (b)).
Source of income: The voucher source-of-income changes were implemented January 1, 2026: the Housing Authority's notice in that day's Register confirms completion of the required short-term recommendations. You may not refuse an applicant because rent is paid through a voucher or other assistance program. The statutory exception for a housing authority's failure to follow the standardized tenancy-approval sequence remains. The act expires December 31, 2028 unless extended; check the law again before relying on the later version (25 Del. C. § 5116(e); 84 Del. Laws, c. 358, §§ 4, 5; 6 Del. C. § 4602(29); DSHA implementation notice, 29 DE Reg. 630 (Jan. 1, 2026)).
Source of income: You may still weigh income sufficiency and credit if you apply those standards in a commercially reasonable way without regard to source of income (25 Del. C. § 5116(g)).
Disability: Do not use screening to ask whether an applicant, intended resident or associated person has a disability, or its nature or severity. The statute permits specified inquiries made of all applicants, including ability to meet tenancy requirements and qualification for disability-specific housing or priority. Check coverage and independent duties before relying on an exemption (6 Del. C. 4603A(a)(4); 4607).
Age: You may reserve units for senior citizens as the federal and Delaware fair housing acts allow (25 Del. C. § 5116(d)).
Enforcement: A tenant who suffers discrimination may recover damages, including reasonable costs of substitute housing (25 Del. C. § 5116(c)).
Pet fees and deposits: You may not require a tenant to declaw a cat as a condition of the lease (25 Del. C. § 5301(a)(4)).
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.
Delaware rules on assistance animals
Accommodations: For covered housing, make reasonable changes to rules, policies, practices or services when needed for a person with a disability to use and enjoy the home equally. Review an assistance-animal request through that accommodation duty, separately from ordinary pet criteria; the statute retains its direct-threat and substantial-property-damage limits (6 Del. C. 4603A(a)(2), (f)).
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 Delaware’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 Delaware 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).
Delaware rental application questions
What is the most I can charge for an application fee in Delaware?
10 percent of the monthly rent or $50, whichever is greater, with a receipt. Demanding more entitles the applicant to double the fee. Separately, a fee for a credit or other investigation may not exceed the specific cost of that investigation (25 Del. C. § 5514(d); 25 Del. C. § 5310(a)).
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 Delaware and local rules first, and avoid blanket bans.