How property managers request a pay stub from applicants
By Arthur Teboul, DokuTrak · Published
In short
Ask each rental applicant for their most recent consecutive pay stubs covering about one month, from every job listed on the application. Ask for the PDF from the employer’s payroll portal rather than a photo. Many managers look for income that comfortably covers the rent, so the stubs need to show current, regular pay.
Why property managers need a pay stub
The pay stub is the quickest proof that an applicant earns what they wrote on the application. You compare gross pay and pay frequency with the monthly rent, and some managers apply an income-to-rent ratio set out in their written screening criteria. Asking every applicant for the same documents keeps your screening consistent, which matters under fair housing rules.
What exactly to ask for
The most recent consecutive stubs covering about a month, from each job the applicant listed. Each stub should show the employer name, the applicant’s name, the pay period, gross pay and year-to-date earnings. Co-applicants and every adult who will sign the lease send their own.
What to check when it arrives
- The employer and the name on the stub match the application and the applicant’s ID.
- Pay dates are recent and consecutive, with no gap hiding a missing period.
- Year-to-date earnings are consistent with the pay per period, which helps spot an edited stub.
Email to send your client
Replace the bracketed parts. The same text fits in the message of a DokuTrak request (up to 1,000 characters).
Subject: Pay stubs for your rental application
Hi [Client name],
Thank you for applying. To review your application I need your most recent pay stubs covering about one month, from every job you listed. If someone else will sign the lease with you, they should send theirs too.
The cleanest copy is the PDF from your employer’s payroll portal. A clear scan works as well; please avoid screenshots that cut off the employer name or the dates.
Could you send them by [date]? If you have just started a new job or are paid in cash, let me know and I will tell you what else works.
Thank you, [Your name]
Ask once. DokuTrak does the chasing.
- Your client uploads from one link, with no account and no password.
- Reminders go out on a schedule, by default 2, 5, 10 and 14 days after the request, until the file arrives.
- With AI review switched on in your workspace (it is off by default), each upload gets a first pass that flags a file that is not a pay stub, an unreadable or blurry scan or a copy where one of these is missing or cut off: the employee’s name, the net pay, the pay period dates. It says so when it is not sure.
- You accept every file or mark it for re-upload, and your client gets the note by email. The AI never accepts a file.