Setting Up Your Online Rental Application Form

Your Rentec Direct online rental application allows prospective tenants to apply online while securely storing applicant information in your Rentec Direct account.

Before marketing your rental listings, be sure to enable your online application and configure your application settings.

This article covers the following topics. Click on a link to jump to that section.

• Enable your online rental application
• Customize application questions
• Configure application fees
• Customize the application fee term
• Require PetScreening

Enable Your Online Rental Application

In your Rentec Direct account:

1. Click Settings
2. Under Program, click Rental Applications

3. Under Enable Online Applications, select YES

   

   
   
4. Continue to customize your application questions or click Save Changes

Important Note: Your online rental application must be enabled before applicants can submit applications.

Customize Your Application Questions

In your Rentec Direct account:

1. Click Settings
2. Under Program, click Rental Applications
3. Select the Default Questions you want applicants to answer
4. Enter instructions applicants should see while completing the application
5. Under Custom Questions, click +Add Question to add additional questions
6. Enter your custom question
7. Choose Single Line or Multiple Lines for the response
8. Check Required for questions the applicants must answer before submitting the application
9. Continue to configure application fees or click Save Changes

Tip: Default questions are optional. If you want applicants to answer a question before the application can be submitted, create it as a custom question and mark it as Required.

Configure Application Fees

You can collect application fees online and choose how those fees are recorded in Rentec Direct.

Important Note: An active merchant account is required to collect application fees online. For setup steps, see Online Payment Processing Settings | Enrollment.

Before configuring application fees, you will want to create an income category to ensure the fees are recorded correctly in your accounting. Click here for steps to Create an Income Category

In your Rentec Direct account:

1. Click Settings
2. Under Program, click Rental Applications
3. Under Application Fees, enter the Application Fee amount
4. Choose whether the application fee should post to the property ledger
5. Select the bank account used to collect online application fees
6. Choose the income category for the application fee
7. Click SAVE

System Advice: Application fees are applied to the property ledger by default. If you choose not to post the fees to the property ledger and instead retain them, see Paying Out Fees for more information.

Important Note: Ensure your rental application and application fees comply with all applicable federal, state, and local landlord-tenant laws.

Customize the Application Fee Term

You can easily change the term used for fees received with an application to ensure you are in compliance.

In your Rentec Direct account:

1. Click Settings
2. Under Program, click Utilities
3. Click on Customize Term
4. Locate Application Fee
5. Enter your preferred term
6. Click Save Changes

Tip: Changing the application fee term updates the terminology displayed throughout Rentec Direct but does not change how application fees are collected or recorded.

Require PetScreening

If you use PetScreening with Rentec Direct, you can choose when applicants complete the screening.

In your Rentec Direct account:

1. Click Settings
2. Under Program, click Rental Applications
3. Under Ask Primary Applicant to List Pets?, choose one of the following:
   1. Yes to require PetScreening only when the primary applicant indicates they have a pet
   2. No to require every applicant to complete PetScreening, including applicants who do not have a pet
4. Click Save Changes

Note: In properties that allow pets, even applicants who indicate they do not have a pet will go through PetScreening, clarifying they don't have pets without paying an additional PetScreening fee. This provides you with third-party documentation confirming that a tenant has no pets at the time of the application process.

Learn more about adding Pet Screening to your Rentec Direct application process with Getting Started with Pet Screening