What is Tenant Screening?
Tenant screening is the process of evaluating rental applicants to determine their suitability as tenants. A thorough screening typically includes credit report review, criminal background check, eviction history search, income verification, employment verification, rental history and landlord references, and identity verification.
Good screening is the single most important step in property management. A well-screened tenant pays rent on time, cares for the property, follows lease terms, and stays longer (reducing turnover). A poorly screened tenant creates late payments, property damage, neighbor complaints, and potentially expensive eviction proceedings.
Screening criteria
Credit score: Most landlords require a minimum of 600-650. Credit reports reveal payment history, outstanding debts, collections, and bankruptcies. A low score does not automatically disqualify if the applicant has strong income and rental history.
Income: The standard requirement is gross monthly income of at least 3x the monthly rent. Verify with pay stubs, tax returns, or bank statements. Self-employed applicants may need two years of tax returns.
Rental history: Contact previous landlords to verify payment history, lease compliance, property condition at move-out, and whether they would rent to the applicant again. Two years of rental history is typical.
Background check: Criminal history, sex offender registry, and terrorist watch list searches. Fair housing laws restrict how criminal history can be used in screening decisions. Blanket policies against all criminal records may violate fair housing laws.
Fair housing compliance
The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability. Screening criteria must be applied consistently to all applicants. Document your screening standards in writing and apply them uniformly. State and local laws may add additional protected classes. Source-of-income discrimination (rejecting Section 8 voucher holders) is prohibited in many jurisdictions.