A Louisiana 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 Louisiana laws that apply, application fees, assistance animals, and how to approve or deny an applicant.
What should a Louisiana rental application ask?
An application collects personal and financial details, so ask only what you need to apply your written rental criteria. Your Louisiana 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 Louisiana 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 Louisiana. 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.
Louisiana application laws
Beyond federal law, Louisiana has its own rules on application fees and fair housing. Check both before you send an invite.
Louisiana Law
Louisiana application and screening fees
The rule: Before you accept an application fee, you must give the applicant written notice of the fee amount; whether you consider credit scores, employment history, criminal history or eviction records; and that the applicant may share a statement of 200 words or less about financial hardship from a declared disaster or emergency. The hardship notice must mention the COVID-19 pandemic and hurricanes (La. R.S. 9:3258.1).
The rule covers every lessor of a home the tenant will use as a primary residence, except an owner-occupied building of no more than four units (La. R.S. 9:3258.1).
The notice may be delivered, stored and shown electronically if the method meets the Louisiana Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (La. R.S. 9:3258.1).
The law gives no one a right to sue over a violation of this section, and the sections read set no limit on the amount of the fee (La. R.S. 9:3258.1).
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.
Louisiana Law
Fair housing in Louisiana
Protected classes: Louisiana's fair housing law bars refusing to rent, or setting different terms, because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, national origin, military status, or natural, protective or cultural hairstyle. It also bars discriminatory advertising (La. R.S. 51:2602; La. R.S. 51:2606).
Exemptions: Some dwellings and religious or private organizations are exempt; the exemptions are listed in R.S. 51:2604(B) and 51:2605 (La. R.S. 51:2604; La. R.S. 51:2605).
Familial status: Familial status covers households with children under eighteen living with a parent, legal custodian or their designee (La. R.S. 51:2603).
Pet fees and deposits: A tenant with a disability who has a service dog may not be charged extra for the dog, though the tenant is liable for any damage the dog does, and interfering with that right is a misdemeanor carrying a $100 to $500 fine, up to six months in jail, or both, plus the tenant's actual damages (La. R.S. 46:1954; La. R.S. 46:1956).
Retaliation: It is also unlawful to coerce, intimidate, threaten or interfere with anyone for exercising a fair housing right or helping someone else do so (La. R.S. 51:2609).
Accommodations: For housing covered by the state act, necessary reasonable changes to rules, policies, practices or services can be required so a person with a disability has an equal opportunity to use and enjoy the home. Necessary reasonable physical modifications are a separate duty and are at that person's expense under this provision. Where reasonable, a rental owner may require an agreement to restore the interior, with ordinary wear and tear excepted (La. R.S. 51:2606(A)(6)(c)(i), (ii)).
Disability: Disability protection reaches beyond the applicant. It also covers a resident or intended resident of the home and anyone associated with the buyer or renter. Consider whose disability is involved when reviewing access, rental terms or an accommodation request; the named applicant need not be the person with a disability (La. R.S. 51:2606(A)(6)(a), (b)).
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.
Louisiana rules on assistance animals
Documentation: Louisiana fines healthcare providers who issue support animal documentation without a therapeutic relationship of at least thirty days, and people who misrepresent a need for a support animal, but that law does not limit a tenant's fair housing right to a reasonable accommodation (La. R.S. 46:1974; La. R.S. 46:1977; La. R.S. 46:1978).
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 Louisiana’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 Louisiana 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).
Louisiana rental application questions
What must I tell an applicant before charging an application fee in Louisiana?
Give written notice of the fee, whether you consider credit scores, employment history, criminal history or eviction records, and that the applicant may share a hardship statement of 200 words or less, with a notice that mentions the COVID-19 pandemic and hurricanes. Owner-occupied buildings of four or fewer units are exempt (La. R.S. 9:3258.1).
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 Louisiana and local rules first, and avoid blanket bans.