Landlord reviewing tenant screening reports on a computer

Tenant Screening

Instant tenant screening reports with Rentec Direct

including a TransUnion® credit report and criminal background search to find qualified tenants and protect your investment properties.

What is Tenant Screening?

Quick Answer: Tenant screening is the process landlords and property managers use to evaluate rental applicants before signing a lease. A comprehensive screening report typically includes a credit check, criminal background search, and eviction history — giving you the information needed to select qualified, reliable tenants and protect your investment.

With Rentec Direct, tenant screening is landlord-initiated — meaning you order and receive reports directly, without waiting for the applicant to take action. Reports are delivered in under 60 seconds and include a TransUnion credit report with FICO score, nationwide criminal background search, nationwide eviction search, prior address history, and SSN verification — all for $18 per applicant, well below the industry average of $25–$45.

Instant Tenant Screening Reports

Here is what you get with every premium tenant screening package.
Tenant screening demo video, how to order background reports in Rentec Direct
Nationwide Criminal Search
shows you all criminal convictions from the most comprehensive and accurate nationwide database.*
TransUnion® Credit Report
with FICO® score to verify how well the tenants handle their credit, pay their bills, and if they have any collections history.
Nationwide Eviction Search
to see if the tenant has had any prior evictions.
Prior Address Search
shows the complete address history of the tenant.
SSN Verification
to verify the validity of the SSN provided.

Your Rentec Direct account gives you access to instant tenant screening reports for your rental applicants. Tenant screening with Rentec Direct gives you the information you need to make an informed decision.

  • Automate: You can automate the task by connecting your online rental applications directly to the tenant screening features to instantly order background checks.
  • Landlord Initiated: You have full control over ordering and reviewing reports directly from your account, so you won't have to wait for an applicant to initiate the process.
  • Comprehensive: The premium tenant screening package includes a nationwide criminal search*, TransUnion® credit report with FICO® score, nationwide eviction search, prior address search, SSN verification, and the option to include dozens more valuable reports.
* Most states limit a landlord to a maximum review period of 7 years for criminal convictions.

Why Rentec Direct for Tenant Screening?

There are many tenant screening services out there, but most do not give you direct access to a tenant’s credit report. Rentec Direct is different because in addition to industry leading property management software we provide you instant access to retrieve a tenant’s credit report, criminal history, and eviction history instantly without any interaction from the tenant.

Here are some of the major differences between Rentec Direct membership and other services:

Rentec Direct
Other Services
How quickly will I receive the background reports?
All reports in our packages get delivered directly to you within 60 seconds.
Reports can take from 30 minutes to 3 days to be returned, depending on how quickly the tenant can verify their identity.
Is the tenant involved in the order?
Tenant interaction is not required. You order the report directly within your Rentec Direct portal and the reports show up for you in seconds.
Tenant must go online and fill out a form verifying their identity and answering security questions. Once done, the tenant can authorize you to receive a copy of their report.
What do the reports cost me?
Because of our wholesale arrangements, Rentec Pro and Rentec PM clients receive the premium tenant screening report that includes nationwide credit, criminal, and eviction records costs only $18 per applicant.
The average cost of reports from other services range from $25-45 per applicant.
Is the accuracy of the reports guaranteed?
Absolutely! Rentec Direct partners with the best data sources available in the industry. If a record we provide is inaccurate we will gladly provide you a full refund.
Other services generally do not guarantee the accuracy of their data. Even more, almost all other services do not offer a refund, even if the data is inaccurate.
Is a site inspection necessary?
To obtain direct access to credit data, a site inspection is required by the credit bureaus to ensure you are a legitimate landlord. A site inspection has a one-time cost of $50. In many cases, the inspection can be done virtually (by video chat) and it typically only takes a few days to schedule anywhere in the US.

Until the inspection is completed, you can still order packages that do not include the credit report such as criminal and eviction reports.
Yes, to obtain direct access to credit data every provider is required by law to get a site inspection. The average cost from other providers is $50-75 for the same site inspection.

Providers which state they do not require a site inspection are not operating legally or are offering a tenant initiated product which can take up to many days, sometimes weeks, to return.
Who pays for the reports?
It is your option to either pay for the reports yourself, or include the cost in your application fee to the tenant thereby letting them pay for it.
The tenant is required to pay online for the reports with their credit card before you receive a copy.
Are there other reports available?
Yes, besides the Premium Screening Package discussed here, you can also choose:
  • The Basic package that includes nationwide criminal plus address history for $10.
  • The Enhanced Package that includes nationwide criminal and nationwide eviction reports for $13.
  • Income Verification Report - With any package you can also add on an automated Income Verification Report at a discounted rate.
  • Bankruptcy, Judgments, Liens - A bankruptcy, judgments, and liens search is also available as an add-on to any package for $12.
  • We also offer each individual product within the packages ala-carte if you need a single type of report.
Yes, most other services also offer different packages, but not at these wholesale price points.
Are you a landlord managing less than 10 properties?

Rentec Direct's tenant screening works best for landlords with ten or more properties, but if you have less we’ve done the research on a couple trusted solutions which will work very well for you. Both of these solutions have been reviewed by Rentec Direct staff and confirmed to provide high quality reports and excellent customer service.

RentPrep tenant screening service logo
RentPrep provides landlords with the ability to order landlord initiated (instant) reports. This solution is best if you order tenant screening reports multiple times per quarter.

RentPrep reports include:

  • Transunion Credit Decision Report
  • FICO® Score Range
  • Nationwide Eviction Report
  • Nationwide Criminal & Sex Offender Search
  • SSN Verification
  • Income Verification Report

RentPrep also includes the option of a TransUnion Full Credit Report option that is tenant initiated.
Click Here To Visit RentPrep
ApplyConnect tenant screening service logo
ApplyConnect provides landlords with the ability to order tenant initiated reports. This method is best if you tend to order tenant screening reports less than once per month.

ApplyConnect reports include:

  • Full Experian Credit Report
  • Experian VantageScore® (comparable to FICO)
  • Nationwide Eviction Report
  • Nationwide Criminal & Sex Offender Search
Click Here To Visit ApplyConnect