Filling Out an Application to Rent
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Once you find a place where you want to live, you will be required to fill out a rental application.
You will be charged a non-refundable application fee to cover the cost of verifying your credit, rental history, etc.
Make sure you know the owner’s rental qualifying criteria before you complete an application. The owner is required to make such rental criteria available to you. If you know that you do not meet the criteria, you might rethink submitting an application to rent at that property.
An application deposit may also be required. This deposit is applied toward your security deposit if your application is approved. If not, the deposit is refundable in most cases. However, depending on the application you fill out, the deposit may not be refunded for reasons such as if your application is approved but you decide not to move in, or you fail to tell the truth on your application.
If an owner acts in bad faith and fails to return an application deposit, the owner may be liable under Texas law.
Texas law provides that unless notified of acceptance, a rental applicant will be presumed to be rejected at the end of the seventh day after the owner receives a completed rental application. If the seventh day falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline for notifying an applicant of acceptance is extended until the end of the next business day.