Online Rental Applications

The application and tenant screening reports are free for landlords. Renters pay a $35 application fee, which includes tenant screening reports, and allows them to apply to your listing and an unlimited number of participating rentals for 30 days.

Our applications are portable, or reusable, because the renter only has to pay once but can submit an application to an unlimited number of participating landlords within a 30-day period. Credit and background check information is pulled once during the 30 day period.

In some cases, application components, such as background checks or credit reports, are modified to reflect state and local legal requirements. See more information here.

You can invite interested renters to apply. They can then fill out the forms, pay the fee, and all of the reports can be sent to you within a matter of minutes. To send the invitation to apply, go to the Applications tab in Zillow Rental Manager, click Send invite, and enter the interested renter’s email address.

The credit report is provided by Experian, one of the three major credit reporting bureaus. The background check is performed by CIC, a leader in providing accurate criminal and eviction data.

When available, tenant credit and background checks are included as part of prospective renter’s application at the time that they submit an application — no additional waiting required. 

In some cases, one or both screening reports cannot be completed. Learn about why that might occur for background checks here, and for credit reports here.

Renters are required to provide information about their current household makeup, prior residences, contact information and income. View a sample online rental application.

We ask the most common rental application questions. At this time we do not have customizable fields for the rental application. View a sample online rental application.

All applicants fill out an online rental application with information about their current household makeup, prior residences, contact information and income. Applications also include a credit report from Experian and a background check from CIC. You can review completed applications, including tenant screening reports, in your Rental Manager account.

Renters have the option to upload as many as five documents to verify their income. These documents could include paystubs, W2 statements, bank statements, employment offer letters, rental assistance payments documentation (such as tenant-based vouchers), and other types of verification.

A tenant credit check typically includes an applicant's credit score, open credit lines, employment history, residence history, and past bankruptcies or collections. You can view a sample of our Experian™ credit report here. The content of credit and background checks may vary depending on state and local legal requirements.

The background check is provided by CIC. It includes a nationwide eviction search, sex offender search, and nationwide criminal search. View a sample report.

In some cases, background checks are modified to reflect state and local legal requirements. See more information here.

For more information on these requirements, see CIC’s and Zillow’s website.

Visit our help center for more information.