How do I screen a tenant?
Tenant screening is a process used primarily by residential landlords and property managers to evaluate prospective tenants. The purpose is to assess the likelihood the tenant will fulfill the terms of the lease agreement and will also take great care of the rental property in question. The process culminates in deciding whether to approve or decline the applicant.
Please note! The screening is available for US residents only.
TenantCloud provides three screening packages powered by TransUnion and Asurint: Background Check ($30), Full Check ($40), and Credit Check ($30). Both the Background and Full Checks are part of the standard Essential coverage package or can be expanded to include Premium coverage package for an additional $5. For more income details, you can add an Income Insights report to the Full Check report for an additional $6.
For more information on this, please check these links:
What do the Background Check, Credit Check and Full Check reports look like?
You can request your applicants to pass a screening report along with submitting their application when you list a rental unit. Simply choose what type of screening your applicants are required to complete. If you are on Starter subscription plan, an Essential Full Check Plus screening will be the default when your applicants apply online.
You can also request a screening from your applicants after they have applied or you have manually created an application. To request the screening directly from the application, go to the Leasing page and select the Applications sub-page, then find and open the needed application. Next, go to the Screenings tab of the application and click on the “Screen tenant“ button or check the three dots menu to see if you can order an additional screening. You can also request a report by switching to the "Screenings" tab of the application and pressing the "Screen tenant" button. Then, proceed to fill in all the required data and complete the necessary steps to send the screening request.
If you would like to screen a potential tenant quickly, it is possible to do so even without inviting them to apply first or without a submitted application. You can do that by clicking on the “Screen tenant“ button on the Applications or Screenings page. This action will automatically create a new empty application for this applicant.
Once the request is submitted, you will see a pop-up window informing you that the screening request has been sent to the applicant, who will be notified via email about further steps. Applicant’s involvement is needed. They will need to fill in the form and pass the identity verification. When the report is complete, you will also be notified via email.
The grey diagram around the tenant’s logo indicates the screening has been requested for this tenant. The colorful diagram indicates the screening is ready:
If you paid for the report, a temporary hold (3 days) will be placed on your card. You’ll only be charged for successfully completed reports.
The screening will be generated once the prospective tenant completes their identity verification. The screening report is available to an applicant and a landlord for a period of 30 days. Switch to the tab with the report to see the screening. The records are divided into tabs and relevant sections:
You can see all of the screening requests sent and track their statuses on the Screenings page. Hover over the screening status tooltip to view more details about the current status of a screening.
A screening report will be generated as soon as the application is successfully completed. The report will then be accessible by the landlord and applicant for 30 days.
Once the report is ready you can print it and download a PDF version of the report.
Last updated:
Jan. 28, 2025