A Washington, D.C. 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 Washington, D.C. laws that apply, application fees, assistance animals, and how to approve or deny an applicant.
What should a Washington, D.C. rental application ask?
An application collects personal and financial details, so ask only what you need to apply your written rental criteria. Your Washington, D.C. 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 Washington, D.C. 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 Washington, D.C.. 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.
Washington, D.C. application laws
Beyond federal law, Washington, D.C. has its own rules on application fees and fair housing. Check both before you send an invite.
Washington, D.C. Law
Washington, D.C. application and screening fees
The rule: You may charge a prospective tenant an application fee of no more than $50, which may be adjusted each year from January 1, 2024 by the change in the Consumer Price Index. No other fee may be charged before the lease is signed (D.C. Code § 42-3505.10(b)).
Before asking for any information or fee, tell the applicant in writing, or by an accessible posting, each fee and deposit and whether it is refundable, what information you will check, the criteria for automatic denial and other denial, the credit agency used and the applicant's right to a free copy of the report if denied, the approximate number of units you expect to have for rent over a period by bedroom size and rent (or how many became available each month in your prior fiscal year), how many days you will take to decide, and the applicant's rights to dispute, to a refund of an unused fee and to complain (D.C. Code § 42-3505.10(a)).
If the same applicant applies for another of your District units within 30 calendar days, charge only one fee unless more than one screening is required (D.C. Code § 42-3505.10(b-1)).
If you do not screen the applicant for any reason, refund the application fee within 14 days (D.C. Code § 42-3505.10(c)).
Do not require a holding deposit from an applicant using a government-funded housing voucher (D.C. Code § 42-3505.10(b)(5)).
Do not ask about or deny for an eviction case that did not end in a judgment for the landlord or was filed 3 or more years ago, and do not deny solely on a credit score (D.C. Code § 42-3505.10(d), (e)).
Never ask about or consider an arrest that did not end in a conviction. Do not ask about a pending criminal accusation or conviction until you make a conditional offer, and never about a household member under 18. Before taking an application fee, give the applicant your written eligibility criteria and a statement that they may show inaccuracies in their record, rehabilitation or other mitigating factors (D.C. Code § 42-3541.02(a), (b), (c), (g)).
After a conditional offer, you may consider only a pending accusation or a conviction within the past 7 years for one of the listed crimes, and withdraw the offer only if, weighing the listed factors, it serves a substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interest. Give the reasons in writing with notice of the right to complain to the Office of Human Rights, and on a request within 20 days give a free copy of what you relied on within 10 days (D.C. Code § 42-3541.02(d), (e), (f)).
These criminal record rules do not apply to an owner who lives in a building with 3 or fewer rental units, or where federal or District law requires or allows considering criminal history (D.C. Code § 42-3541.03).
If you deny an applicant, give written notice by your stated response date with the specific grounds, a free copy or summary of third party information used, and the applicant's dispute and complaint rights; answer any dispute in writing within 10 days (D.C. Code § 42-3505.10(f), (g)).
If you let a tenant find a replacement, assign or sublet, a replacement fee may not exceed the application fee limit (D.C. Code § 42-3505.10(b)(4)).
Do not charge any fee, at any time, for services you must provide to keep the unit habitable and up to the housing code (D.C. Code § 42-3505.10(b-2); D.C. Law 26-156).
The screening restriction also covers certain alleged lease breaches, even without an eviction case. Do not ask about, require disclosure of, or base an adverse action on an allegation tied to a qualifying violence-related defense, the applicant being a crime victim in the unit, the applicant's or a household member's disability, or conduct three or more years old. Apply the statutory conditions to the allegation rather than treating every landlord reference as usable (D.C. Code 42-3505.10(d)(2)).
An adverse action includes approving an application on different, less favorable terms than those advertised or communicated in writing, as well as denying it. The written-notice requirements therefore apply to that kind of conditional approval too. Receiving prohibited information incidentally in a report does not itself violate the screening section if you did not request it and can demonstrate that you did not rely on it for adverse action (D.C. Code 42-3505.10(e)(2), (f), (j)).
Keep District denial and dispute notices alongside any required federal consumer-report notice. If a consumer report contributes to a rejection or less favorable terms, identify the reporting company by name, address and phone number; explain that it did not make the decision and cannot explain your reasons; and state the applicant’s rights to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information and request a free report from that company within sixty days of the notice. A federal notice does not replace the District’s written reasons, response deadlines or limits on records you may use. Save the criteria, decision reasons, notices and delivery records together (FTC: landlord consumer-report guidance; D.C. application screening and notices).
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.
Washington, D.C. Law
Fair housing in Washington, D.C.
Protected classes: The D.C. Human Rights Act makes it unlawful to refuse, end or set different terms for a real estate transaction, wholly or partly because of actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, familial status, family responsibilities, disability, matriculation, political affiliation, source of income, a sealed eviction record, status as a victim of an intrafamily offense, place of residence or business, or homeless status (D.C. Code § 2-1402.21(a)).
Source of income: Source of income is protected, so you may not turn away an applicant because rent would be paid with a housing voucher; you also may not require a holding deposit from a voucher holder (D.C. Code § 2-1402.21(a); D.C. Code § 42-3505.10(b)(5)).
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 Washington, D.C.’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 Washington, D.C. 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).
Washington, D.C. rental application questions
What can I charge an applicant in Washington, D.C.?
An application fee of up to $50, which may be adjusted yearly for inflation since 2024, and no other fee before the lease is signed. Before screening, give the applicant written notice of the fees, the screening criteria and their rights, and refund the fee within 14 days if you do not screen them. Do not ask about criminal history until you make a conditional offer, never consider an arrest without a conviction, and give written eligibility criteria before taking the fee, unless you own and live in a building with 3 or fewer units (D.C. Code § 42-3505.10(a), (b), (c); D.C. Code § 42-3541.02; D.C. Code § 42-3541.03).
What must I give an applicant before they rent in Washington, D.C.?
When they apply, give them the Rent Administrator's disclosure form with its documents, covering the rent, rent control or exempt status, business license, recent housing code violations, the deposit and its interest rate, known mold, the Tenant Bill of Rights and the voter registration packet, among other items. For a unit built before 1978, also give the District's lead paint disclosure form (with a recent clearance report if a young child or pregnant woman will live there or visit regularly), and for any unit the lead plumbing disclosure form, before the lease is signed (D.C. Code § 42-3502.22(b)(1); D.C. Code § 8-231.04(a), (b); D.C. Code § 42-3271(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 Washington, D.C. and local rules first, and avoid blanket bans.