When you rent out your apartment or unit to someone, it is essential to run a background check of the applicant. This includes a credit report, employment history, and national criminal background check. Most property managers and landlords run one or all these screenings after getting signed consent from the applicants.
The purpose of a renter background check is to get a comprehensive look at the applicant that includes every little detail about them, from rental history to criminal records.
Landlords do this screening of the prospective renters and credit reports to verify and select the perfect tenant for the property.
Many rental properties make it compulsory to have a tenant background screening for an application to be considered.
Generally, an applicant pays the fee to cover the background check. If you want more information about how background checks benefit you, how to do it and what tenant referencing screening looks like, keep reading this article.
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How to get a Tenant Background Check?
The landlord can quickly get applicants’ background checks if they choose the best services and resources.
It is recommended to select the best service provider and contact them. Most background checking companies offer paid memberships, including discounts on background and credit checks for tenants.
If they offer online services, download the rental application form and collect payment to run the tenant background check. Double-check the landlord-tenant law for your city or state to confirm the maximum fee that they can charge. According to the rules, tenants are the ones who pay the cost of the background check.
After submitting the form to the company, performing a tenant screening also referred to tenant credit and background check.
The report you get includes a credit score, criminal background, use of social data, eviction, and income verification. Some landlords directly ask the financial data from the renter, including paychecks, subs, and band statements.
➡LEARN MORE: How Long Can a Tenant Stay After the Lease Expires?
Benefits of Background and Credit Checks
One of the reasons property managers and landlords check the background and credit details of the tenant is to protect their rental property and their business. The other reason is that background check fees narrow down the applicant field to make serious tenant applicants less likely to have something negative during their screening.
Not all apartment complexes are the same; some of them only run a credit and criminal check. If they pass the background check, they have a higher chance of getting the rental unit.
Background checking is how the landlord has a complete report of the applicant that helps them make a well-informed decision.
It reduces the chances of property damage, conflicts with the tenants, and any criminal involvement. It protects the landlord from making any mistake simply because they want a tenant to avoid a vacancy.
Tenant Referencing Checks
The companies for tenant referencing check several things such as that applicants are who they say they are, that the tenant has the financial credibility to afford the rent. These companies also get the references of the tenant from the employers and the previous property manager.
One of the best things they do is make sure that tenants have no county court judgments showing a bad debt history.
When they collect all the data, they give the tenant a credit score and a low, medium, or high-risk rating. Then landlords have the power whether they want to accept or decline the tenant application.
Writer and content creator interested in Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Jobs and landlord issues. I have a bachelor’s degree in Communication from the Andrés Bello Catholic University, VE, and I also studied at Chatham University, USA. In this blog I write and collect information of interest around agreements, property and mortgage.