California rental application forms: rules and requirements for 2026

Whether you are an agent placing a tenant or a landlord screening applicants yourself, California rental applications must comply with federal, state, and local laws. At the federal level, you must follow fair housing guidelines and credit reporting requirements. At the state level, California Civil Code § 1950.6 and Assembly Bill 2493 regulate what you can charge for screening fees (capped at $65.86 in 2026), when you can collect them, and what disclosures you must provide back to the applicant. Local ordinances in cities like Oakland, Berkeley, and San Francisco have additional limits on how you can use criminal histories during your evaluation.

This guide walks through what a California rental application should collect, the fee and disclosure rules that apply in 2026, and some of the local ordinances that add to state law. Local rules vary by city and county, so always check the requirements where the property is located.

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What a California rental application collects

While California does not require a specific application template, real estate agents can benefit from using the C.A.R. Application to Rent/Screening Fee (Form LRA). Form LRA is the standard form among California REALTORS® for gathering a full picture of an applicant's background without asking questions that violate state fair housing law. C.A.R. members can send it directly through our valued partner RentSpree, which delivers full credit, background, and eviction reports to your dashboard alongside the completed application.

Form LRA collects, among other details:

• Occupancy profile: Applicant type (primary tenant, co-applicant, or guarantor/co-signer) and total number of applicants
• Premises details: Property address, agreed rent, and proposed move-in date
• Personal and household data: Contact details, emergency contacts, vehicles, and pet or service animal status
• Residential history: Past addresses, landlord references, and rental durations
• Employment and financial information: Income sources, employment history, and outstanding creditor balances
• References: Professional, personal, and nearest relative contact details
• Legal consents: Signed authorizations to verify details and run consumer credit reports
• Statutory disclosures: Itemization of the screening fee and California's required background check notifications

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Disclose your screening criteria before collecting fees

Under Assembly Bill 2493, California regulates how housing providers collect screening fees and process applications. Before you accept any payment, you must provide your screening process and criteria to the applicant in writing. You also cannot collect a fee if you know, or should have known, that no rental unit is available.

Once criteria are provided, you must follow one of two compliance paths:

• Path A (sequential processing): Review applications against your criteria in the order you receive them, approving the first applicant who qualifies. You can only charge a fee to an applicant whose application you are actively reviewing.
• Path B (flexible review with refunds): If you collect multiple applications at once without processing them sequentially, you must return the full screening fee to every applicant you do not select. This refund must be issued within 7 days of choosing a tenant or 30 days of receiving the application, whichever comes first.

The California Department of Real Estate advises putting screening criteria in writing and sharing them before collecting any fee. You are also required to provide a copy of the consumer credit report to the applicant within seven days of receiving it.

California rental application fee caps for 2026

In California, the most a landlord can charge to screen a rental applicant is $65.86 per person in 2026. (That cap started at $30 and rises a little each year to keep up with inflation).

You can charge only what screening actually costs you out-of-pocket plus the reasonable value of your time. If you do not run a report or pull a check, you must refund that unused portion.

Collecting a screening fee triggers four obligations:

• Provide the applicant with an itemized receipt breaking down your out-of-pocket costs and time
• Send a copy of any credit report you pull within seven days, without waiting for a request
• Do not charge a fee if no unit is available or coming available soon
• Refund the full fee if you do not end up processing the application or pulling a report

Tenant screening with our partner RentSpree starts at $39.99, and fees can be passed on to applicants where permitted, so long as you comply with California tenant screening laws.

Verifying income and creditworthiness

The employment and income section of the California rental application asks applicants to list their employer, salary, and other income sources to help you determine the tenant's ability to pay.

That said, that information is self-reported, and the supporting documents (pay stubs, bank statements, employment letters) can be fabricated. Applicant fraud involving forged income documents has been rising across the rental industry.

One way you can reduce risk is by pulling deposit history from the applicant's verified financial institution rather than relying on uploaded files. RentSpree offers this service as part of a $10 premium screening add-on (typically paid by the applicant, so long as total screening fees do not exceed local limits).

Government subsidy applicants. When screening applicants in California who use a government rent subsidy such as a Section 8 voucher, Senate Bill 267 (amending Gov. Code § 12955) requires that you offer an alternative way to demonstrate creditworthiness before rejecting based on a credit score or traditional credit report. Acceptable alternatives include government benefit records, pay records, and bank statements.

Questions you cannot ask on California rental applications

California's fair housing laws cover protected classes that go well past federal requirements, including immigration status, citizenship, primary language, source of income, marital and familial status, gender identity and expression, genetic information, medical conditions, age, and military or veteran status.

Three areas trigger additional legal risk on rental applications:

Immigration and citizenship status. California Civil Code § 1940.3 bars questions about an applicant's immigration or citizenship status. You can still verify identity and financial qualifications. If an applicant lacks a Social Security number or a U.S. driver's license, you must accept alternative documents such as an unexpired foreign passport or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).

Source of income. Under Gov. Code § 12955, you must treat government housing vouchers and other public assistance as legitimate income. When evaluating whether an applicant meets your income standard, apply that formula only to the portion of rent the tenant is personally responsible for paying, not the full monthly rent.

Domestic violence and abuse history. Under Civ. Code § 1946.9, you cannot deny an application or offer less favorable terms because the applicant requested a lock change from a prior landlord, ended a lease to escape an abusive situation, or contacted law enforcement as a victim. You may request written documentation to establish victim status (such as a police report or restraining order). Violations carry actual damages plus penalties between $100 and $5,000 per violation.

Criminal history follows separate rules

California regulations at Title 2, Sections 12264 through 12271 govern how housing providers use criminal history. Blanket bans are unlawful, including advertising or screening policies that exclude anyone with a record. You cannot consider arrests that produced no conviction, diversion program participation, sealed records, or juvenile adjudications.

A conviction you do consider must relate directly to a substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interest such as resident safety or the condition of the property. Verify financial and other qualifications first, keep a written policy on file, and give the applicant room to present additional information before making a final decision.

Several California cities have enacted their own fair chance housing ordinances, including:

• Oakland bars criminal history screening during advertising, application, tenant selection, and eviction under its Fair Chance Housing Ordinance (Municipal Code Chapter 8.25). Narrow exceptions cover owner-occupied units, co-tenant additions, the state lifetime sex offender registry after a conditional offer, and HUD-funded units. Each violation carries a civil penalty up to $1,000.
• Berkeley bars asking about criminal history, requiring disclosure or authorization to release it, or basing a decision on it, under the Ronald V. Dellums Fair Chance Access to Housing Ordinance (Municipal Code Chapter 13.106). The ordinance exempts owner-occupied properties of one to three units. Penalties range from $1,000 to $10,000 per violation.
• San Francisco applies its Fair Chance Ordinance to affordable housing providers rather than private landlords. Covered providers cannot ask about criminal history on the application and must settle every other qualification first.

Other cities and counties may have their own requirements. Confirm the rules where the property is located before you order a report.

RentSpree's background checks, powered by TransUnion, return national records (sex offender registries, Most Wanted lists, and the OFAC watchlist) plus local criminal court records under standard coverage. Local court coverage varies by jurisdiction across every screening provider.

When you deny an applicant in California

When your decision to deny an applicant is based even partly on a screening report, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires a written notice stating that the report factored into your decision, naming the company that produced it, and explaining how the applicant can request a free copy and dispute anything inaccurate. Skipping the notice can result in statutory damages of up to $1,000 per violation. RentSpree helps you stay compliant by generating a compliant denial notice from the dashboard after you review the report. If you collected a holding deposit and then denied the application, return the full amount.

How C.A.R. members can send rental applications from RentSpree

RentSpree is a C.A.R. partner, and members can send the C.A.R. Application to Rent/Screening Fee form from the RentSpree dashboard. Membership validates automatically through single sign-on. Agents connected through an MLS get the C.A.R. form included when they add RentSpree to a listing.

To send it:

• Select Screening, then Screen Tenants, from the left menu
• Accept the TransUnion agreement and enter your home address the first time through
• Connect your C.A.R. account when the option appears for a California address
• Choose an existing listing or add a new one with a California property address
• Select Edit on the confirmation page, then choose the C.A.R. rental application

You then set what the screening package includes and who pays. The application goes out as a link you can share by email, text, or add to your MLS listing. RentSpree works with more than 300 MLSs, associations, and brokerage partners and serves more than 4 million users.

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Getting it right from the first application

California's rental application rules cover a lot of ground: fee caps, written criteria, protected class restrictions, criminal history limitations that vary by city, and federal disclosure requirements when you deny an applicant. Missing any one of them can delay a lease-up or create legal exposure you did not see coming. Using a standardized form like the C.A.R. Application to Rent, paired with a screening platform that handles compliance at each step, keeps the process consistent whether you are filling one vacancy or managing a full portfolio. RentSpree connects the application to screening, accept/deny decisions, lease e-signatures, and rent collection in a single dashboard, so nothing gets lost between steps.

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Common questions about California rental applications

How much can a landlord charge for a rental application in California?

California caps the screening fee at $65.86 per applicant for 2026, and you can charge only your actual out-of-pocket costs up to that amount. RentSpree screening starts at $39.99, paid by the applicant where local rules permit. You still owe an itemized receipt and a copy of any credit report you pull.

What can a landlord ask on a rental application in California?

You can ask about employment, income, residence history, references, pets, vehicles, and occupancy. You cannot ask about immigration or citizenship status, age, medical condition, or any other protected characteristic. C.A.R.’s rental application collects identity, income, and rental history without touching those areas.

Can a landlord run a criminal background check in California?

Yes in most of the state, with limits. California bars blanket bans, prohibits consideration of arrests without conviction and of sealed or juvenile records, and requires an individual review. Oakland and Berkeley restrict criminal screening for most housing providers, and San Francisco restricts it for affordable housing.

Does a landlord have to say why an application was denied?

When a screening report factored into a denial decision, federal law requires a written notice. RentSpree, a partner of C.A.R., sends that notice from the dashboard after you review the report. It names the company that produced the report and tells the applicant how to get a free copy and dispute anything inaccurate, to help you stay compliant.