Tenant Screening Services come in various forms. 

You can go with a service from one of the big Credit Bureaus, a dedicated tenant screening service or use what is provided with a property management software service.

However, they all offer different features so it can be hard to choose the tenant screening service that is right for you. 

I recently did a deep dive on tenant background check services and showed you which features to look for when choosing one for your rental business.

Now in this article I will take it a step further.  I will show you a 26-point comparison of popular tenant screening services by type including:

• Credit Bureaus
• Manual Services
• Instant Services

Each of these sections will go into details about the features and limitations of each tenant screening service so you can choose the best one for you.

I will also show you which tenant screening services the popular online Property Management services use.

But before we go into each tenant screening service, you need to choose which type is right for your rental business.

Choosing The Right Type of Tenant Screening Services

There are four types of tenant screening services.  Which type of tenant screening service you choose will depend on your needs as a landlord.

1 – Credit Bureaus

The big three credit bureaus each offer tenant screening services but only one is really focused on providing tenant screening solutions for the small landlord.  See the comparison chart below.

Here are some of the features and things to know when using a credit bureau’s tenant screening service.

Instant Reporting

Time is money in the rental business.  These services will generate a full credit report and/or background check as soon as there is a match with the applicant information provided. Reports are usually available within minutes. 

Fresh Data

The credit bureaus are the keepers of all credit info.  They resell this data to other tenant screening services, but when you pull a credit report from one of the three credit bureaus, you know you are getting the latest data they have.  Third party credit screening services may only refresh the data periodically.

Soft Credit Inquiry

TransUnion and Experian provide “Soft Credit Pulls” which means your applicant’s credit score won’t be impact by the credit check.  That’s because the credit check is technically initiated by your applicant, not the landlord.

However, this can delay the process as applicant’s login to their email, sign up for the service and provide their information to begin the credit check.

Limited Background Check Features

Credit bureaus are really good at predicting an applicant’s ability to pay the rent.  However, they don’t have any special advantage when it comes to pulling an applicant’s background information. 

You will see in the comparison charts below that even when they do offer tenant background checks as part of their tenant screening services, it is often missing some of the key features you may want. 

Doesn’t Cover Some States

Not every state provides instant access to criminal or court records.  The credit bureaus have access to many, but not all state and county records, so it is important to know if they include your market area.

Minimal Customer Support

These are big bureaucracies and getting personalized help can be challenging.

2 – Manual Tenant Screening Services

The next type of tenant screening services are the manual screeners.  They are not instant but they are thorough.  Here are a few important points to know about manual tenant screening services.

FCRA Compliant

The Fair Credit Reporting Act limits who can use credit information.  It also limits how far back you can use credit information to make a housing decision. Generally, negative credit information can only be used for 7 years (or 10 years in the case of Chapter 7 Bankruptcy).

Manual tenant screening services employ FCRA certified screeners to ensure the data you are using to make a decision is fair and accurate.  If you are not allowed to use the data, they will scrub it from the report.

More Access To States & County Records

There are currently 5 states that do not allow for instant access when pulling public records (liens, judgments, driving records, etc.).  If you are doing business in or near Wyoming, Delaware, South Dakota, Colorado, and Massachusetts, you should be using a manual or local tenant screening service to make sure you are checking the relevant records for your market.

Accuracy Check

The FTC estimates that 1 in 5 public records contain errors and that 25% of those errors are significant.  Manual tenant screening services check the data for accuracy.  This ensures you are only looking at the records for the John Smith applying to your rental and not a random John Smith in the area.

Longer Process

Unfortunately, better accuracy requires a little longer wait.  Most of the manual tenant screening services I reviewed claimed to return reports within 90 minutes during business hours. 

Note that only RentPrep (affiliate link) has hours every day so make sure you choose a tenant screening service that works when you do.

Landlord Pays

Some manual tenant screening services lack the option to let your applicant pay for the service directly.

3 – Instant Tenant Screening Services

There are a number of instant tenant screening services.  They get their credit information from the Credit Bureaus, same as the manual tenant screening services, but they generally only provide instant reports.  They do not review the data or investigate applicant information. This is true for both credit and background check information.

Instant Reports

These tenant screening services can turnaround a report as fast as your applicant fills in the necessary information.  Some don’t even need your applicant to take action. You provide the information and get an instant report sent back to you almost immediately.

Soft Credit Inquiry

Just like the Credit Bureaus, these tenant screening services generally do not ding your applicant’s credit score with a hard inquiry.

Tenant Pay Option

Instant tenant screening services usually have an option to let your tenant pay directly.  This is a good way to let your tenant know this is not a profit center for you.  Be sure it is legal in your state before you pass on the cost of tenant screening reports.

No Quality Check

Unfortunately, there is a trade off with instant tenant screening services.  They do not review the report before passing it along.  As mentioned above, the FTC studied credit reporting data and found that one in five Americans has an error on their credit reports.   There is no comparable study that I know of for general public records, but I imagine the rate is even worse.

These mistakes in credit reports and public records can result in denying a good applicant a rental or worse, letting in a bad tenant.

Missing Certain States

Similar to the credit bureaus, you cannot instantly access public records from Wyoming, Delaware, South Dakota, Colorado and Massachusetts.  If you are doing in business in or around these states, then you shouldn’t use an instant tenant screening service.

4 – Property Management Services

There is a lot to be said for convenience.  Managing rentals is paper-intensive and having a comprehensive property management service is a game-changer for many landlords. 

If you use an online property management service like Avail (affiliate link)  or Buildium, you will find it very convenient to have a single portal to handle everything from listings to tenant screening and collecting rent.

These online property management services often partner with other tenant screening services to offer you the same services on their platform.  While convenient, it’s important to know what you are getting when you screen a tenant through one of these services.

See the chart below that shows what the popular online property management services use for tenant screening.

PM Software Service	Tenant Credit Reports	Tenant Background Checks
Apartments	SmartMove (TransUnion)	SmartMove (TransUnion)
TenantCloud	SmartMove (TransUnion)	RentPrep or Checkr
Avail	SmartMove (TransUnion)	SmartMove (TransUnion)
TurboTenant	SmartMove (TransUnion)	SmartMove (TransUnion)
Zillow	Experian	Checkr
Buildium	SmartMove (TransUnion)	SmartMove (TransUnion)
AppFolio	Undisclosed (Possibly Experian)*	Undisclosed (Possibly Experian)*

* I couldn’t find any indication of where AppFolio sources their tenant background checks and credit reports from but they do allow payment history reporting to Experian.  I emailed them the question. I am still waiting for a response.  🙂

Tenant Screening Services Compared

Now that you know more about the different types of tenant screening services and which better suits your rental property needs, it’s time to take it a step further and review some of the top tenant screening services within each type. 

Below you will find several 26-point comparison charts with detailed explanations to help inform you of the best possible choice for your rental property business.

1 – Credit Bureaus

Scroll to the right to see all the tenant screening services compared.

SmartMove (TransUnion)

Cost

TransUnion offers three levels of tenant screening reports.

SmartCheck Basic $25.00

+ Credit Based Resident Score

+ National Criminal Background Report

SmartCheck Plus $38.00

+ Full Credit Report

+ National Eviction Report

SmartCheck Premium $40.00

+ Income Insights Report

The Basic package includes a tenant background check and what they call a ResidentScore©.  If you want a full credit report you should opt for the SmartCheck Plus.

The Premium package is not necessary if you are going to verify your tenant’s income with pay stubs and tax returns.  It could come in handy if you suspect something is amiss in the income section of the application though.

Tenant Pay Option

SmartMove allows your tenant to be billed directly.

Soft Credit Inquiry

SmartMove uses a “Soft” credit inquiry.  Your tenant’s credit will not be impacted by the screening process.  This is done by contacting your applicant directly and having them initiate the credit report.  There are pros and cons to this:

+ No credit impact

+ No onsite inspections and approvals necessary

– Requires applicant to have a SSN

– Landlord never sees the SSN (in case you need to track them down later)

Address / Rental History

SmartMove will tell you if the address provided by your prospective tenant matches the records they have on their credit file.  They will also list any addresses that have been reported to them.

However, they do not verify rental addresses. 

Public Records – Judgments / Liens / Bankruptcies / Evictions

 

All of these normal public records are included in a SmartMove tenant screening report.

If you want an Eviction Search you need to opt for the Plus package.

Criminal / Sex Offender / Patriot Act

SmartMove conducts criminal searches in 46 states and the District of Columbia.    States not included: WY, SD, MA, and DE. SmartMove also checks various Most Wanted databases.

It’s not clear if they can get down to the county level or if they are searching state-level aggregations.  Other services such as e-renter are more transparent about what they can search.

A nation-wide Sex Offender search is included in the basic package. 

SmartMove also includes a Patriot Act search.

Customer Support

TransUnion is the only one of the big data organizations that you can reach by phone.  I called them around 6PM EST and got through without a wait. However, I wasn’t very impressed with the level of knowledge the person on the other end had about SmartMove. They had to put me on hold a couple of times to check the answer to a couple of questions.

They are fairly responsive by email, but I found that email can be hit or miss too. The first time I emailed them, I was asked a lot of personal information when I was making a general inquiry about SmartMove. The second time, I got a very thorough and helpful response.

Refunds are given on a case-by-case basis, but if you got your report, chances are low that you can get a refund at that point.

Unique Feature

SmartMove’s ResidentScore© is claimed to be more accurate at predicting problem tenants than a credit score.  Specifically, 15% more accurate at predicting evictions and 19% more ‘skips’.

They claim this is because a credit score is designed to give you confidence when extending credit, not when turning over the keys to your house.  A ResidentScore is designed to give you confidence that your tenant will pay the rent and not trash your rental.

What Type Of Landlord Is SmartMove Best For?

SmartMove is targeting independent landlords who want a fast turnaround.  If you manage 100 rentals or fewer, then SmartMove is a good option. If you have more than 100 doors, then an enterprise solution such as Equifax may be more cost effective.

Experian

Cost

Experian only offers a credit report for $14.95.  There is no bundling of other services.

Tenant Pay Option

Experian can charge your tenant directly or you can pay for the service yourself.

Soft Credit Inquiry

Experian also uses a “soft” credit inquiry.  See the SmartMove section above for more details on the pros and cons of soft credit inquiries when screening tenants.

Note: Experian credit reports cannot be run if the applicant has a Fraud Alert or Credit Freeze in place.

Address / Rental History

Experian credit reports include a section of addresses associated with your applicant.  The “Best Address” is presumably the most recent or most frequent address.  They will not clarify this for me.  The “Other” addresses are likely older or less frequent in their profile.

Experian does not verify rental address history.

Public Records – Judgments / Liens / Bankruptcies / Evictions

All of the normal Public Records searches are included in an Experian credit report.

Criminal / Sex Offender / Patriot Act

Experian does not conduct tenant background searches.  You should opt for a more comprehensive tenant screening service or fill in the gap yourself if you want this information.

Pro Tip – You want this information!

Customer Support

Experian is a big data provider.  Don’t expect to get someone on the phone if you have a question or an issue.

I found them to be the least helpful in their email responses.  I often received blanket ‘we do not have info on this’ answers.  Really?  You don’t have any information on which states are excluded from your public records searches? 

Refunds are not available once the report has been run.

Unique Feature

Experian’s unique feature isn’t all that unique. They use the same VantageScore that all 3 credit bureaus created to compete with FICO scores.

What Type Of Landlord Is Experian Best For?

Experian tenant credit reports are best for landlords who just need a fast, inexpensive credit report without a background check.

Equifax

I didn’t include Equifax in this comprehensive review of tenant screening services because they don’t really apply.

Equifax does not offer tenant screening to accidental or small landlords like you and me.  They only cater to the enterprise market.  Which means that they only offer tenant screening on a subscription basis not a per report model. 

Unless you are running hundreds of reports each year, then Equifax is probably not for you.

2 – Manual Tenant Screening Services

Scroll to the right to see all the tenant screening services compared.

RentPrep

Cost

RentPrep offers two services:

(1) RentPrep Background Screening starting at $21 and

(2) Credit reports through SmartMove starting at $40. 

Each can be supplemented with other background check services offered by RentPrep.  It’s confusing because there is a little bit of overlap and the amount of detail in the credit report you get depends on which package you choose.

RentPrep Tenant Screening Packages Compared

Tenant Pay Option

You can only have your tenant pay if you opt for the SmartMove report.  The RentPrep report has to be paid by the landlord. 

Soft Credit Inquiry

The Credit Decision from RentPrep (+$11 add on to RentPrep’s Background Check) is a soft credit inquiry.  You don’t need your tenant’s Social Security number to get this report.

The SmartMove credit report available through RentPrep’s website is also a soft inquiry because it is initiated by your tenant.

Address / Rental History

Both the RentPrep Background Check and the SmartMove Credit Report include the address history associated with your prospective tenant.

Public Records – Judgments / Liens / Bankruptcies / Evictions

RentPrep Background Check includes Evictions, Judgments, Liens, and Bankruptcies.

SmartMove Credit Report only includes Evictions and Bankruptcies.  You can add a Judgment and Lien search for $7.

Note – The Credit Bureaus got much stricter on what Judgments and Liens they are reporting due to a new regulation.  They must have a 3 data point match or they cannot report it.  This has resulted in an estimated reduction in half of the previously reported judgments and liens.

Criminal / Sex Offender / Patriot Act

RentPrep Background check includes Patriot Act search but charges an extra $6 if you want a national criminal and sex offender search.  The criminal search covers all 50 states.

SmartMove Credit report includes a national sex offender search and a fourty-four state criminal search.  The Patriot Act search is not available using this option.

Customer Support

One of the best parts of a good manual tenant screening service is that you know there are people behind the scenes ready to help.  You can reach a live person at RentPrep during business hours seven days a week. 

You can also take advantage of their chat or email services.  I found them to be one of the most responsive and helpful tenant screening companies when I was doing my research.

Refunds are offered on a case-by-case basis.  I get the sense they will do what ever is needed to make things right if you ever have an issue.

Unique Features

Quality Control

What really sets RentPrep apart is the fact that they will review the data to make sure it is accurate and actionable. 

Accurate is important because you want to know you are looking at information that is reliable and is representative of your applicant. 

Actionable is no less important.  You don’t want to get in trouble for making a housing decision based on illegal information.  They apparently scrub the reports for any items you can’t use in your decision.

No SSN? No Problem! 

RentPrep works with or without an applicant’s Social Security number.

Full State Access

RentPrep provides background checks even in states where other (instant) tenant screening services can’t go.  That’s because they can manually check records.

What Type Of Landlord Is RentPrep Best For?

RentPrep is best for landlords who want thorough and accurate background checks, especially in the black out states.

E-Renter

Cost

E-Renter offers three reporting tiers: 

• Background Check for $19.95
• Background Check + Credit Report for $31.94 (including $1.99 fee)
• Background Check + Advanced Credit Report for $36.94 (including $1.99 fee)

Tenant Pay Option

E-Renter does have an option for the tenant to pay. 

Soft Credit Inquiry

Unknown. I wasn’t able to confirm if E-Renter uses a soft or hard credit pull.

Address / Rental History

If you want access to the applicant’s address history, you will have to opt for the Advanced Credit Report.

Public Records – Judgments / Liens / Bankruptcies / Evictions

E-Renter includes all public records search in their basic Background Check service.  This is unique.  Most tenant screening services charge an add-on fee for one or more of these public records.

Criminal / Sex Offender / Patriot Act

E-Renter includes all three of these searches in the basic Background Check service.  Again, this is unique not to charge an add-on fee.

Customer Support

Theoretically, you can reach E-Renter on a phone during business hours Monday through Friday 8 am to 5 pm Pacific Time or by Email. 

I didn’t have much luck getting anyone to return my calls or emails about their services.  I made several attempts but could only leave voice messages. After more than 24 hours, someone finally called me back. Although Kelly was very knowledgeable about the service, it was a frustrating experience. Maybe you will have a better one.

If you want the security of knowing you can reach someone for help, I wouldn’t recommend using E-Renter.

Unique Feature

Rent Check Advisor

E-Renter offers a Rent Check Advisor feature.  If you opt for the premium service, E-Renter will tell you if you should accept rent in the form of checks based on negative check information associated with the applicant.

Data Transparency

 

E-Rent is very transparent about where they source their data from.  Click on any state and you will see exactly which counties are included. No other service I reviewed offered this level of transparency. 

What Type Of Landlord Is E-Renter Best For?

E-Renter could be for you if you are just looking for a good background check report.  They offer the best value with often premium add-on features included in the basic report.

It’s not for you if you are looking for good customer support.

3 – Instant Tenant Screening Services

Scroll to the right to see all the tenant screening services compared.

Naborly

Naborly is actually a hybrid Instant and Manual tenant screening service.  However, I included them in this section because their screeners are not FCRA certified and are only verifying tenant-provided data.  This does, however, delay the report slightly.

Cost

I originally chose to include Naborly in my review of tenant screening services primarily for one reason: it was totally free!  No kidding! 

However, they’ve moved aways from that model and are now charging a flat $25 fee per report. It’s still not a bad deal but I liked it a lot more when it was totally free.

What makes Naborly different?

Their expertise is in AI and they know how to analyze and quantify risk. 

It makes sense then, to use that knowledge to offer your tenant insurance products.  That’s because they know more about your tenant and can predict their risk better than other insurance companies.

Here are the two plans Naborly offers to US landlords:

Tenant Pay Option

You can choose whether you pay for the screening or your applicant pays on the Send Application page or you can set your default option in your account settings.

Soft Credit Inquiry

Unfortunately, Naborly does their credit reporting through Equifax and it is a hard credit inquiry.

Address / Rental History

Address history is included but rental history or validation is not available.

Public Records – Judgments / Liens / Bankruptcies / Evictions

Bankruptcies and Liens are included in the Basic report while Judgments are available in the Pro report.

Naborly will not say if they include Evictions or not in either report.  This was there response:

"There is no reliable and exhaustive database with Eviction data. Most of that analysis is predictive or self-reported by the Applicant."

I’m not exactly sure how to interpret that. I guess they look for patterns in the data and use that to predict if you will have a higher eviction risk.

Below is what their predictive analysis looks like.  Notice the Eviction rating.

Criminal / Sex Offender / Patriot Act

The Pro report includes all of these searches.  As an added bonus, Naborly’s criminal search goes down to the municipal court level.

Customer Support

This is a partially manual tenant screening service so they do operate by office hours: 

• Mon – Fri 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. EST
• Sat/Sun 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST

Reports usually take about 90 minutes during office hours or they are available the next business day.

You can reach them by phone or email.  I found them to be pretty responsive to my questions and answered them all within 24 hours.

Unique Feature

It’s predictive. We are now living in the next information age and companies like Naborly that can leverage AI to make my job as a landlord easier have my attention.  It would be good to see some stats on how Shirly (that’s what they call their AI software – clever) performs versus traditional tenant screening services but unfortunately they tell me that is proprietary information. Their screening report includes employment stability analysis, pet liability analysis, and property suitability analysis based on their AI technology.

They offer insurance. It’s also nice to have the option to offer my tenants Renter’s Insurance or Security Deposit Insurance. This can help my property standout and potentially attract more applicant’s

What Type Of Landlord Is Naborly Best For?

You can set your self apart from the competition in a renter’s market by offering low-cost screening driven by AI technology.  Be prepared to supplement some of the missing but highly recommended search features, such as an eviction search, with another service or your own due diligence.

SmartScreen By ClearScreening

Cost

SmartScreen by ClearScreening only has one all-inclusive package for $30.  It’s a great value considering it is essentially the same report you will get from SmartMove but at a significant discount.

Note that SmartScreen reports are paid with “credits” you can purchase with your credit card.

Tenant Pay Option

There currently isn’t an option for your tenant to pay directly but ClearScreening assures me it is coming very soon.

Soft Credit Inquiry

SmartScreen is run through TransUnion’s SmartMove so it is also a soft credit inquiry.

Address / Rental History

SmartScreen tells me there is an address history available but their sample report only includes the “current” address. 

I don’t think you should expect a list of addresses associated with your applicant because it is not included in the TransUnion reports either.  This should be the same. 

SmartScreen doesn’t provide an option to verify rental addresses.

Public Records – Judgments / Liens / Bankruptcies / Evictions

These public records are all available in a SmartScreen report but they made a point to tell me that the Judgments and Liens have been severely limited by the recent change in reporting requirements imposed on the big Credit Bureaus.

Criminal / Sex Offender / Patriot Act

All included.

Customer Support

I have to admit that I didn’t have high expectations for customer support given this is a tenant screening service reseller. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how responsive they were.  I received an email response to my questions in less than 1 hour. 

They say they do respond to emails even after business hours which are limited to M-F 9am-5pm PST although I didn’t test this yet.

Unique Feature

TransUnion reports at a discounted price.

What Type Of Landlord Is SmartScreen Best For?

SmartScreen is perfect for landlords on a budget who don’t want to sacrifice the tenant screening report quality.

MyRental

Cost

MyRental offers 3 packages ranging from $19.99 – $34.99.  They are also one of the only services I reviewed with an a la cart pricing menu.  You can purchase an individual report starting at $7.99.

Tenant Pay Option

The Premium and Premium Plus plans allow you to charge the tenant directly.

Soft Credit Inquiry

MyRental uses soft credit inquiries via TransUnion.

No Social Security Number is needed for the Premium and Premium Plus packages but the Basic package and other reports require the applicant’s full name, address, date of birth and Social Security Number.

The applicant’s SSN is obscured on the Credit report.

Address / Rental History

Address history is included in all reports packages. 

There is no option to verify rental history through MyRental.

Public Records – Judgments / Liens / Bankruptcies / Evictions

MyRental Includes Eviction Histories in all report packages.

However, It’s not clear if MyRental provides any details of any other public records, such as Judgments, or if it just tells you if there is a public records “hit.”

 

If you order the Premium or Premium Plus packages you will get a credit report which includes a Profile Summary like the one above.

Unfortunately, the sample Credit Report provided by MyRental doesn’t show any details of public records.  I hope they provide details if there is a hit but it’s not clear from their website.  They haven’t returned my email questions.  See Customer Service section below.

Criminal / Sex Offender / Patriot Act

MyRental includes a Multi-State Criminal, Multi-State Sex Offender, and Terrorist Alert search in all report packages.

Customer Support

MyRental does offer business hours when you can reach them by phone, including Saturdays.  I haven’t tried calling them yet so I’m not sure how responsive or helpful they are on the phone.

I did try emailing them for details and was not impressed.  They did respond the following business day but their response was lackluster.  MyRental basically told me to just “Get Started” and the system will prompt me through the process and take a look at the FAQs if any questions. 

Not a great customer service first impression.

Unique Features

Adverse Action Letter

I like that MyRental generates an FCRA compliant Adverse Action letter.  This makes compliance easy.

Tenant Score

The MyRental Tenant Score is  a proprietary metric designed to help you distinguish between the good-average applicants and the bad-average applicant’s.  MyRental is part of CoreLogic, a real estate big data provider, so you have to believe they know data. 

If you opt for the Premium Pus package, MyRental will rank your applicant according to the local market which is very helpful.

Pay For What You Need

Finally, MyRental’s a la cart pricing is helpful if you just need to fill in missing data in your tenant screening process.

What Type Of Landlord Is MyRental Best For?

At $19.99, MyRental’s Basic package includes many of the must have’s that other tenant screening reports lack at the basic level.  It’s a good value if they cover your state.

It’s also perfect to fill in missing data your regular tenant screening service doesn’t provide.  A la cart pricing makes it affordable.

However, be prepared to go into a customer service black hole if you encounter any issues.

Conclusion

Tenant screening is mission critical.  If you want to be a successful landlord, you need to choose the best tenant service that suits your needs. 

Unfortunately, a perfect tenant screening service doesn’t exist.  They all have issues in one form or another.

There is no shortage of tenant screening services promising to provide fast, accurate tenant screening to help you pick the best tenants for your rentals.  Understanding the trade-offs among the different types of tenant screening services is important.   They are not all the same.  Know exactly what information you are getting and where it comes from.

Decide which type of tenant screening services outlined above works best for you.  Then review the 26-point comparison charts to find the one that is right for your rental business.

Next Steps

Now that you’ve thoroughly screened and found the best tenant, it’s time to write a custom lease using these 63 essential lease clauses.

Don’t use a lease that doesn’t protect you and your biggest asset! The Landlord’s Guide to Writing Great Leases will show you how to easily create a strong, custom lease that complies with your state’s landlord-tenant laws.

Change Log

Edited April 2020 to update Naborly pricing.

Edited December 2022 to update RentPrep pricing.