A New Jersey Rental Application, otherwise known as a “Lease Application,” is a tool used by managers and owners of residential property to evaluate individuals who have shown interest in renting a unit available for lease. Typically, landlords will require an applicant to provide both the completed application and an attached fee (can be any amount of the landlord’s choosing). Requiring a fee serves two (2) purposes; 1), it prevents prospects who are “tire kicking” (not truly interested), and 2) it covers the costs of running background and credit checks which amount to anywhere between $30 and $50.
When going through completed applications, landlords should look for a wide variety of warning signs, which include previous bankruptcies, a poor credit score, low-quality references, previous evictions, and recent criminal activity, to name a few. Landlords can create any criteria for accepting or denying applicants so long as the conditions fall in-line with the Federal Fair Housing Act, which restricts landlords from conducting discriminatory practices during the screening process.