A Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island laws that apply, application fees, assistance animals, and how to approve or deny an applicant.
What should a Rhode Island rental application ask?
An application collects personal and financial details, so ask only what you need to apply your written rental criteria. Your Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island. 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.
Rhode Island application laws
Beyond federal law, Rhode Island has its own rules on application fees and fair housing. Check both before you send an invite.
Rhode Island Law
Rhode Island application and screening fees
The rule: A landlord, broker, property manager or anyone acting for them may not require a prospective tenant to pay a rental application fee. You may require an official state criminal background check or a credit check, but if the applicant provides one issued within the last 90 days you may not charge for it. If the applicant does not, you may charge no more than the actual cost of obtaining it, and you must give the applicant a copy (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-59; R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-62; R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-37-4).
You may always run your own background check or credit report at your own expense (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-59(b)(3)).
The official state criminal background check can come from the Bureau of Criminal Identification, the Attorney General, the state police or the local police where the applicant lives (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-59(b)).
Since July 2, 2025, a landlord may not ask about, or require any statement about, the immigration or citizenship status of a tenant, applicant or occupant. You may still ask for what you need to verify an applicant's identity or finances, or to meet a federal legal duty (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-62).
You may ask whether an applicant is 18 or older and confirm the source, amount and expected duration of a lawful source of income, but not ask about any protected characteristic (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-37-4(a)).
A minimum income requirement must be measured only against the part of the rent the tenant will pay, counting any rental assistance or housing subsidy (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-37-4(c)).
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.
Rhode Island Law
Fair housing in Rhode Island
Protected classes: Rhode Island bars housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, lawful source of income, status as a servicemember or as a veteran with an honorable or general discharge, country of ancestral origin, disability, age, familial status, or being a victim of domestic abuse or having sought a protective order. That covers refusing to rent, different terms or services, discriminatory ads, and misrepresenting availability (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-37-2; R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-37-4).
Source of income: Lawful source of income includes child support, alimony, Social Security, public assistance and rental assistance such as Section 8 vouchers. An owner-occupied building of three units or fewer is exempt from the source of income rule (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-37-3(18); R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-37-4.6).
Exemptions: The familial status rule does not apply to a two-unit owner-occupied building, some owner-occupied buildings of four units or fewer, and qualifying housing for older persons (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-37-4.1).
Shared housing: A person renting out part of a home they will share may choose a housemate of a particular gender (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-37-4(k)).
Retaliation: Retaliating against anyone who opposes discrimination or takes part in a complaint is prohibited (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-37-4(m)).
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.
Rhode Island rules on assistance animals
Accommodations: Allow reasonable modifications at the tenant's expense and make reasonable accommodations in rules and services for a person with a disability. A trained assistance animal may not be charged extra, though the tenant is liable for damage it causes (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-37-4(d), (e)).
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 Rhode Island’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 Rhode Island 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).
Rhode Island rental application questions
Can I charge a rental application fee in Rhode Island?
No. You may require an official state criminal background check or a credit check, but you may charge only the actual cost, only if the applicant has not provided one issued in the last 90 days, and you must give the applicant a copy (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-59).
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 Rhode Island and local rules first, and avoid blanket bans.