Reliable Rentals Tenant Application Form: Fill & Download for Free

This answer is based on California law.You should fill out and serve the “Three-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit” (vacate) form, carefully following instructions from a reputable website, such as Nolo Press (Legal Encyclopedia, Legal Forms, Books, & Software) or your local Court website. If the payment demanded hasn’t been received by the deadline, file an unlawful detainer action to get possession of the premises, back rent up to the day the 3-day Notice expired, and monetary damages for any occupancy after that. You probably shouldn’t attempt to do this without an attorney, unless you are up to the challenge of learning a new and complicated procedure of this nature.Given that the first step in the process is serving the 3-Day Notice, at which point you probably won’t have yet hired an attorney, it’s important to get it, well, exactly right. Make sure you check out the details online. In particular, your calculation of the rent owed must not exceed the correct amount, even by a penny. Otherwise, the entire case could be thrown out at trial, costing you precious time. If there are significant maintenance issues with the unit, you would be well advised to look into them before filing the action. Some judges are inclined to give the tenant a bit of leeway if there are legitimate habitability issues.Hunker down. All this will take time. It wouldn’t be all that unusual for it to take at least a couple of months to get them out. The sheriff who is assigned to your local court will perform the eviction; don’t try any funny stuff yourself. If you do, the Court will take offense and punish you severely. The municipal police don’t participate in the eviction unless it’s connected to another criminal matter.Once the unit has officially been returned to you, then you may re-tenant it and try to collect on your judgment against the tenant. When the Sheriff performs the lockout, they will set an appointment; do NOT under any circumstances miss this date and time. If you do, they will have to re-schedule. You or your authorized representative must be present during the lockout, and you should be prepared to change the locks at that time, unless the tenant needs a little time to retrieve his furniture. However, if you have any doubts as to his dependability, it’s probably best to change the locks and then have the tenant make an appointment with you to provide access when he’s ready to remove his belongings.If the tenant is running into troubles in moving his furniture and/or belongings, you can bring to his attention inexpensive moving services, including storage facilities that will leave a “pod” at the premises to be loaded up, then hitched up and taken to the facility. If it’s cheap enough, you might even offer to pay one month’s rent, but make sure the rental is in the tenant’s name.If the tenant abandons the unit while the UD is in progress, you may re-take the unit and continue with the action, which will then be limited to monetary recovery. If there is abandoned property left behind, make sure to handle it according to the applicable statutes, which may require you to give notice and/or store or even attempt to sell the items. Proceeds can technically only be applied to allowable storage charges, not rent owing. (Strange, isn’t it?) Most tenants don’t leave behind anything of significant value; if the total is less than a statutory amount, you can essentially trash it or pick what you want.You will still have to account for the security deposit, but you can apply it to any unsatisfied rent still owing, as well as cleaning and damage to the unit, as outlined in statute. Follow the refund rules carefully, as the Court is a bit touchy about that as well, particularly, the 21-day deadline for mailing the refund. If you don’t know where your tenant is, you must mail the refund, along with the required statement of deductions, to their last known address, which is often the address of the unit. If it doesn’t come back unforwardable, it could be a lead for their new whereabouts. If all of the deposit has been absorbed by allowable deductions, and there’s still a remaining balance owing, you may want to pursue collection against the tenant, perhaps using a collection agency.I should also add the following advice. In order to document any abandoned property or to justify any charges for cleaning or repair, it’s a wise policy to take photographs to support your claims. Also, at each step of the way, you should have reliable information to consult; there are many details involved that can trip you up. This Quora answer is intended to be a summary only.If it should somehow happen that the tenant pays the sum demanded in the 3-Day Notice by its deadline, your cause of action is extinguished, unless you have included in your filing another reason to evict other than the overdue rent demanded (but in that case you should have used a different notice or notices, such as Notice to Perform Covenant). If they end up legally staying on, however, you would probably want to give them a 30-Day or 60-Day Notice to Quit (according to statute), since you may not want to go through all that stress again.

Purchase landlord insurance.Pay an attorney to draw up a personalized and detailed lease.Choose a service to conduct full background checks.Determine the set of criteria that you will use to select eligible tenants.Educate yourself on the laws in your state (and city).You absolutely must have an insurance policy specifically for homes that are used as rentals. These will cost more than a regular homeowners policy but they are absolutely essentially. It should cover the the typical damage to the property as well as liability and lost income.It is possible to download standardized leases online and fill in the blank, but it’s important to note that any part of the contract that is contrary to applicable laws will be invalid, so you need an attorney who practices this aspect of law in your jurisdiction to help ensure that the lease is even valid. You will also want to clarify the landlord-tenant relationship as much as possible in this document, perhaps even specifying common sense information. I know that it’s tempting to skip this cost, but doing so could literally cost you many thousands of dollars down the road.Nearly all landlords who know what they are doing conduct a series of checks on any prospective tenants, and websites like this one can help you find the service(s) that best suits your needs. Past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior, and you need to look at an applicant’s credit and past evictions at a minimum, though I really recommend that you check criminal records, judgments, address, and SSN verification as well. There is a fee for such services, but you are allowed to charge a reasonable non-refundable application fee to help offset the cost and weed out people who would waste your time.You will use the information that the background checks provide to decide which applicants are eligible to rent to you, and the best way to make rational and unemotional decisions is to set out a firm list of minimum requirements. Discrimination lawsuits are a real danger for landlords. They can be costly to fight even if you ultimately win, and the only real way to protect yourself is to use objective criteria. You want to set your standards as high as the desirability of your property and the market will allow, as the likelihood that a tenant will cause trouble and cost you money increases exponentially the more lenient you are. As an example, I reject all applicants who do not have a credit score of at least 650 and an rent to income ratio of 1:3 or better, or who have been evicted in the past or had a legal dispute with a landlord.I would really recommend using an experienced rental manager or agency, at least until you become more familiar with the business. If you do it on your own you will also benefit from having a relationship with an attorney, which is another good reason to seek the assistance of one when it comes to drawing up a lease. You won’t be able to learn everything there is to know right away, but you need to find a reliable source to teach you about the basics in your state:When can you enter the unit and how much notice is required?What is the eviction process?What are your options when a tenant breaks the lease?What is the timeline of maintenance?There is more to being a landlord than I could tell you here, but I would suggest that you carry out monthly inspections, only accept rent in the form of money orders, do not hand over keys until that MO has cleared the bank, ask for a security deposit equal to at least one month’s rent, and ask for payment for any damages so the deposit remains intact. Evictions can be difficult, but when they are likely to be unavoidable it is best to start the process immediately. Do not be afraid to file for eviction or sue tenants. It’s better to avoid it when possible, but remember that the fees are negligible and that the process is designed to allow you to represent yourself.The most important thing to remember is that you are running a business. Nearly every tenant who has trouble paying rent will have a sympathetic reason, but mortgahe’s, taxes, insurance, and maintenance has to be paid no matter what. When your tenant doesn’t pay rent you aren’t “only” losing income: You are paying their rent out of your own pocket. Be kind by fulfilling your obligations, but do not feel bad when you have to hold your tenants to their end of the contract. No one feels bad for demanding that their boss pays their salary and refusing to work for free, after all.

Not all renters ruin houses, but in general, you don’t treat something the same if it is your own. The temporary nature of renting can lead to not caring since you don’t have to bear the long term consequences of neglect.That’s why its extremely important to get to know your renters prior to letting someone move into your property. You want someone that will pay rent on time and will treat you and your property with respect, always!Here are some tips:Use a Thorough Rental Application FormA good rental application form shouldn’t be too long or complex, but it should gather all of the important information about your potential renters while minimizing the risk of compromising sensitive applicant personal information.Asking for your applicant’s address history, income, employment information, and references will help you to weed out any unqualified renters and can be used to take the additional steps outlined later in this article.While most applications ask for sensitive personal information such a SSN for the landlord to be able to run criminal background and credit checks, some applicants are reluctant to provide such information in written form.Also, many landlords don’t want to take on the responsibility of gathering that information and the liability of keeping it safe.You can avoid this issue and save yourself time by using an online tenant screening tool, which will allow your applicants to enter their own information as well as pay for the screening report themselves.Run a Criminal Background Check and Obtain a Recent Credit ReportThe first thing you should always do after receiving a qualified application is run a thorough tenant screen that will include a criminal background check and a full, recent credit report.A comprehensive background check will detail your applicant’s criminal history and eviction records using reliable source data with broad national coverage. Background checks specifically designed for individual landlords should come in an easy to digest, clear format.A recent credit report will show you an applicant’s credit score, credit history, current debt levels, and potentially even their rent payment history.While a good quality tenant screening will reveal most of what you need to know, it does not paint the full picture. To really get to know your applicants, there are a few additional steps every landlord should take that can make the difference between the right or wrong fit.Ask for Recent Pay StubsYour renter’s main duty is to pay rent in full and on time. Understanding your applicant’s income level will help you determine their ability to cover the monthly rent.Because this is the leading factor in your renter’s ability to pay rent, you should verify it by asking for recent pay stubs as opposed to taking your applicant’s word for it.Having a paycheck to paycheck renter will often lead to payment problems and a good rule of thumb is that your renter should make at least three times the total rent expense before taxes. So if the monthly rent is $1,500, your renter should make at least $4,500 in gross income per month to comfortably cover the rent.Contact Previous LandlordsTalking to previous landlords who were in your shoes is a great way to know how your applicant has behaved as a renter in the past.You should call the most recent landlord and ask the following questions:Did they consistently pay rent on time?Do they owe you any money still?Were they able to get their full deposit back?Did they damage the property in any significant manner?Did they treat the unit and their neighbors with respect?What is the reason they no longer live there?Would you accept them as a tenant again?These types of questions will give you more insight than a credit score ever will.Reach Out to Their Current EmployerTalking to your applicant’s current employer will confirm that they actually hold a job at the place of employment indicated in the rental application.This step might also shed more light on the character of your applicant and verify that they are in good standing at work. An employer speaking highly of an applicant is a great indicator of a good potential tenant.Consider Interviewing your ApplicantsAfter you’ve checked all of the above boxes, consider talking to the applicant directly to learn more about them.You can ask questions such as:What is the reason you are looking to move?How long do you plan on staying in the area?Do you plan to bring in any roommates?What does your typical day look like between work an home?Do you smoke? like to go out? play instruments or listen to loud music?Do you plan on making any significant changes to the property?If they have pets, you can use this opportunity to learn more about them.Be Diligent in Your ProcessSometimes it won’t be possible for you to take all of these steps if for example, the applicant is a first-time renter, new to a city without landing a job yet or other scenarios that might make things more difficult to evaluate.However, you should always screen your applicants and take these additional steps whenever possible to ensure you are protecting your property and maximizing your investment.When it comes to choosing the right tenant, the more you know the better.