Oklahoma Rental Application Form
Oklahoma is a state with relatively affordable housing and moderate living expenses, making it an ideal place to call home. If you’re eyeing a rental unit or property in the area, you must learn all about rental application forms.
An Oklahoma Rental Application Form is a document that potential tenants of rental properties must submit to the landlord to be considered for a rental unit. The landlord will use the rental application form as a basis to do background checks on them before signing an Oklahoma lease agreement.
The form contains important information about the applicant, including the basics: name, address, phone number, date of birth, social security number, and driver’s license. More importantly, it contains employment information, including income, which will help the landlord determine if the applicant will be a reliable tenant throughout the lease.
For the background check, the landlord would want to look up an applicant’s criminal history as well as their eviction record. The rental application form also doubles as authorization for the landlord to perform a credit check on the applicant. They will dig into a potential tenant’s spending habits and financial health, as well as their creditworthiness will significantly impact their ability to pay rent on time each month.
As a potential tenant, you have a right to have equal access to available rental units. Your application should not be rejected because of the color of your skin, religion, and familial status, among others, according to the Federal Fair Housing Act.
Rental Application Fee
A rental application form must be submitted with a non-refundable rental application fee that will be used for the processing of information and background checks.
In Oklahoma, there is no statute on the minimum or maximum amount a landlord can charge as an application fee.
Security Deposits
Once the rental application form is approved, the landlord and tenant should thoroughly discuss the lease agreement form and what provisions should be included. One of the most critical points of the lease is the security deposit, which is an amount a landlord charges the tenant to pay for potential damage to the property or unpaid rent at the end of the tenancy.
Unlike the rental application fee, the security deposit is refundable minus the expense to repair damage or cover unpaid rent. No law dictates a minimum or maximum security deposit an Oklahoma landlord should charge a tenant.
Under Oklahoma law, the landlord may charge a pet deposit if the tenant has one or more (Oklahoma Statutes § 41-115).