What are normal questions for a housing application?

[PrincessJasmine08]

I am a college student and have always lived on campus but am looking at living in an apartment off campus next year. I found a potential room mate and went to meet her and loved the place and it looked like it might work out. SO, she gave me a form asking me for information including my name, phone number, social security number, date of birth, drivers license number, do I have a criminal record, have I ever been arrested or assaulted, or had law suits against me, where have I lived in the past, do I have good credit, and what is my annual salary. Having never lived anywhere or applied for housing aside from on campus I don't know what's normal. Is this normal information to request of a person? I'm probably just being paranoid but it seems like a lot of personal information to give to someone I hardly know.

 

[dawnball]

I'd be pretty suspicious of that list of questions. On the face I think that any one of those questions is sort of reasonable - but that's enough information to have a very saleable identity theft situation.

I'd ask her exactly what she planned to do with that information. Obviously you need to be able to prove you can afford to pay rent. However "Do you have good credit?" is a worthless question - because it's hard to quantify what someone else's idea of good credit is.

Thinking about this more, is this her form, or is this an application from the landlord so you can be added to the lease? I'd be relatively comfortable providing that sort of information to a management company that has procedures for handling confidential data and valid reason to have at least most of that. SS# and DOB are to drop into tenant tracking software and most of the rest is fairly standard. I wouldn't give SS# to a potential roommate though - there's nothing for them to do with it.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

I wouldn't give my SS# or drivers licence #. I've signed several leases in the past, and none of them asked for this information. I did have one apartment where the landlords wanted to do a criminal record check, but they hired an outside firm to do that and so I wasn't giving them my SS# or DL#. The other questions sound fairly typical for a housing application, although not from a potential roommate, but from a potential landlord.

 

[dg39]

This sounds like all the info. on the application for the management company for the apt. I would only fill it out if its from them, not her.

We rented an apt. for my dd for college. I gave no info to her roommate and only gave it to the management company.

DON'T give the roommate any of your information. She doesn't need it, no matter what she says. Call the management company and get the application and all the info. you need from them. Fill out the application, get it notorized (this is what we had to do) and fax/mail it yourself,

 

[poohandwendy]

have I ever been arrested or assaulted,

She wants to know if you have been a victim of assault? What does that have to do with anything? Weird question. Not even sure if a management company legally has the right to ask that question on a housing application.

Like others, I would not give her your personal information. Only a mgmt company. And if she is insistent, I would find someone else.

 

[PrincessJasmine08]

Thank you. I will look into it some more, but I am about to show my cluelessness further....

This girl owns the apartment and would just be renting a bedroom to me...SO, does that mean there is necessarily a management company involved? I mean if she owns the place why would there be a management company?

And yes, poohandwendy, I was wondering about the whole "have you ever been assaulted?" I really don't know where that came from. And I'm not gonna lie, I don't really know what credit is so I don't know if mine's good or bad.

I think I will talk to her and ask her where she got the form and why she needs to know some of the information.