Free Tenant Information Sheet

It is an operating record for a tenancy that has already been approved. It collects the details a landlord needs to run the property day to day rather than the details used to decide whether to rent: who lives in the unit, emergency contacts, vehicles and plate numbers for parking enforcement, animals in the unit, and a current employer and phone number for reaching the tenant. Keeping this separate from the application matters, because the application supports a screening decision and this sheet supports management. Mixing the two makes it harder to show later what information the rental decision was actually based on.

No, and treating them as interchangeable causes problems. A rental application is a screening document, gathered before a decision, containing the identifiers and authorizations used to obtain a consumer report and evaluate the applicant. A tenant information sheet is gathered after approval and describes the occupied tenancy. Because the sheet is not a screening document, it should not be the place you collect screening authorization, and it should not be used to justify a decision you already made. Keep them as two separate signed documents in the file, each dated, so the sequence of the tenancy is clear on its face.

Not on its own. The FCRA regulates consumer reports supplied by consumer reporting agencies and what users do with them. Information a tenant hands you directly is not a consumer report, so nothing on a completed information sheet triggers 15 U.S.C. § 1681m(a), which applies only to adverse action based on a consumer report. The FCRA does become relevant if you take what is on the sheet and use it to obtain a report, because § 1681b(f) permits obtaining a report only for a permissible purpose certified under § 1681e. Collecting the sheet, by itself, is outside that.

Not as written. A signed information sheet is not screening authorization. Section 1681b(f) of Title 15 allows a report to be obtained only for a permissible purpose under § 1681b, and the ones landlords rely on are § 1681b(a)(2), the written instructions of the consumer, and § 1681b(a)(3)(F), a legitimate business need in connection with a business transaction initiated by the consumer or a review of an account to determine whether the consumer continues to meet its terms. If you intend to pull a report on a sitting tenant, do it under a separate, clearly labeled screening authorization rather than stretching this form.

Ask about animals in the unit, but do not treat every animal as a pet. Under the Fair Housing Act at 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B), a refusal to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services counts as discrimination when the accommodation may be necessary to give a person with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling. An assistance animal is normally handled as an accommodation request, so pet rules, pet rent, and pet deposits do not apply to it automatically. Do not ask for medical records or a diagnosis. State law adds requirements in some jurisdictions, so the process varies.

Usually not. The identifiers needed to obtain a consumer report belong on the application, at the point where you have screening authorization and a permissible purpose. Once the tenant is approved, a Social Security number on a form that circulates to maintenance staff or a property manager adds risk without adding operational value. If you have already collected it during screening, leave it in the screening file rather than duplicating it here. Note that 15 U.S.C. § 1681w directs federal agencies to issue rules requiring proper disposal of consumer information, so every extra copy you create is another one you have to dispose of properly.

There is no single federal retention period, so this is a policy decision rather than a rule. Most landlords keep the sheet for the life of the tenancy and update it when a vehicle, an emergency contact, an occupant, or an employer changes, then retain it for a period after move-out alongside the lease and the deposit accounting. Choose one retention period, write it into your policy, and apply it to every tenant so the file is consistent. Dispose of anything containing consumer report information securely. State record-keeping and deposit-accounting rules vary, so check your own state before setting the period.

A signature is not legally required, but it is worth getting. A dated signature turns the sheet from something you typed into something the tenant attested to, which matters when a parking claim, an unauthorized occupant, an undisclosed animal, or an emergency contact becomes contested. Include a short acknowledgment that the information is accurate and that the tenant will notify you when it changes. Keep the acknowledgment narrow. Do not fold consent to obtain a consumer report, consent to contact references, or a waiver of any kind into this signature block, because those belong on their own documents.