Some companies sell special credit reports for the purpose of tenant screening and residential history.

These tenant screening companies provide information such as credit history, eviction information, rent payment history, identity verification, income and employment verification, and criminal background data to landlords, property management companies, and others.

A tenant screening report with negative information in it, such as prior housing evictions or past due rent payments in collections, could result in a rejected lease application. Or it could result in approval of the application, but with tough conditions inserted into the lease agreement, such as a requirement that you pay months of additional rent in advance or a higher security deposit.

If the landlord is checking your credit history in separate reports, from one or all three of the “Big Three” nationwide providers of consumer reports (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion), request and review those reports too. You should check in advance for errors in your credit report, since a credit report is a common component of tenant screening.

The landlord request for your credit report from Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion, could be recorded as a “hard inquiry”, which means it could lower your credit scores. This is especially important to keep in mind if you intend to shop rental housing and submit multiple lease applications with different landlords. Multiple applications could lower your credit scores, which could result in a rejected lease application.

Finally, if you are rejected as a tenant for a residential property, or “conditionally accepted” with certain adverse conditions such as requiring a co-signer or a larger deposit or a higher rent payment than other applicants, the landlord or management company is legally required to provide you with an “Adverse Action Notice” that includes the name(s) of the consumer reporting company it used to screen you. Contact that company to fact-check your information and dispute suspected inaccuracies as needed.

View the companies selling special credit reports for tenant screening and residential history.

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