Which Tenant Screening Service Should You Use?
If you’re a landlord looking to fill units with new tenants, chances are you’re looking for someone reliable — someone who can afford your rent, who will pay rent on time every month, and who you know won’t cause noise or maintenance issues at the rental property. Finding the right tenant can seem like an intimidating task, but this stress can be mitigated by requesting and carefully reviewing a tenant screening report.
Because these reports include tenants’ sensitive information (such as credit reports, income, criminal records, employment verification, eviction history, and rental history), it’s important that you follow the rules and regulations outlined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). This law allows tenants to sue landlords for rejecting their rental application due to inaccurate or illegally reported information, so it’s vital that you pick a trustworthy service that will collect data accurately and properly.
Here we dive into the best tenant screening services for 2024 and what they provide so you can find the service that works best for your needs.
What Are the Top 5 Best Tenant Screening Services for 2024?
Most tenant screening services offer similar basic reports and tools, but some offer extra features and tools, flexibility in cost, and additional security. In this article, we cover five of the best on the market to help you with evaluating tenant screening services you’re interested in and picking one that is accurate, affordable, and easy to use.
#5 Leaserunner
Best Features:
- Extremely in-depth Cash Flow Report
Leaserunner is a tenant screening service best known for its a la carte reporting style as well as its “Payroll Verification and Cash Flow Report,” which is perfect for landlords who appreciate financial transparency. The pricing to request every report altogether totals around $64, which is costly, but their $10 Cash Flow Report is where the magic happens — it allows you to access a prospective tenant or applicant’s cash and balance trends via their credit history, their 90-day average, their current balance, groups of income based on source (such as a recurring source of income, like a job), and much more. These comprehensive reports contain priceless information during the screening process.
This service may not be as ideal if you’re looking to screen tenants in bulk, but it’s a good idea to run a Cash Flow Report as income verification for renters who make it further into the application process.
#4 SmartMove
Best Features:
- Offers Income Insights Report
- No memberships or subscriptions
SmartMove is one of the best tenant screening services for small landlords who don’t find themselves screening tenants daily and therefore don’t want to purchase a membership to a service.
Owned by the credit reporting agency TransUnion, SmartMove offers three different packages to choose from: a basic package ($25 per applicant), a plus package ($40 per applicant), and a pro package ($45 per applicant). The basic package includes only a Rental Score (a TransUnion score of the tenant’s likelihood of eviction) and a criminal background report, but the pro package includes a criminal, eviction, and credit check for landlords looking for the basics as well as a Resident Score and Income Insights Report that provides a rent to income ratio.
#3 Zillow
Best Features:
- Free for landlords and property managers to use
- Reports available for 30 days
Zillow is one of the most trusted names in real estate, known for its property listings in the United States and Canada. It’s less known, though, for its affordable tenant screening service, which it offers for landlords everywhere. Zillow’s tenant screening reports cover the main three — criminal, eviction, and credit — for tenants, as well as renter information and income verification, for only a $35 fee. The reports come in instantly and are available for 30 days to allow you to look over and consider each candidate thoroughly. In the same 30-day span, it also allows tenants to apply for an unlimited amount of other participating Zillow rentals.
#2 MyRental
Best Features:
- A la carte reporting option
CoreLogic’s MyRental (under SafeRent) is a tenant screening service that offers flexible packages as well as a la carte reporting options for landlords. Their basic package ($25, landlord pay only) includes only criminal history and eviction reports, but their premium package ($38, renter pay option) adds on a credit report as well as the same TransUnion Rental Score used by SmartMove. The flexible options allow landlords to pick reports based on their needs and expectations for their tenants, all at an affordable rate.
My Rental also offers a SafeRent score as well as comparisons to other tenants’ scores in the surrounding area to assist you in weighing your potential tenant with others in the region.
#1 Innago
Best Features:
- Free for landlords and property managers to use
- Dedicated customer support
Innago is one of the best tenant screening services for small landlords and offers in-depth reports at no cost to landlords or property managers. We offer criminal, eviction, and credit checks for landlords as well as a new income verification option which ensures that a tenant’s income meets your qualification standards. These reports are available for $30-$35 per applicant, with a $10 add-on for income verification. Innago also provides dedicated, direct customer support via phone, email, or the platform itself to help answer any questions or issues that may arise when requesting reports.
Finally, Innago’s property management software allows you to turn off specific reports in the event that landlord-tenant laws in your state prevent you from requesting them.
Picking the Best Fit for Your Rental Business
With this knowledge of tenant screening solutions and their unique features, you’re better equipped to run reports on tenants, stress-free. Research, test, and pick what service best meets your needs as a landlord to conduct efficient, accurate tenant screening and fill your units with all the best tenants.
