A lot can happen between the time a rental property hits the market and the time it’s leased. In a perfect world, tenants complete their applications to rent a property and receive approval in a timely manner, without any hitches. Unfortunately, reality disagrees.

While cities like Plano, Texas (89.4%), Irving, Texas (88.8%) and Miami, Florida (86.9%) have the highest rates in apartment rental applications nationwide, according to a 2017 study by RentCafe, it’s not always this easy. Other Texan cities like Arlington (73.2%) and  Garland (75%) have the highest rejection rates nationwide. If prospective renters cannot find an apartment, they may feel like they have even less of a chance of renting single- family homes or condo unit rentals.

To help reduce the likelihood of tenants’ applications being delayed or rejected, landlords should look out for specific pitfalls they might encounter during the listed-to-leasing process.

While a rental application can be rejected for a number of reasons that don’t violate antidiscrimination laws, one of the most avoidable rejection reasons is an incomplete application. Landlords can help prevent potential application pitfalls by making a checklist of all required documentation and reviewing it with their clients. If an application is missing information or documentation, it can delay a final decision.

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