A tenant information form is completed after a tenancy is agreed, not before. That distinction matters: an application collects what you need to make a decision, and an information form collects what you need to run the tenancy. Mixing them is how landlords end up holding screening material for years, and how information forms end up asking questions that have no business being asked once the decision is made.
What running the tenancy actually requires
Each occupant's name and date of birth where relevant, the tenant's contact details including a mobile and email, an emergency contact, vehicle details where parking is allocated, and any pets or occupants agreed. Employer or income details belong to the application, not here. Keep it to what you would need to contact them, admit a contractor or respond to an incident.
The emergency contact is the one people skip
Somebody to contact if the tenant cannot be reached and there is a reason to be concerned. It is asked for rarely and matters enormously on the day it is needed. Make clear what it will be used for, because tenants are reasonably cautious about giving a relative's details to a landlord.
Say what you will do with it
A line saying what the information is used for, who it may be shared with, such as contractors attending the property, and how long it is kept. It costs a sentence, it answers the question tenants increasingly ask, and it commits you to a retention period that you should then keep.
Keep the application separate and delete it
Screening reports, identity documents and financial information were collected to make a decision and that decision has been made. Keep the decision record and the criteria you applied; do not keep the underlying documents indefinitely for accepted tenants and do not keep them at all for unsuccessful applicants beyond a short period. Holding them is a liability with no benefit.
Questions people ask about tenant information form
How is this different from a rental application?
The application supports a decision about whether to let. The information form supports running the tenancy after that decision.
Should I ask for employment details again?
No. That was for the decision. Asking again after the tenancy is agreed collects sensitive information you have no use for.
How long should it be kept?
For the tenancy and a reasonable period afterwards. Say what that period is on the form and then keep to it.