Rental application questions: what you can and cannot ask

Questions you can ask every applicant

• Full legal name, date of birth and ID, to run the right report.
• Current and past addresses and landlord contacts.
• Employer, income and proof of income, counting every lawful source (see source of income laws).
• The names of everyone who will live in the unit, for occupancy limits. The Fair Housing Act leaves reasonable local, state or federal limits on the number of occupants in place (42 U.S.C. 3607).
• Pets, with a note that requests for assistance animals are handled separately.
• Signed consent to obtain consumer reports, which the FTC treats as permission for the screening (FTC).

Disability: the five questions HUD allows

HUD's rule at 24 CFR 100.202(c) makes it unlawful to ask whether an applicant, or anyone living or associated with them, has a disability, or to ask about its nature or severity. It permits five questions, as long as you ask them of every applicant:

1. Whether the applicant can meet the requirements of the tenancy.
2. Whether they qualify for housing reserved for people with disabilities or a particular disability.
3. Whether they qualify for a priority available to people with disabilities.
4. Whether they are a current illegal user of, or addicted to, a controlled substance.
5. Whether they have been convicted of the illegal manufacture or distribution of a controlled substance.

So "Can you pay rent on the 1st and follow the house rules?" is fine. "Do you have any medical conditions?" or "Why do you receive disability benefits?" is not.

Questions to remove from your form

Federal law protects race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status and national origin (42 U.S.C. 3604). Your state may add classes, such as marital status or source of income, and your form must respect those too.

Criminal history: what HUD said, and what changed

Having a criminal record is not a protected class. But in its April 4, 2016 guidance, HUD's Office of General Counsel explained how a screening policy can still violate the Fair Housing Act through its effect on protected groups. Its main points:

• A policy of excluding people because of arrests without convictions cannot be justified.
• A blanket ban on anyone with any conviction, regardless of when, what or what the person has done since, will not meet the legal test.
• A policy that ignores the nature, severity and recency of the conduct is unlikely to be justified.
• An individualized assessment (the facts of the offense, age at the time, rental history since, rehabilitation) is likely less discriminatory, and doing it only after income and other checks keeps it cheap.
• The Act does not stop you from turning down someone convicted of manufacturing or distributing a controlled substance (42 U.S.C. 3607(b)(4)), but that exemption does not cover arrests or possession convictions.

In a notice published April 6, 2026, HUD listed its 2022 memo implementing that guidance among documents withdrawn effective September 17, 2025, and said it may reissue guidance it still finds necessary. The Fair Housing Act itself did not change, the notice says people can still sue within two years, and state and city laws apply on their own terms. Ask your attorney how your local courts and agencies treat criminal screening today.

New Jersey is a clear example of a state rule. Its Fair Chance in Housing Act bars most criminal history questions until after a conditional offer, never allows arrests, expunged or sealed records to be considered, sets lookback periods (for example six years for a first-degree indictable offense, four for second or third degree, one for fourth degree) and requires an individualized assessment and written reasons. It does not cover owner-occupied buildings of four units or fewer.

Worked example: cleaning up a form

Example a made-up owner's application has 22 questions. Three go: marital status, 'Have you ever been arrested?', and 'Any medical conditions we should know about?'. One changes: 'Number of children' becomes 'Names of everyone who will live in the unit'. A consent line for credit and background reports is added, and the written screening criteria are attached. The new form has 19 questions plus the consent, and every one of them is asked of every applicant.

Applications and DoorKeeping

Keep one written application and criteria per building. DoorKeeping, at $2 per unit per month, connects your properties to Claude or ChatGPT and holds a one-tap approval for any step that involves money or the law. It gives no legal advice.

Sources

1. HUD, 24 CFR 100.202, Prohibited inquiries (Cornell LII), read Oct 29, 2026
2. Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. 3604 (Cornell LII), read Oct 29, 2026
3. Fair Housing Act exemptions, 42 U.S.C. 3607 (Cornell LII), read Oct 29, 2026
4. HUD Office of General Counsel, Guidance on Application of Fair Housing Act Standards to the Use of Criminal Records, April 4, 2016 (copy hosted by the National Apartment Association), read Oct 29, 2026
5. HUD, Notification of Withdrawal of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Guidance Documents (Federal Register, April 6, 2026), read Oct 29, 2026
6. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, Fair Chance in Housing Act, read Oct 29, 2026
7. FTC, Using Consumer Reports: What Landlords Need to Know, read Oct 29, 2026

Questions

Can a landlord ask about criminal history on an application?

Federal law does not ban the question, but HUD has warned against arrest-based and blanket policies, and states like New Jersey forbid it before a conditional offer. Check your state and city.

Can I ask how many children an applicant has?

Ask how many people will live in the unit instead. Familial status is protected, and occupancy limits are about the number of people, not their ages.

Can I ask if an applicant uses illegal drugs?

Yes. HUD's rule allows asking every applicant whether they currently use illegal drugs or have been convicted of manufacturing or distributing them.