Michigan Rental Application Form

What the Michigan rental application is

This is a two-page fillable rental application titled "Michigan Rental Application." It collects the applicant's identity, the people who will live in the unit, three past residences, three jobs, bank and credit accounts, vehicles, references, and a set of screening questions, and it ends with a signed authorization for credit and criminal checks. It is a general template, not a form issued by the State of Michigan. Michigan does not publish an official rental application, so landlords may use this layout or their own.

Who uses it

Landlords and property managers in Michigan use it to screen applicants for apartments and houses. Renters use it when a landlord sends a blank PDF or asks applicants to bring a completed application to a showing.

What to have ready

• Addresses, last rent paid, and landlord or manager phone numbers for up to three homes, with move-in and move-out dates
• Employer names, addresses, phone numbers, supervisor names, and monthly gross pay for up to three jobs
• Names of your bank or credit union accounts and approximate balances, plus any credit card and auto loan
• Make, model, color, year, and plate for each vehicle, including vehicles of other occupants
• Names, birth dates, and relationships of everyone who will live with you

Our guide to the documents needed for a rental application lists the pay stubs and IDs landlords often ask for alongside the form.

How to fill it out online

Click "Fill Template Now," click into each field and type, add your signature, then download the completed PDF. Every field in the list below is fillable, so you do not need to print and handwrite anything.

Page 1

• Applicant: First Name, Middle, Last, Birth Date, Social Security #, Driver's License #, Any Other Names You've Used In The Past, Home Phone, and Cell Phone.
• All Other Proposed Occupants: rows for each additional person's name, Birth Date, and Relationship To Applicant.
• Rental/Residence History: three columns for your Current, Previous, and Prior Residence. Each asks for Street Address, City, State & Zip, Last Rent Amount Paid, Owner/Manager and Phone Number, Reason for leaving, and three yes or no questions: "Is/Was rent paid in full?", "Did you give notice?", and "Were you asked to move?" Below the columns you list the Name(s) in which your utilities are now billed and the From/To dates of residency.
• Employment History: Current, Previous, and Prior Employment, each with Employed By, Address, Employer's Phone, Occupation, Name of Supervisor, Monthly Gross Pay, and From/To dates.
• Credit History: the Bank/Institution Name and the Balance On Deposit or Balance Owed for a savings account, checking account, credit card, and auto loan.
• Vehicles: two rows for Make, Model, Color, Year, and License Plate. The form asks you to include vehicles that belong to other proposed occupants.

Page 2

• References & Emergency Contacts: name, street address, city, state and zip, and phone number for a Doctor, a Lawyer, and your Nearest Relative Living Elsewhere. The printed text says that by signing you allow the landlord to contact these people if you cannot be located, and to let the listed relative remove your belongings if the apartment is abandoned. Read that sentence before you fill in the names.
• General Information: short answers about late rent notices, smoking, expected length of stay, bankruptcy, move-in date, felony convictions, eviction notices, pets (type, breed, approximate weight and age), problems with your current landlord, why you are moving, optional verifiable income sources, someone who could lend you rent money, past lawsuits, anything negative a credit or criminal check may show, how you heard about the apartment, your email address, and referrals.
• Agreement & Authorization: the Signature and Date fields.

Signing and submitting

The Agreement & Authorization paragraph says your statements are true, authorizes a credit and/or criminal check and contact with everyone listed, and states that the application is not a lease and that the processing fee is non-refundable even if you do not get the apartment. Sign in the signature field (see how to sign a PDF online), add the date, download the PDF, and send it to the landlord or property manager the way they ask, usually by email or a printed copy. Keep a copy for your records.

Michigan rules that affect rental applications

General information as of October 2026, not legal advice. Read the linked law for the full text.

• Application fees: Michigan's Security Deposit Act regulates deposits, not application fees, and we did not find a Michigan statute that caps rental application or screening fees. This form states that the processing fee is non-refundable, so ask the landlord for the amount before you pay.
• Security deposit limit: under MCL 554.602, a security deposit cannot be more than 1 1/2 months' rent.
• Deposit return: under MCL 554.609, if the landlord claims damages, it must mail the tenant an itemized list of damages within 30 days after the tenant moves out. Missing that deadline counts as agreement that no damages are due.
• Source of income: since April 2, 2025, the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, as amended by Public Act 180 of 2024, bars landlords with five or more rental units from refusing applicants because of a lawful source of income, such as a Housing Choice Voucher, Social Security, or veterans' benefits. See the Michigan Department of Civil Rights announcement.

Common mistakes

• Leaving the Previous and Prior Residence columns empty. If you lived somewhere for less than a few years, fill in the earlier homes too.
• Answering "Is/Was rent paid in full?" only for your current home. The question appears for all three residences.
• Entering net pay in Monthly Gross Pay. Use your pay before taxes and deductions.
• Forgetting vehicles owned by roommates or family members who will park at the property.
• Skipping the "anything negative" question. A short, factual explanation is usually better than a blank.
• Signing without a date, or not keeping a copy of the signed PDF and your fee receipt.