Delaware Rental Application
The Delaware Rental Application is a document designed for landlords and property managers to form a report on a person interested in leasing an available rental. It makes the screening process a more reliable and straightforward process, allowing the applicants to be screened against the same criteria time after time. Running a credit report for all applicants is a great method of seeing if they routinely pay bills on time and have any previous bankruptcies, however, because each report costs money to create, requesting the applicants cover the fee is highly recommended.
State Laws
Maximum Application Fee (§ 5514(d)): Rental application fees cannot exceed the greater of either of the following:
- 10% of the cost of one (1) month of rent. OR
- Fifty dollars ($50)
Once the landlord has paid for all costs directly related to completing the application (and received all applicable receipts), they are required by law to provide said receipts to the applicant. Additionally, they need to hold onto all payment records for two (2) years after the date of filing.
Security Deposits (§ 5514(a)): For standard one (1) year leases, landlords are prohibited from charging more than one (1) months’ rent. For tenancies on a short-term (month-to-month) basis, security deposits can be any amount for the first year. After the first year of leasing has passed, the landlord is required to return any security deposit amount over one (1) month’s rent to the tenant. For furnished properties, there is no limit on the security deposit that can be requested of tenants.