Texas Rental Application Form

What the Texas Residential Lease Application is

This template is a four-page Texas Residential Lease Application. A prospective tenant fills it out to ask a landlord or property manager to lease a specific property, and the last page is a separate Authorization to Release Information that lets the landlord verify your employment, rental, mortgage and bank history and pull a credit report. It is a general template, not a form issued by the State of Texas, so a landlord may hand you their own version instead.

The form states that each occupant and co-applicant 18 or older must submit a separate application. If two adults are moving in, each one fills out a copy.

Who uses it

Renters applying for a house, condo or apartment in Texas, plus landlords, leasing agents and property managers who want a structured application with a built-in screening authorization. Agents often attach it to a listing so applicants can complete it before a showing turns into an offer.

What to have ready

• The property address, anticipated move-in date, monthly rent, security deposit and the lease term you want
• Your Social Security number, driver license number and issuing state
• Contact details for an emergency contact who will not live with you
• Names and contact details for your current and previous landlords, with move-in and move-out dates and rent amounts
• Current and previous employer details, supervisor names, start dates and gross monthly income
• Vehicle details (year, make, model, plate) and pet details, including rabies and bite history

Our guide to documents needed for a rental application covers pay stubs, ID and references in more detail.

How to fill it out online

Click "Fill Template Now", type into the fields, add your signature on pages 3 and 4, then download the completed PDF to send to the landlord. Here is what each part of the form asks for.

Page 1: property, applicant and residence

The top block covers the Property Address, Anticipated Move-in Date, Monthly Rent, Security Deposit and Initial Lease Term Requested. There are lines to request repairs or treatments, and checkboxes for how you were referred (real estate agent, newspaper, sign, internet, other). The applicant section asks for your full name, any former last name, phone numbers, Social Security and driver license numbers, date of birth, physical description, marital status and citizenship. Then list the emergency contact, every other occupant with relationship and age, and your Applicant's Current Address with the landlord's contact details, rent and reason for moving.

Page 2: previous residence, employment, vehicles and pets

Repeat the landlord details for your previous address, then complete Applicant's Current Employer and Applicant's Previous Employer. Self-employed applicants should note the form's warning that the landlord may ask for prior tax returns. List other income you want considered, every vehicle that will be parked on the property, and every pet. A row of yes/no questions follows: waterbeds, smoking, renter's insurance, military status, prior evictions, broken leases, bankruptcy, foreclosure, credit problems and criminal convictions.

Page 3: fees, acknowledgment and signature

Answer the registered sex offender question, add comments, then fill in the Fees paragraph: the non-refundable application fee, who it is paid to, and whether you are submitting an application deposit. Read the Acknowledgement and Representation before signing. The bottom "For Landlord's Use" block is for the landlord to record approval or disapproval.

Page 4: authorization to release information

Enter your name, the property address and the landlord or broker's contact details, then sign and date. You can sign the PDF online if you need to sign a copy the landlord sent you separately.

Texas rules on application fees, screening and deposits

These points come from Chapter 92 of the Texas Property Code, checked as of October 2026. They are general information.

• Selection criteria notice. Section 92.3515 requires the landlord, when giving you an application, to make printed tenant selection criteria available, covering grounds such as criminal history, rental history, income, credit history and incomplete information. You sign an acknowledgment that it was available, which is what paragraph (1) of the form's Acknowledgement does.
• Fee refunds. If the landlord rejects you without having made that notice available, Section 92.3515 requires the application fee and any application deposit to be returned.
• Seven-day decision rule. Under Section 92.352, an applicant is deemed rejected if the landlord does not give notice of acceptance by the seventh day after you submit a completed application on the landlord's form. Rejecting one co-applicant counts as rejecting all of them.
• No statutory cap. Chapter 92 does not set a maximum application fee or a maximum security deposit.
• Deposit refunds. Section 92.103 requires the landlord to refund the security deposit on or before the 30th day after you surrender the premises, and Section 92.107 lets the landlord wait until you provide a written forwarding address.

Common mistakes

• Having two adults share one application. Each co-applicant and adult occupant needs their own copy.
• Listing an occupant or co-applicant as the emergency contact, which the form tells you not to do.
• Leaving the Fees paragraph blank, so there is no record of what you paid or to whom.
• Signing page 3 but not the page 4 authorization, which delays verification.