You should use a Nebraska Rental Application to collect all the information you need before deciding who you want living on your property.
We have a Nebraska lease agreement that makes the rental process easier, ensuring that you have the proper documents to help you and prospective tenants.
Nebraska Rental Application Fees
Property owners must follow the Nebraska Landlord and Tenant Act concerning application fees and security deposits.
Application Fee
Landlords are allowed to charge an application fee and there is no limit to the application fee that a landlord can charge.
Landlords should be careful not to charge too much for an application fee and keep the amount similar to the cost of processing the rental application.
Security Deposit
Landlords are also allowed to collect a security deposit that they can use to cover damage caused by the tenant or for unpaid rent.
Landlords cannot charge more than one month’s rent for a security deposit.
Pet Deposit
A landlord may not require a pet deposit in excess of one-fourth of one month’s rent.
Federal and Nebraska Fair Housing Laws
As a property owner, there is a lot of information you need to collect, but you must ensure you follow the Federal Fair Housing Act and the Nebraska Fair Housing Act.
This means that you cannot discriminate against potential tenants based on the following:
- Their religious beliefs
- Their sexual orientation or gender identity
- Whether the applicant has a mental or physical disability
- Whether the applicant is married or has children (marital or familial status)
- The race, color, or national origin of the applicant
What to Include in a Nebraska Rental Application
Some of the information you should collect on your Nebraska rental application include the following:
A List of Past Addresses
You might want to ask for a list of prior addresses to determine where the applicant has lived.
If the applicant has rented a property from other landlords, consider getting permission from the applicant to contact his or her prior landlords as references.
That way, you can learn more about what it is like to rent to that person.
Basic Financial Information
You can ask about basic income and salary information to ensure the potential tenant has enough money to pay rent.
Landlords can also ask where the rent will be coming from.
On the other hand, you cannot use his or her employment history as a pretext for discriminating against him or her.
Authorization for Background Check
You may want to dive into the renter’s past with a credit or background check.
A credit check is important for ensuring the renter can pay his or her bills on time. The background check is important for learning more about the applicant’s history.
You will need permission from the applicant, via a background check authorization form, before you can run these checks.
How to Conduct an Eviction Records Search in Nebraska
- Navigate to the Nebraska civil Case Information eServices web page
- Perform a JUSTICE One-Time Court Case Search to conduct a single search
- Create an eServices account to perform multiple searches
There is a $15 charge per search for single searches, and the search will return up to 30 records.
Landlords who anticipate performing many searches can sign up for an eServices account for an annual $100 charge.
You may assign ten user names and passwords per account, which may be helpful for property management companies.
Other Landlord Resources
Nebraska Sex Offender Registry
How to Write a Rental Application
Follow the steps below to write a rental application in Nebraska.
Step 1 – Fill in Property Address Information
Write the date of the rental application and the address of the rental property.
Step 2 – Collect Basic Rental Applicant Information
This section provides the applicant(s) basic identifying information about themselves.
Step 3 – Collect Applicant’s Residence History
In this section, the applicant(s) provides their residence history including addresses, dates of residency, and reasons for moving.
Step 4 – Gather Applicant’s Employment History
This section is for the applicant(s) to provide current and previous employment information and other sources of income.
Step 5 – Gather Applicant’s Financial History
This section is for the applicant(s) to provide bank account and credit card information.
Step 6 – Collect References
The applicant(s) provides personal references’ names and contact information in this section.
Step 7 – Additional Questions and Verification
This section contains additional questions to determine more information about the applicant such as smoking or pets.
Sample Nebraska Rental Application Form
Below is an example of a standard Nebraska rental application form.
You may download this free form or use our document builder to create a customized Nebraska rental application that covers all the details unique to your real estate needs.