Tenant Background Check

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Tenant Background Check

Rose White
Member since 2024 · 2 posts · 0 votes

When is the best time to ask your new / possible future tenant for a background check? Is it before you interview them? After you interview them? Or after you have showed them your rental?

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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
1y
Quote from @Rose White:

When is the best time to ask your new / possible future tenant for a background check? Is it before you interview them? After you interview them? Or after you have showed them your rental?


I recommend you include some of your key qualification criteria in the advertisement. For example, I mention that every adult must pay a $30 application fee, pass my credit/criminal background, make a combined income of 3x the rent, and whether or not the property accepts pets. Use the top three or four discriminators so applicants can screen themselves.

Then you need to have clear screening criteria yourself. What's the lowest credit score you will allow? Do you check Landlord references? Do you verify their income? Do you know how to read the credit/criminal background? What if they have collections or judgments?

Here's a detailed guide on how to screen applicants: Application Screening Guide

The DIY Landlord Book4.7248 Reviews
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  • Carl Millsap
    Investor · Midwest · Member since 2019 · 335 posts · 226 votes
    1y

    Hello Rose,

    What type of property are you renting? Is it a room in your house? 

    Our process:

    1. Schedule showing.

    2. Prospective tenant views apartment and decides if they want to apply.

    3. We outline our criteria if they express interest so they know upfront.

    a. No evictions within the last year.

    b. Gross incomes must be 3x the rent. $1k rent means $3k in gross income minimum

    c. Background check

    1. Current landlord questionnaire - we send the current landlord a couple questions about on-time payments, cleanliness, eviction status, etc.

    2. We run a background check to look for drug distribution charges and sex offenders

    3. Credit report - We review their credit report for payment history and ongoing bills. If you have gross income of $3k but ongoing bills of $1800 we know it may cause a financial hardship so that reflects in our scoring system.

    Hope this helps, but in my experience an interview is:

    a. Time consuming - if you have 10 applicants are you going to interview each?

    b.  Not likely to produce the result you think you'll get. Everyone has a story, don't get caught up in their story. Current and past behavior is a good indicator or what they'll actually do, thus our process above.

    Good luck!

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  • Rose White
    OP
    Member since 2024 · 2 posts · 0 votes
    1y

    Were renting out a room in our house.

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  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    1y
    Quote from @Rose White:

    When is the best time to ask your new / possible future tenant for a background check? Is it before you interview them? After you interview them? Or after you have showed them your rental?


    I recommend you include some of your key qualification criteria in the advertisement. For example, I mention that every adult must pay a $30 application fee, pass my credit/criminal background, make a combined income of 3x the rent, and whether or not the property accepts pets. Use the top three or four discriminators so applicants can screen themselves.

    Then you need to have clear screening criteria yourself. What's the lowest credit score you will allow? Do you check Landlord references? Do you verify their income? Do you know how to read the credit/criminal background? What if they have collections or judgments?

    Here's a detailed guide on how to screen applicants: Application Screening Guide

    The DIY Landlord Book4.7248 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    2Reply
  • Phillip AustinPro Member
    Property Manager · Denver, CO · Member since 2023 · 236 posts · 204 votes
    1y

    @Rose White Your listing is your first opportunity to vet prospective tenants. Make sure your listing clearly outlines your screening criteria as well as your "house rules" if you're renting out a single room in your home. @Nathan Gesner gave you a great screening guide. 

    After they've had an opportunity to tour the property, then you send them the rental application. That's when you run their background check.

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  • Austin ClarenceBusiness Member
    Lender · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2023 · 135 posts · 31 votes
    1y

    Zillow pulls a background check and credit report as soon as they apply. I try to get them to apply before I show them the house. I try to get it in ASAP before I put a lot of time into coordinator with potential applicants who might not be ideal tenants. 

    [email protected]650-906-2376
    Austin Clarence with NEXA Mortgage551 Reviews
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  • Cari Sweet
    Property Manager · Portland, OR · Member since 2023 · 40 posts · 20 votes
    1y

    To answer your question directly: a person should apply (whatever that means in your process) before being asked to screen. Whether you choose to run screening before you show the unit to them is a personal choice. I would echo most of the above in terms of screening process/flow. I also do a pre-screening questionnaire over the phone before I agree to a showing. This just covers the basics: how many people, do they have pets, what is their timeline for moving? I'm mostly looking for easy disqualifiers like pets if they aren't allowed at a property, or someone looking to move in March when I'm vacant in January. 

    But, people tell on themselves when answering simple, straightforward questions. Just yesterday I had a prospect that evaded every single question: How many people would be moving in? prospect - "well, right now I have one roommate but I'm not sure they are moving with me and I might get one more"   So, 2-3 people? "Yeah, I'm not sure yet."    Do you have any pets? "Can I see the house?"    Do you have any pets? "When can I schedule a showing? Does the house have a garage?" 100% nightmare tenant that will likely get surprise roommates and a zoo of unauthorized pets while they live there and then claim "oh I didn't know that was against the rules". I'm not even going to show it to them.

    Just be careful that your prescreening questions/discussions follow Fair Housing law and are asked of everyone. I keep a spreadsheet for each property with these Q&A recorded for all prospects. 

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  • Andrew Kubik
    Property Manager · Nashville, TN · Member since 2025 · 66 posts · 35 votes
    1y

    When to Request a Tenant Background Check?

    Hi Rose, great question! The best time to request a background check is after you’ve done an initial screening but before committing to a lease. Here’s a common process:

    1) Pre-Screening (Before Showing the Property)

    ✅ Inform renter of basic qualifications such as income, credit score, pets, move-in date, etc..

    2) After the Showing (Before Approving the Application)

    ✅ If they’re seriously interested, have them submit a rental application + background check authorization at the same time.
    ✅ This avoids wasting time screening unqualified tenants.

    3) Before Lease Signing (Final Step)

    ✅ Run the background check before approving the tenant, so you can verify:

    • Credit history & income stability 
    • Eviction & rental history
    • Criminal background (if applicable in your state)

    Final Thought

    The best time is after the showing but before lease approval—this ensures you’re only screening serious applicants while minimizing wasted time and costs. Remember that you should place the first qualified tenant that submits an application to adhere to fair housing rules. Hope this helps! 🚀

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