Rental applications give landlords the details needed to screen applicants confidently and fill a vacancy with the right renter—but how long should the process take from submission to approval? In most cases, you can expect one to three days to review an application, run screening reports, and complete key verifications.
You’ll need enough time to confirm the information and apply your criteria consistently, but unnecessary delays can prolong vacancy costs and slow down lease execution. Below, we’ll break down what typically happens during application processing, what can extend your timeline, and how to keep your workflow moving so you can approve qualified applicants and move forward with signing the lease agreement and filling your vacant property.
Key Takeaways
Most landlords can process a complete rental application in 1 to 3 days, assuming screening reports return quickly and employment/reference checks are responsive.
- Same day: application review for completeness + basic qualification check
- Minutes to 24 hours: credit report / scoring (varies by workflow)
- 1–3 days: criminal/eviction background screening in many cases (can vary)
- Same day to 2+ days: employment/income verification + landlord references (often the slowest variable)
The fastest approvals happen when your requirements are clear, applications are complete, and verifications are easy to confirm.
What Landlords View in a Rental Application
A rental application is a form a renter fills out and submits to you for consideration. The rental application cross-references an applicant’s rental and financial history to verify their ability to pay rent consistently and reliably.
If you use Apartments.com Rental Tools and have fewer than 50 units, you can add the “Apply Now” button to your properties to allow prospective tenants to submit an online rental application that will include:
- Contact information – The name, email, and phone number of the applicant
- Preferred move-in date and lease length
- Identification – A renter’s driver's license number, passport number, or other government-issued ID
- Social Security Number – This is used to run a credit, eviction, and criminal report with TransUnion
- Applicants – Contact information for any cosigners or guarantors who will be on the lease
- Occupants – Cosigners or minors who will live at the property
- Pets – Information for any pets that will live with the applicant
- Residence history – A renter’s previous addresses, landlords, and monthly rent
- Employment and income – Current and previous employment details, as well as proof of income
- References – Contact information for friends, employers, or previous landlords who can provide additional insight into the applicant’s character
- Vehicles – Information for any vehicles a renter plans to have at the property
Having insight into a tenant's employment, finances, and treatment of their previous rental properties is the first step in selecting the best tenant for your rental property.
What Landlords Verify During Application Processing
A rental application typically takes a few days to process. As a landlord, you must review all information, verify its legitimacy, and then compare the application against others to select the best candidate. When processing applications, there are key factors to consider that can be made easier by screening tenants through Apartments.com.
TransUnion ResidentScore®
Apartments.com partners with TransUnion to run credit, eviction, and criminal screening reports, and includes a score to help you compare applicants at a glance.
This score is designed to estimate the likelihood that an applicant will pay rent on time, helping you reduce the risk of delinquencies and potential evictions. It ranges from 350–850 and is based on the applicant’s credit history, with added weight on credit factors that are statistically linked to rental payment performance.
Employment verification
While this should not cause a delay in the process, verifying an applicant's employment may take time. Once you receive their employment information, you must decide if the information listed on the W2, paystub, or employment verification letter is accurate.
Once you determine legitimacy, you must verify that the person's income is sufficient to cover the monthly rent. Contact an accountant or local rental agent if you have any questions about an employment verification.
References
Contacting an applicant’s references—and getting responses back—can take time, especially if you’re waiting on prior landlords or employers to return calls or emails. Delays are common when references have limited availability or need specific details before they can provide feedback.
Even though employment and reference checks add steps to your workflow, they’re essential for confirming income stability, validating rental history, and spotting potential red flags early. To keep your timeline on track, request references upfront and use a consistent set of questions so you can compare applicants fairly and make decisions faster.
What Delays Rental Application Processing for Landlords
When it comes to processing an application to find the best tenant, the quicker the process can end, the better. However, some elements of a rental application take time to prepare and verify. This may cause delays ranging from a couple of hours to a handful of days. Here are some factors that could cause a delay in a rental application:
1. Method of application submission
How a renter applies for a property determines the speed in which you may process a rental application. If a renter fills out an application by hand and mails it in, the process will take longer than applying online.
Paper applications can also create extra follow-up if information is missing or hard to read, which can delay screening and verification steps. Online applications typically deliver the details you need right away, allowing you to start reviews and screening sooner.
2. Background checks
A background check explores a person's employment history, credit report, criminal records, and eviction records and provides landlords with a comprehensive overview of an individual.
Many landlords run a variety of background checks as part of the renter application process to ensure they choose the best candidate. However, background checks can take two or three days to complete, so they can cause significant delays in the rental application approval process.
3. Credit reports
A credit report helps you evaluate the risk of leasing to an applicant. It summarizes key details—like payment history—that can indicate how reliably someone pays bills and, by extension, how likely they are to pay rent on time. Depending on the screening provider and workflow, a credit check may return in seconds or take up to 24 hours.
How Landlords Can Speed Up the Rental Application Process
Background checks and credit reports can cause delays in the application screening process. However, you can ensure quicker approval by choosing an online application system and a single credit check platform.
Online application systems offer significantly faster processing times for rental applications. Applicants can easily enter their personal information and necessary documentation within a secure system. You can also speed up the application process by choosing the right credit check platform.
Some systems require applicants to log in and enter their personal information separately, which could cause delays. Choosing an all-in-one online application and credit check system can make the tenant screening process quick and easy.
Let Apartments.com Be Your Partner
Our FREE tools for landlords help you process rental applications to select the best tenant for your property. This not only saves you time but also helps to ensure that you are getting reliable and trustworthy tenants. Get started today with Apartments.com!
FAQs
What part of the application process takes the longest?
In many cases, employment/income verification and landlord references take the longest because you’re waiting on third parties. Screening reports may come back quickly, but verifications can add a day or more if contacts are hard to reach.
What should I do if a reference or employer won’t respond?
Set an internal deadline (for example, 24–48 hours) and have a backup plan: request alternate contacts, use additional documentation (recent pay stubs, offer letter, bank statements where appropriate), or proceed based on other verifiable criteria you apply consistently. Document your steps so decisions remain fair and repeatable.
What’s the biggest cause of delays when processing rental applications?
The most common delays come from incomplete applications (missing SSN, prior addresses, employer info, or consent) and slow third-party responses for employment and landlord references. Manual, paper-based submissions also add time for delivery and data entry.
This article was originally published on December 22, 2022, by Chanahra Fletcher and has been updated.
