Rental Credit Check

Rental Credit Check – What is it?

Rental Credit Check forms are used by landlords, property managers, and property management companies to get permission from tenants to check their rental credit history. The Rental Credit Check Form should be given to all potential tenants who will be renting the property, as it obtains each applicant’s authorization to check his or her credit history. Authorization to check a tenant's credit history is typically included in most Rental Application Forms.

Rental Credit Check – Why is it important?

• Rental Credit Check Form gives authorization to landlords, property managers, and property management companies to check rental credit history for a tenant
• Rental Credit Checks help property managers and property management companies to screen prospective tenants by looking at their credit history
• Rental Credit Checks can help determine whether a tenant in has ever been evicted or filed for bankruptcy in the past

Rental Credit Check – What should be included?

• Name of the Tenant(s)
• Tenant(s) Date of Birth
• Tenant(s) Social Security Number
• Signature from the Tenant(s)

Rental Credit Check – What should I do with it?

• Review the Rental Credit Check Form to make sure it is Legible and Complete
• Confirm the Applicant’s Identification (Ask to see Driver’s License, Passport, etc…)
• Submit information provided by the tenant to 3rd party tenant screening service
• Evaluate results from tenant screening service and decide if you want to rent to that tenant

Rental Credit Check – What else should I know?

Rental Credit Check Forms help to gather information needed (including the tenant's authorization) to conduct a credit check on a tenant. If you are interested in tenant screening, you should check out TransUnion's SmartMove, which allows tenants to submit their private information directly to TransUnion. TransUnion then provides landlords and property managers with a leasing recommendation, credit report, and criminal history for each tenant. The benefit with TransUnion is that tenant's credit score is not impacted with SmartMove because the tenant initiates the request for their own file to be sent, so it’s a ‘soft hit’ on their history, which doesn’t impact their credit.

Here is a Rental Credit Check Form that landlords, property managers, and property management companies can use: