A Louisiana Rental Application allows landlords to gather information about prospective tenants. Verifying an applicant’s rental history, finances, income, and background may prevent you from offering a lease agreement to a tenant prone to late rent payments and property damage.
Laws
- Application Fee – Non-refundable
- Application Fee Limits – No limits (no statute)
- Security Deposit – No limits (no statute)
Application Fees
Louisiana rental application fees, which landlords can charge to recover the cost of screening tenants, are not limited.
In Louisiana, they are typically non-refundable even if the landlord eventually rejects an application.
Fair Housing Protections
- No, Refusing Sales or Rentals: After you’ve made an offer, you are not allowed to decline to sell or to rent to someone based on their race, color, religion, sex, family situation, or where they come from.
- Fair Treatment in Housing: Everyone should be treated equally in terms of conditions, service, and opportunities when they’re buying or renting a place to live. This means no unfairness because of someone’s race, religion, gender, family status, or nationality.
- Watch What You Advertise: Any ads or notices about selling or renting a home shouldn’t suggest preferring or excluding people based on their background, beliefs, family status, or disability.
- Honest Availability: You can’t tell someone a place isn’t available for them to look at, buy, or rent based on discriminatory reasons when it actually is available.
- No Scaremongering for Profit: It’s wrong to try and make someone sell or rent their home by suggesting that the neighborhood is changing in a way that preys on prejudices [1] .
Disability Discrimination:
- Can’t deny someone a home or treat them differently in buying or renting because they or someone associated with them has a disability.
- Must ensure fair terms, services, and facilities for people with disabilities or those living with or associated with them.
Security Deposits
- Security Deposit Limit: Louisiana does not specify the maximum amount a landlord can charge as a security deposit from each adult rental applicant.
- Handling and Return of Security Deposits: No legal requirement to provide a receipt upon receiving a security deposit.
- Interest: Landlords are not required to pay interest on held security deposits.
- Return of deposit: The security deposit must be returned within one month after the lease ends.
- Transfer of Deposit: If a property is sold, the original landlord must transfer the security deposit to the new owner, who then assumes the responsibility for the funds and their eventual return under the terms of the original rental agreement [2] .
Pet Deposits
According to Louisiana law, there is no maximum deposit amount a landlord can request to offset the potential cost of damages by a tenant’s pets.
Sample
Download our Louisiana rental application template to make sure you screen your applicants thoroughly. If you’d like to customize your form, use our document builder.
