Rhode Island rental/lease application form

When a potential tenant approaches a landlord about renting out a piece of property, they are given a Rhode Island rental/lease application form. The landlord will conduct background checks on the tenant's personal and professional information and collect a non-refundable fee for this process. When the application is approved, the landlord will handle it and give the applicant a rental lease agreement to sign.

Rhode Island rental/lease application form template

Rhode Island rental/lease application form

The Rhode Island rental application law

Application Fee: There is no cap on how much a property manager may charge for an application expense, and costs are not refundable (no resolution).

Security Deposit: Per Section 511.1(a), no property manager may demand a security deposit amount greater than one month's rent.

Requirements for applicant screening

Applicant details

The most sensitive information about the applicant is typically found in this document because it contains personally identifiable information, or PII. This section primarily deals with identifying the person applying for the property and confirming that person's identity. Additionally, it helps you compile some crucial information that you should save in case you need to get in touch with the applicant or submit a restraining order.

Statements of accounts

Ask for bank statements regardless of whether the applicant has a typical pay stub. Both are ways of proving one's ability to cover the rent.

Highlighting the entries that reflect pay is a good idea because it prevents you from having to read through every transaction on a lengthy list. 

An applicant's credit history:

When a tenant applies for a rental, it is crucial that the landlord thoroughly investigate their credit history. A person's credit score reveals any debt they may have and their likelihood of making timely payments.

Past rental history

To prevent time-consuming and expensive evictions as a landlord, you must comply with this requirement. This will assist in reducing the pool of potential dependable tenants who will, among other advantages, ensure that your property is well-maintained.

Criminal background checks 

Tenant reference checks are valuable tools for screening prospective tenants and identifying any warning signs. Depending on what you're looking for, the results of your background investigation will be slightly different, but they will all attest to the tenant's identity. Furthermore, they will look into your criminal history at all government levels—federal, state, and local. The majority of background checks also check for eviction history, sex offenders registry inclusion, and placement on any global terrorism watchlists for your potential tenant.

Download our free Rhode Island lease application in an instant to create a legally binding document.

Download our free Rhode Island lease application in an instant to create a legally binding document.

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