Utah Rental Application Form (PDF & Word Download)

Landlords send out the Utah rental application form to potential tenants to gather the information that will be used for the security check and screening before they lease a rental property. Using this information, the landlord will then decide whether leasing their property to the candidate is a good idea.

In this article, we'll discuss what you can and cannot include in your rental application form and walk you through the Utah law regarding these applications.

Details to Include

Before signing a formal contract with a tenant, you can screen them or find out whether they are a suitable fit using a Utah rental application. This document will allow you to learn more about the tenant, including their income, rental history, and more.

Each prospective adult tenant who will reside in the property over 18 must fill out a separate tenant form.

When deciding who to lease a rental unit to, landlords must have a potential tenant fill out a rental application. Here are some of the clauses you can include in a Utah rental application form:

• The prospective tenant's personal details
• Information about their income and employment
• Credit history
• Personal preferences
• Rental history
• Permission to conduct a background check

What Not to Include

Tenants in Utah are safeguarded from unjust discrimination throughout the application process by both federal and state regulations. The following protected groups cannot be subjected to discrimination under the Federal Fair Housing Act:

• Race
• Sex
• Nationality
• Familial status
• Religion
• Disability
• Criminal history

Keep in mind that certain exemptions may apply.

Utah Laws

You might not have realized this, but Utah's tenant screening laws vary slightly from those of other states. When drawing up a rental application form, you'll need to know the finer details of the rules and regulations set forth by Utah state law. We'll take a closer look at these laws in the section below.

The Application Fee

The amount that a landlord may charge as an application fee in Utah is unrestricted. In addition, the application fee—regardless of its amount—is not refundable.

Security Deposit

No Utah law specifies a cap on the amount landlords may charge for security deposits (UT Code § 57-17-2). Additionally, there are no security deposit holding or receipt-providing obligations. However, the landlord must maintain accurate records of the deposits they receive from the tenant.

Housing Discrimination Law

The truth is that there isn't a specific state statute against housing discrimination in Utah. However, the Fair Housing Act (FHA) is still in effect (UT Code 57-21-1). According to the FHA, it is unlawful to discriminate against tenants based on their race, sex, nationality, and more, as mentioned in the "What Not to Include" section above.

Background Checks

If you're a first-time landlord in Utah, you're probably wondering what background checks you will need to conduct when processing a Utah rental application and how to do them. In the section below, we'll discuss these checks in greater detail.

• Criminal history check. A criminal background check will reveal records concerning the tenant in archives like the national sex offender public registry or local court criminal records.
• Credit check. The results of a credit check will either be a straightforward "pass or fail" report or a comprehensive credit report with the tenant's credit rating and details on their income, job, previous addresses, credit requests and more, all subject to the applicant's written approval.
• Eviction check. A tenant's history of eviction petitions or judgments against them for the previous seven years is revealed by an eviction check.

How to Do an Eviction Check

To request approval for an account with the Utah State Courts' Case Search, you will need to send an email to the Courts' Administrative Office words "XChange" in the subject line.

You should also include a signed subscription agreement. Remember that membership will cost $40 per month and allows you to conduct up to 500 searches each month. There is also a $25 registration fee.

Within two business days, you should receive a reply from the courts with registration and payment details. Any incidents involving the prospective tenant will appear when you log in to XChange and type in their name. Choose the case number, and you can view a more detailed case history.

Important Laws

According to the Federal Credit Reporting Act, the applicant must grant written approval before a landlord may perform a background check using the completed rental application details pertaining to the potential tenant.

The form itself may contain a declaration to that effect and a signature, or an additional document may be used to provide this explicit written consent.

Adverse Action

Suppose you notice a red flag and need to take adverse action against the tenant by rejecting his or her application, requesting a more substantial security deposit or rent, or requesting a co-signer; an adverse action notice must be provided.

Build Your Own

If you need help drawing up this document, you have two options. First, you could choose to use a free form that you can download and edit. We have a rental application form in PDF and Word format that you can use when creating a rental application.

Alternatively, you can use DoorLoop's intuitive editing tool to customize your rental applications. Thanks to an autofill feature, you'll have your rental documents drawn up in no time! DoorLoop also has a number of tools to help you grow your rental business, including free listings, rent collection, accounting features, and more!

eSignature

Suppose you want your tenant to automatically sign a Utah rental application form. And maybe you want a tenant portal where they can submit maintenance requests and pay rent online?

In that case, you can use DoorLoop's property management software designed specifically for landlords and property managers. You can turn your form into a reusable template, have it auto-fill all the tenants information and send it for eSignature.

If you need to find a new tenant, you can even market your property on Zillow, Trulia, Hotpads, Apartments.com, and more. The best part is, there’s no more paper applications! Your tenants can fill out their rental application online, and you can even run background checks on them covering criminal, credit, and eviction reports powered by TransUnion.

To get a closer look at DoorLoop, learn more or schedule a free demo.

Final Thoughts

Now that you know what to include in your Utah rental application, you can screen your tenant to determine whether he or she is a good fit for your rental property. If you're looking for a quick and easy way to build your next application, check out DoorLoop's innovative software!