A Vermont Rental Application form is helpful for Vermont property management companies, property owners, and landlords.
The information you collect from a rental application helps you review prospective tenants’ backgrounds to verify they can pay rent regularly.
With a Vermont rental application, property owners and landlords can look for potential issues in a renter’s past before offering a lease agreement.
These could include employment issues, financial issues, and even issues raised during a credit check.
Use our Vermont rental application to ensure your applicants can afford your rental property and will maintain it well.
Vermont Rental Application Information for Landlords
Landlords need to ensure they vet their applicants thoroughly.
Some of the information that they might want to ask for include:
- Income: Landlords need to make sure their renters have the ability and resources to pay rent. Asking about their source of income can be beneficial.
- Number of Tenants: There might be one person responsible for paying the rent, but the landlord may want to know exactly how many people will be living on the property. That way, they can make sure they have a safe environment.
- Security Deposit: Landlords also want to ask for a security deposit. This deposit can cover nonpayment of rent, unpaid utility charges, and potential damage caused to the property other than normal wear and tear. There is no limit on the amount of security deposit the landlord can charge a tenant but there are rules on the timely return of the deposit minus any permitted deductions.
It is important for property owners to make sure the renter can afford the property and that the property is protected.
Vermont Rental Application Information for Tenants
Tenants must know their rights.
A few key areas that tenants have to keep in mind include:
- Application Fee: Landlords cannot charge an application fee.
- Discrimination: There are several questions that landlords are not allowed to ask about on a rental application in Vermont. A landlord cannot discriminate based on an applicant’s race, national origin, age, religion, race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, marital status, family status, receipt of public assistance, or status as a victim of abuse, sexual assault or stalking.
- Credit Checks: A landlord can perform a background and credit check on the applicant as long as the applicant has given the landlord his or her consent to check that credit history.
Vermont landlords must ensure they do not violate these provisions during the rental application process.
Federal Law and Vermont Rental Applications
Landlords need to be thorough, but they cannot ask applicants about their:
- Disabilities
- Racial ethnicity or national origin
- Religion
- Sex (including gender identity or sexual orientation)
- Family information
The Federal Fair Housing Act prohibits this information.
Authorization for Background Check
Conducting credit, rental history, and criminal background checks and looking into an applicant’s eviction history helps protect landlords from potential problems that may arise.
Property owners likely don’t want to offer a lease contract to someone with poor credit or past criminal activity.
You need an applicant’s permission to run certain background checks typically part of the tenant screening process.
Landlords can either include a consent statement on the rental application or use our background check authorization form to obtain permission.
How to Conduct an Eviction Records Search
- Navigate to the Vermont Judiciary Odyssey Public Portal website.
- Click on “Smart Search.”
- Enter the applicant’s full name.
- Optional, click on “Advanced Filtering Options” to narrow the search by location or other criteria.
If you decide not to offer an applicant a rental agreement based on a history of eviction or other valid reason, send a rental application rejection letter explaining the reasons why.
Vermont Rental Application Statistic/Specifics
According to information from the city of Burlington, one of the largest cities in Vermont, people file more than 100 complaints relating to housing discrimination every year.
Vermont has a series of unique laws that all landlords must follow to ensure they screen all applicants fairly without violating their rights.
Other Landlord Resources
How to Write a Rental Application
Follow the steps below to write a rental application in Vermont.
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 Vermont Rental Application Form
Below is an example of a standard Vermont rental application form.
You may download this free form or use our document builder to create a customized Vermont rental application that covers all the details unique to your real estate needs.
How to Write a Rental Application
Some of the steps in writing a Vermont rental application include:
- Collect basic identifying information of the applicant.
- Ask for the residence history of the applicant.
- Collect employment history to verify the resident is gainfully employed. You should also ask about financial history here.
- Ask for any references you might require.
- Include any additional questions that you might be interested in, such as pets or smoking history.
Sample Vermont Rental Application Form
If you are looking for a Vermont rental application form, take a closer look at our sample.