Tenant screening questions: how to use AI to draft them without creating fair housing risk

The one rule that matters: same questions, same standard

The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to treat applicants differently because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin or disability (see HUD's overview and 42 U.S.C. 3604). Many states and cities add more, such as source of income. The safest practice is also the simplest: a written list of questions and criteria, applied to everyone.

AI helps with the first half, a clean consistent list. It cannot be allowed to change the second half by deciding case by case.

Questions that are usually fine to ask

• Full name, contact details and the date you would like to move in.
• How many people will live in the unit. (Many places have occupancy limits based on size, not on who they are. Ask about the count, not about family make-up.)
• Current address, how long they have lived there and why they are moving.
• Current and previous landlord contact details, to confirm rent paid and notice given.
• Employer or income source and monthly income, as your written income rule requires.
• Whether any pets will live in the unit. (Assistance animals are different, see assistance animals.)
• Whether they agree to a background and credit check.

Questions to leave out

• Anything about religion, race, national origin, marital status, pregnancy, plans for children, or disability or health.
• Where someone was born, their native language or whether they are a citizen, unless a specific, uniform legal requirement applies to you.
• "Who else lives with you and how are you related?"
• Open questions like "tell us about yourself" that invite protected details.

Ask AI to write the list, then read each line yourself. A model can add a friendly but risky line, such as "Do you have kids?", because it sounds natural. See fair housing words to avoid in listings for the same habit on the listing side.

A prompt that works

Try: "Write 10 rental application questions for a 2 bedroom apartment. Only ask about move-in date, number of occupants, current and past rental history, employment and income, pets, and consent to a background check. Do not ask about any protected class under the Fair Housing Act. Put them in the order an applicant would expect, in plain words." Then delete anything you did not mean to ask.

Example a made-up landlord asks for 10 questions and gets 11. The 11th reads "Will you have children living with you?" The landlord deletes it, keeps "How many people will live in the unit?" and saves the final 10 as the standard form for every applicant.

Who decides

You do, using criteria you wrote down before the first applicant. If you use a credit or background report, the FTC's guide for landlords explains your duty to give an adverse action notice when you deny or raise terms based on it. An AI summary of a report is not a decision, and you should not accept a ranking from it.

How DoorKeeping handles it

DoorKeeping gives each vacant unit a public application link that asks every applicant the same set of questions. Its AI reads uploaded documents and states facts and inconsistencies, such as whether a pay stub's income matches the stated income. It does not score applicants, recommend approving or denying, or use anything about a protected trait. The owner decides, with the same written rule for everyone. In your AI assistant you can list applications and open one, and the tool returns facts only, never a ranking. Screening is passed through at cost, and the owner reads the report. See the connect page.

Sources

1. HUD: Fair Housing Act overview, read Oct 30, 2026
2. Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. 3604 (Cornell Legal Information Institute), read Oct 30, 2026
3. FTC: Using Consumer Reports, What Landlords Need to Know, read Oct 30, 2026
4. DoorKeeping: Connect Claude or ChatGPT (steps and tools list), read Oct 30, 2026

Questions

What questions can I ask a rental applicant?

Move-in date, number of occupants, rental history, employment and income, pets and consent to a background check, asked of every applicant in the same way.

Can ChatGPT write my screening questions?

Yes, as a first draft. Read every line and remove any question about a protected trait before you use it.

Can AI decide who gets the apartment?

It should not. The decision stays with you, using written criteria applied to everyone.

Do I need to tell an applicant if a report led to a denial?

Generally yes, when a consumer report was a factor. The FTC's landlord guide explains the adverse action notice. Check your state for extra rules.