California Residential Rental Application and Screening Packet

California Residential Rental Application and Screening Packet

Use this packet for one adult applicant. Give each co-applicant a separate copy. Complete and deliver the criteria and state disclosures before accepting money or ordering a report.

Privacy rule: Do not write a Social Security number, taxpayer identification number, bank-account number, payment-card number, or full government-ID number in this packet. Collect identity credentials only through a separately approved secure channel with access controls and a retention schedule.

Privacy and Secure-Handling Notice

• Designated secure identity channel: [________________________________]
• Identity data permitted through that channel: [________________________________]
• Roles authorized to access it: [________________________________]
• Encryption/access-control standard: [________________________________]
• Retention trigger and destruction date/rule: [________________________________]
• Secure destruction method: [________________________________]
• Privacy contact for access or correction requests: [________________________________]

California Screening-Fee Module

Complete this module before collecting any screening fee.

• Current CPI-adjusted statutory maximum confirmed for the application date: $[________]
• Actual anticipated screening cost: $[________]
• Fee charged (not more than actual authorized cost or the current maximum): $[________]
• Unit is available now or within a reasonable period: ☐ Yes ☐ No
• Screening process selected:
• ☐ Completed applications are considered under the written criteria in receipt order; the first qualified applicant is approved; no fee is charged until the application is actually considered.
• ☐ The entire fee will be returned to every applicant not selected, within seven days after selection or 30 days after submission, whichever is first.

If the first process is used, refund within seven days any fee inadvertently collected for an application that is not considered. Give the applicant an itemized receipt. Return unused amounts. If a fee was paid and a consumer credit report was obtained, give the applicant a copy within seven days after receipt. Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.6.

1. Property and Housing Provider

• Property address/unit: [________________________________]
• Monthly rent: $[________]
• Proposed move-in date: [__/__/____]
• Lease term offered: [________________________________]
• Housing provider/agent: [________________________________]
• Notice address: [________________________________]
• Email/telephone: [________________________________]
• Date application became available: [__/__/____]
• Date completed application received: [__/__/____] at [____] ☐ a.m. ☐ p.m.

2. Written Screening Criteria

Complete before the applicant signs. Apply the same lawful criteria consistently.

No criterion may be applied to discriminate because of race, color, religion, sex, disability (the statute uses “handicap”), familial status, or national origin. 42 U.S.C. § 3604. Check state and local protected classes before use.

Government rent subsidy. If a subsidy pays part of the rent, apply any income or financial standard to the applicant's own portion of rent. If credit history will be used, offer the applicant a choice to provide lawful, verifiable alternative evidence of reasonable ability to pay that portion. Give a reasonable time to respond and reasonably consider the evidence in place of credit history. Cal. Gov. Code § 12955(o).

3. Applicant Information

• Full legal name: [________________________________]
• Other name used for rental-reference matching: [________________________________]
• Preferred contact method: ☐ Email ☐ Telephone ☐ Mail
• Email: [________________________________]
• Telephone: [________________________________]
• Current address: [________________________________]
• Time at current address: [________________________________]
• Requested move-in date: [__/__/____]
• Other proposed occupants and relationship to applicant: [________________________________]
• Animals: [________________________________]
• Assistance-animal accommodation requested through confidential process: ☐ Yes ☐ No

Do not ask for diagnosis or disability details on this form.

4. Residence History

Applicant authorizes the housing provider to contact the references listed above about tenancy dates, payment history, lease compliance, and property condition, subject to applicable law.

5. Income and Rent-Payment Resources

List only information relevant to the published criterion. Do not exclude a lawful source because of a protected status or source-of-income rule.

• Optional guarantor offered under the published criteria: ☐ Yes ☐ No
• Guarantor name/contact: [________________________________]
• Government rent subsidy pays part of the rent: ☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Undetermined; applicant's own portion: $[________] per [________]
• If credit history will be considered, applicant chooses: ☐ Credit history ☐ Lawful, verifiable alternative evidence of ability to pay the applicant's portion of rent
• If alternative evidence is chosen, secure submission method: [________________________________]; reasonable response deadline communicated: [__/__/____]

6. Applicant Statements

Applicant states that:

• ☐ The information supplied is complete and accurate to the best of the applicant's knowledge.
• ☐ The applicant received the written criteria and state disclosures before any fee or screening.
• ☐ The applicant received the housing provider's privacy/retention notice.
• ☐ The applicant understands this application is not a lease or promise of approval.
• ☐ Identity documents will be provided only through the designated secure channel.

Applicant signature: [________________________________] Date: [__/__/____]

7. Consumer-Report Authorization

I give written instructions authorizing [HOUSING PROVIDER/AGENT] and [CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY] to obtain and use consumer report information solely to evaluate this rental application and, if a tenancy begins, for lawful account-review purposes. This authorization includes only the report types disclosed above.

This authorization relies on 15 U.S.C. § 1681b(a)(2). It does not authorize employment screening, marketing, or disclosure to unrelated persons.

• Consumer reporting agency: [________________________________]
• Address: [________________________________]
• Telephone/toll-free telephone: [________________________________]
• Report types: ☐ Credit ☐ Rental history ☐ Eviction records ☐ Criminal records ☐ Other: [________]
• Authorization expires if no report is requested by: [__/__/____]

Applicant signature: [________________________________] Date: [__/__/____]

California Investigative Consumer Report Notice and Copy Election

Complete this subsection if an investigative consumer report will be requested for the rental decision. The housing provider must give the applicant written notice no later than three days after first requesting that report. This subsection may serve as that notice when completed and delivered on time. It is separate from the ordinary credit-report authorization above.

An investigative consumer report may include information about the applicant's character, general reputation, personal characteristics, and mode of living.

• Investigative consumer reporting agency preparing the report: [________________________________]
• Agency mailing address: [________________________________]
• Report first requested on: [__/__/____]
• This written notice delivered on: [__/__/____] by [METHOD]: [________________________________]

Summary of Civil Code § 1786.22 rights. The applicant may inspect the agency's file during normal business hours on reasonable notice and proper identification. Copies may be requested in person or by certified mail under the conditions in the statute; a telephone summary is available on written request with identification and payment of any call charge. Agency staff must explain furnished information and provide a written explanation of coded information. The applicant may bring one identified companion to an in-person inspection, subject to written permission for discussion in that person's presence.

Applicant's choice for a copy of this investigative report: ☐ I want a copy. ☐ I do not request a copy now. If a copy is requested, the housing provider will send it within three business days after receiving the report, with the issuing agency's name, address, telephone number, and contact instructions. Cal. Civ. Code § 1786.16(b)(1).

Applicant signature for copy election: [________________________________] Date: [__/__/____]

8. Fee or Deposit Receipt

• Date received: [__/__/____]
• Amount received: $[________]
• Character: ☐ No fee ☐ Screening/application fee ☐ Refundable application deposit
• Payment method/reference (no full account number): [________________________________]
• Vendor/out-of-pocket component: $[________]
• Housing-provider processing component, if lawful: $[________]
• Refund due: $[________] by [__/__/____]
• Receipt/itemization delivered by: ☐ Paper ☐ Email
• Recipient signature: [________________________________]

9. Internal Decision Record

• Application complete: ☐ Yes ☐ No
• Date screening began: [__/__/____]
• Criteria applied exactly as disclosed: ☐ Yes
• Decision: ☐ Approved ☐ Approved with lawful conditions ☐ Denied ☐ Withdrawn
• Specific criterion and verified fact supporting decision: [________________________________]
• Consumer report affected decision: ☐ Yes ☐ No
• State-required report copy/refund/notice completed: [________________________________]
• Decision maker/date: [________________________________]

Do not record protected-class information or unsupported assumptions.

10. Adverse-Action Notice

Give this notice whenever consumer-report information contributed to a denial or less favorable rental terms, even if other information also contributed. If a consumer credit report contributed, provide the notice in writing under Cal. Civ. Code § 1785.20(a).

• Applicant: [________________________________]
• Date: [__/__/____]
• Property: [________________________________]

Your application was:

• ☐ Denied
• ☐ Approved with an increased deposit of $[________]
• ☐ Approved with a qualified guarantor
• ☐ Approved with another condition: [________________________________]

Specific disclosed criterion and reason: [________________________________]

Consumer-report information affected this action: ☐ Yes ☐ No

If yes:

• Reporting agency: [________________________________]
• Address: [________________________________]
• Telephone/toll-free telephone: [________________________________]
• Credit score used: ☐ No ☐ Yes: [____]
• Required score-factor disclosures attached, if applicable: ☐ Yes ☐ Not applicable

If a consumer credit report contributed to the decision, state that fact here: "This decision was based in whole or in part on information in a consumer credit report." Identify the reporting agency above and include the right to obtain a free report from it and from any nationwide consumer credit reporting agency within 60 days, and the right to dispute inaccurate or incomplete report information. Cal. Civ. Code § 1785.20(a).

The reporting agency did not make this decision and cannot give the specific reasons for it. You may obtain a free copy of the report from that agency if requested within 60 days, and you may dispute inaccurate or incomplete information with the agency. 15 U.S.C. § 1681m(a).

Housing provider/agent signature: [________________________________]

Sources and References

• 15 U.S.C. § 1681b — https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:15%20section:1681b%20edition:prelim)
• 15 U.S.C. § 1681m — https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:15%20section:1681m%20edition:prelim)
• 42 U.S.C. § 3604 — https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:42%20section:3604%20edition:prelim)
• Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.6 — https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1950.6&lawCode=CIV
• Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1786.12, 1786.16, 1786.22 — https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1786.16.&lawCode=CIV (operative text read from Legislative Counsel bulk code)