How to build a rental application approval workflow with AI-assisted tenant screening in Formaloo

A multi-page rental application where prospective tenants submit their info, employment details, references, and documents. The moment they submit, a private AI Analysis field reads their income against the unit's rent and flags anything worth a second look, without the applicant ever seeing that internal read. A leasing agent screens the application first, a property manager makes the final call, and the applicant gets an automatic email the instant a decision is made, approved or rejected, with a PDF decision record generated behind the scenes for your files.

This is the form applicants fill out. It's long enough that it benefits from being split into pages, applicant info, employment and income, references, and documents and consent, rather than one long scroll. The fastest way to build all of it, including the admin-only fields your team needs behind the scenes, is Magic Create.

1. Create a new project: From your Formaloo homepage, start with Form rather than Client portal or Dashboard.

2. Open Magic Create: From your Formaloo homepage, click Magic Create. Describe the form as a multi-page rental application: "Page 1, applicant information: full name, email, phone number, which property or unit they're applying for, and the monthly rent for that unit. Page 2, employment and income: employer name, job title, gross monthly income, length of employment, and a required file upload for proof of income. Page 3, references: previous landlord's name and contact info, and a personal reference's name and contact info. Page 4, documents and consent: a required file upload for a photo ID, and a required yes/no question asking if they consent to a background and credit check. Add these admin-only fields: an application status dropdown with Submitted, Incomplete – documents requested, Pending agent screening, Pending manager decision, Approved, and Rejected, an assignee field for the reviewer, and an internal notes long text field." Click Create.

3. Verify your fields: Your form should look like the tables below. Magic Create will have generated most of it. Verify each field and field ID matches exactly, since the logic, email, and PDF steps ahead all reference these IDs directly.

Page 1, applicant information:

Page 2, employment & income:

Page 3, references:

Page 4, documents & consent:

Admin-only fields:

4. Require the two uploads and the consent question: Open "Upload proof of income," "Upload a copy of your photo ID," and "Do you consent to a background and credit check" and turn on Required for each. This blocks submission until the essentials are in.

5. Publish the form: Click Publish in the island bar at the top of the editor.

Before a human ever opens this application, an AI Analysis field reads the income and unit rent together and gives your leasing agent a private, consistent first read, income affordability, employment stability, and whether the references look complete. The applicant never sees this field, it's admin-only by design and can't be exposed.

1. Add the field: In your form editor, click Add field and select AI Analysis. It arrives admin-only by default, with no position on the form applicants fill out.

2. Write the prompt: Open the field's prompt box and use the @ menu to pipe in your fields: "Based on @monthly_income and @monthly_rent, calculate the income-to-rent ratio and note whether it meets a common 3x rent guideline. Based on @employment_length, comment on employment stability. Note whether @landlord_contact and @personal_reference look like complete, usable contact information. Summarize your read in one short paragraph for a leasing agent, not the applicant."

3. Name the field: Give it the ID screening_summary and a clear title like "Screening summary," since that's what shows up as the column header in your Responses table.

Note: AI Analysis output isn't ready the instant a submission lands. Any email or PDF that needs to include it should trigger On Update, not On Submit, once the field has finished generating.

4. Publish the form again to make the field live.

This is where the application actually moves: from Submitted, to screening, to a final decision, with the right person assigned at each stage.

1. Open Advanced logic: In the form settings panel on the right side of the form editor, open Advanced logic and go to the Logic tab.

2. Open Magic Logic: Click Magic Logic in the top right corner and describe the routing at once: "On submit, assign application status to Submitted. On submit, assign the reviewer field to the leasing team. When application status is changed to Pending manager decision, reassign the reviewer field to the property manager."

3. Generate and review the rules: Click Generate Rules. Approve, redo, or cancel each one Formaloo previews.

4. Save: Click Save in the top right corner.

Note: Formaloo's logic can check whether a field was answered, but it can't judge whether an uploaded document is actually the right one. That's why moving an application to "Incomplete" is a manual call your leasing agent makes after opening the file, not an automatic check. The email in Part 4 fires the moment they make that call.

Five emails cover this workflow: a confirmation the moment someone applies, a request for missing documents, an internal handoff to the property manager, and a decision email for approval or rejection.

1. Open the template editor: Click your profile icon, go to Apps and Integrations, then Custom Email Templates, and click Add New Template. Clear the body field, add an AI block, and paste a prompt.

2. Build all five templates, using the subject, prompt, and trigger for each one below. For each, set the subject line, paste the prompt into the AI block, name the template clearly, and click Save.

Application received Subject: We received your application for @unit_address Prompt: Write a warm, brief confirmation email to @applicant_name letting them know their rental application for @unit_address has been received and is now being reviewed. Keep it to 2-3 sentences, friendly and professional. Include a small status badge reading "Under review," white background, single centered column max-width 560px, Inter/system-ui font, muted footer in #999. Trigger: Sent to @applicant_email the moment the form is submitted.

Documents needed Subject: We need one more thing for your application Prompt: Write a polite, clear email to @applicant_name explaining that their application for @unit_address is missing a document or has an issue with one, and ask them to reply or resubmit with the correct file. Keep the tone helpful, not accusatory, 3-4 sentences. White background, single column, muted footer in #999. Trigger: Sent to @applicant_email when application status is changed to Incomplete – documents requested.

Ready for your review Subject: @applicant_name's application is ready for a final decision Prompt: Write a short, factual internal email to the property manager summarizing the application: applicant name, unit, and income, with a one-line pointer to the screening summary for context. Keep it under 3 sentences. White background, single column, a compact data table showing applicant, unit, and income, muted footer in #999. Trigger: Sent to the property manager when application status is changed to Pending manager decision.

Application approved Subject: Good news about your application for @unit_address Prompt: Write a warm email telling @applicant_name their rental application for @unit_address has been approved. Mention next steps: signing the lease and move-in timing. Keep it to 3-4 sentences. White background, single column, a green status badge reading "Approved," muted footer in #999. Trigger: Sent to @applicant_email when application status is changed to Approved.

Application update Subject: An update on your application for @unit_address Prompt: Write a respectful, brief email telling @applicant_name their rental application for @unit_address was not approved at this time. Do not explain internal screening details, that's internal only. Invite them to reach out with questions. Keep it to 3 sentences. White background, single column, a neutral gray status badge, muted footer in #999. Trigger: Sent to @applicant_email when application status is changed to Rejected.

Note: Depending on your jurisdiction, a rental application denial may need to include specific adverse action or fair housing disclosures. Check with legal counsel on what your rejection email and any accompanying notice needs to say, this article covers the automation, not the compliance language.

3. Turn on notifications: From the right sidebar of the form builder, click Notify and turn on respondent notifications using your confirmation template.

4. Wire up the conditional emails: Back in Advanced logic, add a Send email action to each On Update rule from Part 3: the documents-needed email when status changes to Incomplete, the ready-for-review email to the property manager when status changes to Pending manager decision, and the approved or rejected email when status changes to either.

Every approved or rejected application should leave behind a clean record: the applicant's details, the AI screening summary, and who made the final call.

1. Open the PDF template editor: Click your profile icon, go to Apps and Integrations, then Custom PDF Template, and click Add New Template.

2. Switch to the HTML view and paste the template below. It pipes in the applicant's details, employment info, references, and the AI screening summary using @field_id variables.

3. Name the template "Rental application decision record" and click Save.

4. Attach it to the decision emails: Back in Part 4's On Update rules for Approved and Rejected, add a Generate PDF action using this template, then attach the generated file to each email.

This is where your leasing agent and property manager actually work: reading the AI screening summary, checking documents, and moving each application forward.

1. Open the responses table: From your project, open the table page connected to your form. The screening summary column shows Generating… briefly after each submission, then fills in automatically.

2. Screen the application: The leasing agent opens each new submission, reads the screening summary and documents, and moves status to Incomplete if something's missing, or Pending manager decision if it's ready.

3. Make the final call: The property manager opens applications assigned to them and sets status to Approved or Rejected.

4. Switch to Kanban for a pipeline view: Add a Kanban data block connected to the same form, grouped by status, so both roles can see the whole pipeline at a glance.

5. Add a chart for reporting: On the project's chart page, group by status to see how many applications are pending, approved, or rejected at any time.

Three roles need three different slices of the same data: applicants track their own status, leasing agents work their screening queue, and property managers see what's waiting on their final decision.

1. Activate the portal: From your project, click the Settings icon, select Activate Portal, then open the Setup Wizard and connect a user directory.

2. Add roles: In the user directory, open Edit Profile Fields and add "Applicant," "Leasing agent," and "Property manager" as roles.

3. Restrict applicants to their own record: On the "My application" page, switch to Edit Mode, open Options → Manage Access, and enable Allow users to view only their data on the applicant_email field.

4. Restrict each role to their assigned queue: On the leasing agent and property manager pages, enable Allow assignees to view only their data on the assignee field, so each person only sees what's currently theirs.

Note: You can set a custom domain on your portal, available on the Business plan or via the Brand removal add-on.

A rental application pipeline where nothing depends on someone remembering to follow up. Every application arrives with a private, consistent AI read on affordability and completeness before a human opens it. Your leasing agent and property manager each work their own stage of the same record, and the applicant gets a clear, timely email the moment a decision is made, with a signed-looking PDF behind the scenes documenting exactly who decided what and why.

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