Tenant Screening Checklist

Record name, phone, email, and the unit they're inquiring about. Use the same intake form for every prospect — inconsistent intake is a Fair Housing audit finding waiting to happen.

Cover desired move-in date, lease term, occupants, pets, and reason for moving. Stick to the script — questions about familial status, national origin, disability, or other protected classes are Fair Housing Act violations even when asked casually.

Email or hand the prospect the brokerage's published criteria — minimum credit score, income multiple, eviction lookback, criminal-history policy. Several states (WA, CA, OR, CO) require this in writing before accepting an application fee.

Use the brokerage's single approved application form for every applicant. One form per adult occupant 18+, including non-leaseholder occupants where state law permits screening them.

Confirm the fee is at or below your state's statutory cap (CA: $62.02 for 2024, WA: actual cost, OR: actual cost, NY: $20). Charging above cap is a license issue and the fee must be refunded.

Match the application name to a government-issued photo ID. For applicants without an SSN, accept ITIN plus passport or visa — refusing alternative documents is a national-origin discrimination claim.

Tell the applicant the expected decision turnaround (typically 2–5 business days) and what reports will be pulled. Manage expectations early — most disputes start with applicants who think they're being ghosted.

Use a standalone written authorization signed by the applicant — bundled into a long application is an FCRA technical violation. Pulling a report without proper consent is statutory damages of $100–$1,000 per applicant.

Use a CRA-compliant screening provider (TransUnion SmartMove, Experian RentBureau, RentPrep). Document the score, derogatory accounts, and outstanding collections. Apply your published threshold consistently — adjusting it per applicant is a Fair Housing claim.

Blanket criminal-record bans are disparate-impact violations under HUD's 2016 guidance. Apply an individualized assessment: nature of offense, time elapsed, evidence of rehabilitation. Several jurisdictions (Seattle, Oakland, NJ) bar criminal screening entirely for most offenses.

Single-county searches miss filings from prior moves. Use a national eviction database with at least a 7-year lookback. Note: some states (CA, NV, OR, CT) seal or limit eviction records — your provider should respect those rules automatically.

Call the main HR or payroll line — never the number listed on the application alone. Fake-employer fraud rings provide convincing referee numbers; a quick web search to confirm the company exists at the stated address weeds most of them out.

For W-2 employees, two recent pay stubs plus two months of bank statements. For self-employed applicants, request the prior two years of tax returns and three months of business bank statements. Source-of-income discrimination laws in many states require accepting Section 8, SSI, child support, and other lawful income sources on equal terms.

Apply the published policy (commonly 3x gross monthly rent). Combine all leaseholders' verified income — penalizing co-applicants by counting only the lower earner is a Fair Housing issue. Document the calculation in the applicant file.

The guarantor must independently meet the income threshold (typically 5x rent for guarantors) and complete the same screening as the applicant. Get the guarantor lease addendum signed before approval — verbal guarantees are unenforceable in most states.

Skip the current landlord-only call — current landlords have a motive to give a glowing reference for a problem tenant they want gone. Reach two prior landlords beyond the current one; cross-reference addresses against the credit report header.

Ask: were rent payments on time, were there NSF returns, any lease violations or HOA complaints, was the security deposit returned in full. Document each answer verbatim — vague "they were fine" responses are a yellow flag.

Use the same scripted questions for every applicant. References can supplement but not override the objective screening criteria — Fair Housing requires consistent decision rules.

Walk through each criterion with a yes/no result — credit threshold, income ratio, eviction lookback, rental history. The point is to be able to answer a Fair Housing complaint with the same decision rule applied identically to every applicant in the file.

The decision and the reasoning go in the file together. Keep applicant files for at least the FCRA five-year record-retention window; many states require longer.

Required when denial is based wholly or partly on a consumer report. The notice must name the CRA used, state that the CRA didn't make the decision, and disclose the applicant's right to dispute and obtain a free report within 60 days under 15 USC 1681m.

For approvals, send the lease, security deposit instructions, and move-in checklist. For denials, deliver the decision in writing alongside the adverse action notice. Refund any unused portion of the application fee per state law.