Tenant Screening for Student with Visa

[Victor Yap]

Hello BP, I could use some ideas or input on how to screen a tenant who is here on a visa. My tenant screening process is the following.

They fill out a rent application. I review their info, verify employer, income and previous landlords, and send them a background and credit check through TransUnion SmartMove. If everything looks good, send them a Lease.

However, this potential tenant is here on a non immigrant student visa, so they do not have a social security number. Without that, I can't use TransUnion SmartMove to do a background and credit check. They are currently living with a friend. I asked if they have rented anywhere and what that process was like, but they said they have not.

So my question is, does anyone have a process for screening this type of tenant? If so, how do you do it? Or does anyone have ideas on what I could do to screen? I want to be fair and at least provide a process, and so I can be prepared next time this happens.

Thank You!

[Mary Smith]

@Victor Yap We've rented to international students in the past. Like you mentioned, running a credit/background check on them is not really an option. We asked them to show proof of income and we also took copies of their passports. A lot of landlords seem to reject them since they have no credit or rental history, but from my experience, they've been very reliable as tenants.