Completing Your Rental Application and Uploading Documents

A complete, accurate application with your supporting documents gets reviewed faster — this guide walks through every step of applying from a landlord's invite link and tracking your application afterward.

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What the application form asks for

Landlords build their own application form, so exact fields vary, but common ones include your name (with an optional middle name), current and previous address (with autocomplete), employer (with company search, or an I'm unemployed toggle that zeroes out income), monthly income, move-in date, pets, vehicles, and any custom questions the landlord added. Required fields are marked with a red asterisk.

Screening reports and your Social Security Number

If the landlord requested any background reports on the invite, the application shows a Screening Reports Requested card listing exactly which ones — Criminal Background Check, Eviction History, Rental History & Address Verification, and/or Income & Bank Verification. By submitting, you authorize the landlord to obtain those consumer reports for the sole purpose of evaluating your application, under the FCRA's permissible-purpose provision (15 U.S.C. § 1681b(a)(3)(A)).

• Criminal, eviction, and rental history checks each require your full 9-digit Social Security Number and current address for identity verification.
• If only identity verification (not screening) is needed, you may instead be asked for just the last 4 digits of your SSN.
• Your SSN is encrypted and never stored or shared in plain text. If you started the application before entering it, you'll be prompted for it on a dedicated step before payment.

Uploading supporting documents

Documents are optional but strengthen your application. You can upload:

• Pay stubs— up to 3, last 2–3 months showing consistent income
• Bank statements— up to 6, last 3–6 months (helpful if self-employed)
• Tax returns / W-2s — up to 3, to verify annual income
• Employment verification letter — up to 1
• Proof of rent payments — up to 3, cleared checks, transfers, or receipts from a prior landlord

Accepted files are PDFs and common image formats. If the landlord didn't request formal income verification on your invite, you may also see an Instant Bank Verification option powered by Plaid — securely connecting your bank instantly verifies income and assets and can speed up approval. It's entirely optional; you can skip it and rely on the document uploads instead.

Prior landlord references and your message

You can invite up to 2 prior landlords as references directly from the application — they get a quick email to rate you and don't need to create an account. There's also an optional message field to introduce yourself to the landlord.

Paying the application fee (and report costs)

Whether you pay anything — and how much — depends on the landlord's invite settings:

• If the landlord covers screening costs, the form says so and you're only responsible for the application fee (if any).
• If you're responsible for report costs, each requested report's price is itemized alongside the application fee before you pay.
• If the total due is $0, you'll see a No payment required banner and can submit immediately — no card needed.

Saving progress and resuming

If you leave before finishing — whether that's before entering your SSN or before completing payment — your answers, uploaded documents, and any landlord references you invited are saved. Reopening the same invite link picks up exactly where you left off, with a note letting you know your application was saved and what's left to do.

After you submit

Submitting takes you to your application's detail page, where a progress timeline tracks four stages: Application Submitted, Screening Reports, Reports Shared, and Decision. From there you can:

• Watch screening reports move from ordered to complete, and share them with the landlord when ready
• Keep editing your uploaded pay stubs and bank statements — until the application is approved, denied, or withdrawn
• Invite additional prior-landlord references (up to the 2-reference limit)
• Use the AI application coach for feedback while your application is still pending
• Withdraw the application if you change your mind, as long as it's still active

See Running Your Own Screening Reports in My Reports and Sharing Reports, Correcting Errors, and Your FCRA Rights for what happens once your reports come back.