Can a landlord reject an application after the lease is signed and I?
Yes, although at that point it is no longer rejecting the application but either terminating the lease or exercising the right to rescind the contract. For example, many leases state that misrepresentation of a material fact on the application constitutes breach of the lease. If you provided false statements or omitted information that was relevant to your approval, then the landlord could terminate your lease. Whether you can recover your deposit would be governed by what your lease states. If your approval to move in was contingent upon certain conditions, like passing a background or credit check, the landlord may have the right to rescind the contract if those conditions were not met. In that case, you would likely be entitled to your deposit and any balance on your rent, since you and your landlord would be expected to go back to how you both were before the contract was signed.