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How do I add a co-applicant?

  • Updated

Overview

When one person starts a rental application, they can invite other adult household members to apply as co-applicants in the Household section of their application. After the invitations are sent, each co-applicant receives an email invitation and must log in to their own Zillow account to complete their portion of the application.

Before you add a co-applicant

Before getting started, keep these requirements in mind:

  • Every adult applicant age 18 or older must apply through their own Zillow account.
  • Each adult applicant pays their own $35 application fee.
  • You'll need each co-applicant's name and email address to send the invitation.
  • Co-applicants should be invited using the email address tied to the Zillow account they plan to use when they apply.

Add a co-applicant

If you're the first applicant and have not submitted the application yet, you can add co-applicants while filling out your application.

  1. Start your rental application or open it from the Application Hub.
  2. Go to the Household section.
  3. Choose the total number of occupants.
  4. Click Add co-applicant.
  5. Enter the co-applicant's name and email address.
  6. Click Invite.
  7. Repeat these steps for each adult co-applicant.

Once invited, each co-applicant will receive an email with a link to complete their own portion of the application from their own personal Zillow account.

The first applicant should complete and submit only their own application information.

What co-applicants need to do

After receiving the invitation email, each co-applicant should:

  1. Open the invitation link from the email sent to them.
  2. Log in to their own personal Zillow account.
  3. Make sure they are signed in using the same email address the primary applicant used to invite them.
  4. Complete and submit their own portion of the application.

Each person should only complete their own information. The first applicant should not try to complete another adult's portion of the application.

Common issues and troubleshooting

The co-applicant is signed in to the wrong Zillow account

A co-applicant must be signed in to their own Zillow account to apply using the invitation link sent by the primary applicant. If they are signed in under a different account, the link may not work correctly or may show the wrong application state.

To fix this:

  1. Log out of Zillow completely.
  2. Log back in using the personal Zillow account connected to the email address where the invitation was received.
  3. Reopen the invitation link from the original email.

The application was already submitted before a co-applicant was added

Submitted applications can't be edited. If the first applicant already submitted the application and now needs to add a co-applicant, they must withdraw the application and apply again. In some cases, the landlord will need to send a new email invitation.

To do that:

  1. Withdraw the application from the Application Hub.
  2. Open the withdrawn application from the Archived section and click Reapply
    1. If you don't see Reapply and the listing shows Request to apply instead, the landlord may need to send a new invitation before you can apply again. Contact the landlord to request a new invite to apply.
  3. Once you're able to start the application again, in the Household section, add each adult co-applicant's name, phone number, and email address.
  4. Complete all sections of the application and submit it again.

The invitation was sent to the wrong email address or the co-applicant did not receive the invitation email

If the invitation was sent to the wrong email address, the co-applicant may not be able to access the correct application flow. 

If the co-applicant did not receive the email:

  • Confirm the primary applicant entered the correct email address.
  • Ask the co-applicant to check spam, junk, promotions, and any filtered inbox folders.
  • Make sure the co-applicant is trying to sign in with the same email address the invitation was sent to.
  • If needed, the primary applicant may need to re-enter the co-applicant details and resend the invitation before submitting the application.
  • If the application has already been submitted and the invite needs to be corrected, the applicant may need to withdraw and reapply.

The co-applicant sees a read-only application

If a co-applicant opens the invitation and sees a read-only application, they may still be logged in to the first applicant's Zillow account.

To fix this:

  1. Log out of Zillow completely.
  2. Log back in using the co-applicant's own personal Zillow account.
  3. Make sure they are signed in with the same email address the primary applicant used to send the invitation.
  4. Open the invitation link again from that email.

The co-applicant wants to add more co-applicants

If you were invited to apply as a co-applicant, you can't add additional co-applicants yourself. Only the primary applicant can add co-applicants to the application.

If more co-applicants need to be added after the application has already been started, the primary applicant will need to withdraw the application, reapply, and add all required co-applicants during the new application.a

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