A Kansas 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 Kansas laws that apply, application fees, assistance animals, and how to approve or deny an applicant.
What should a Kansas rental application ask?
An application collects personal and financial details, so ask only what you need to apply your written rental criteria. Your Kansas 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 Kansas 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 Kansas. 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.
Kansas application laws
Beyond federal law, Kansas has its own rules on application fees and fair housing. Check both before you send an invite.
Kansas Law
Kansas application and screening fees
The rule: The Kansas Residential Landlord and Tenant Act does not limit application or screening fees (K.S.A. 58-2540 to 58-2573).
You may not deny tenancy to an applicant who otherwise qualifies because the applicant is, was within the past 12 months, or is in imminent danger of becoming a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking or stalking (K.S.A. 58-25,137(a)(1); K.S.A. 58-25,137(f)).
Kansas fair housing law bars refusing to rent because of race, religion, color, sex, disability, familial status, national origin or ancestry (K.S.A. 44-1016(a)).
From July 1, 2026, a city or county may not limit your use of income tests, credit, eviction, property damage or criminal history under your usual screening criteria (SB 391 (2026)).
When reviewing an eviction record, check the current court disposition rather than treating an old filing as a permanent judgment. Since July 1, 2026, eligible residential eviction records can be expunged through a court request. The process is not automatic: it generally requires three years since judgment, satisfaction of the related monetary judgment and no additional covered eviction judgment during that period. See the eviction process section for the notice and objection procedure (2026 Kansas Laws, ch. 132, sec. 1; Kansas Judicial Council, July 1, 2026 notice).
An unsatisfied monetary judgment prevents expungement unless the plaintiff and defendant agree. Expungement does not erase the underlying debt or separate civil remedies, and public housing authorities retain the access specified for federal housing applications. Check the order and applicable reporting requirements before relying on a screening report (2026 Kansas Laws, ch. 132, sec. 1(a)(5) to (7)).
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.
Kansas Law
Fair housing in Kansas
Protected classes: Kansas law makes it unlawful to refuse to rent, set different terms, or advertise a preference because of race, religion, color, sex, disability, familial status, national origin or ancestry (K.S.A. 44-1016(a); K.S.A. 44-1016(b); K.S.A. 44-1016(c)).
Accommodations: Refusing reasonable modifications at the tenant's expense, or reasonable accommodations in rules and policies, needed by a person with a disability is discrimination (K.S.A. 44-1016(h)(3)).
Familial status: Familial status means having a child under 18 living with a parent, custodian or their designee (K.S.A. 44-1015(i)).
Domestic violence: You may not deny, evict or find in breach a tenant because the tenant is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking or stalking (K.S.A. 58-25,137(a)).
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 Kansas’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 Kansas 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).
Kansas rental application questions
Can I charge an application fee in Kansas?
The Kansas Residential Landlord and Tenant Act does not limit application or screening fees (K.S.A. 58-2540 to 58-2573).
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 Kansas and local rules first, and avoid blanket bans.