Delaware Rental Application Form

What the Delaware rental application is

This is a five-page rental application that a prospective tenant fills out for a Delaware landlord or property manager before a lease is offered. It collects identity details, three years of residence history, employment and income, bank and credit references, vehicles, pets, and an authorization for reference and credit checks. It is a general template, not a form issued by the State of Delaware, so a landlord can use it as is or ask you to complete their own version.

One detail to know before you start: the authorization paragraph on page 5 names a specific company, Delaware Property Management Company, L.L.C., as the party allowed to verify references and run a credit check. If you are applying to a different landlord, ask whether they want that name changed before you sign.

Who uses it

Landlords and leasing agents use it to screen applicants for apartments and houses anywhere in Delaware. Applicants use it to give one complete package that covers a main applicant, a co-applicant, and other adults who will live in the unit.

What to have ready

• Addresses, move-in dates, rent amounts, and landlord names and phone numbers for the past three years, for you and any co-applicant
• Employer names, addresses, supervisor and HR phone numbers, dates employed, and salary, plus a previous employer if you have been in your current job less than six months
• Bank names and branch addresses, and two credit references with account numbers
• Vehicle make, model, year, color, and tag number, and driver's license numbers
• Social Security numbers and dates of birth for each adult listed

Our guide to the documents needed for a rental application covers pay stubs and other proof landlords often ask for alongside the form.

How to fill it out online

Click "Fill Template Now", type directly into the fields, add your signature on page 5, and download the completed PDF to send to the landlord. Here is what each section asks for, in the order it appears.

Page 1: fee, unit, and applicants

The top paragraph has blanks for the application fee per person and who it is payable to; the landlord normally fills these in. Then enter the Date of Application, Deposit Amount Paid, Residence Desired, Desired Move-in Date, and Monthly Rent. Under Personal Information, complete the applicant's and co-applicant's full name, phone, email, date of birth, and Social Security number, then list up to three Other Residents. Start the residence history with the Applicant's Current Address, rent, move-in month and year, reason for leaving, and the owner or agent with their phone, followed by the previous address. Leave the "For Office Use Only" box (leasing agent, fee date paid, accepted or declined) blank.

Pages 2 and 3: co-applicant history, employment, banking

Page 2 continues with the co-applicant's current and previous addresses (previous only if within 3 years). Under Employment Information, check one status (employed full-time, part-time, student, retired, or unemployed), then fill in the current employer, address, dates employed, position, supervisor, salary and pay period, and HR phone. There is room for a second current job and a previous employer. The "other income" line is optional; the form notes you do not have to disclose alimony or child support unless you want it considered. Page 3 repeats the employment block for the co-applicant, then asks for both applicants' banks and two credit references.

Page 4: other information

List up to three vehicles, both driver's license numbers and issuing states, pets with a description and count, whether you own a waterbed, and an emergency contact with address, phone, and relationship. A yes or no question asks whether any applicant has been convicted of felonies, theft, or fraud, with a line to explain. Six blank lines at the bottom let you add anything that could help your application.

Page 5: authorization and signatures

Read the authorization, the Fair Credit Reporting Act pre-notification, the fair housing statement, and the agency disclosure, then sign and date in both signature blocks. You can add a typed or drawn signature with our PDF signing tool.

Delaware rules worth knowing

The following is general information from the Delaware Residential Landlord-Tenant Code as published on the state's code site (checked October 2026). Read the statute itself or ask a qualified professional about a specific situation.

• Application fee cap. Under 25 Del. C. § 5514(d), a landlord may charge an application fee to check creditworthiness of no more than the greater of 10 percent of the monthly rent or $50.
• Security deposit limit. Section 5514(a) bars a security deposit above one month's rent where the rental agreement is for one year or more. A separate pet deposit, also capped at one month's rent, is allowed, and it cannot be charged for a service animal.
• Return deadline. Within 20 days after the rental agreement ends, the landlord must give the tenant an itemized list of damages with estimated repair costs and return any balance owed, under the same section.
• Source of income. The Delaware Fair Housing Act, 6 Del. C. § 4603, lists source of income among protected classes, alongside race, sex, disability, familial status, and others. Landlords can still apply neutral income and credit standards.

Common mistakes

• Leaving gaps in the three-year residence history or skipping landlord phone numbers, which slows verification
• Entering an annual salary but writing "month" in the Per field, or the reverse
• Forgetting the co-applicant's employment block on page 3
• Paying an application fee that is higher than the Delaware cap without asking how it was calculated
• Signing before confirming the landlord or company named in the page 5 authorization is the one you are applying to