The Best Tenant Screening Service for Small Landlords

Update: This post has been updated with new scoring and winners based on changes or upgrades to some of the products and services. We have also included new products that have come to our attention since the last update. In order to learn more please read on to see our winners for the best tenant screening service for 2024:

Undeniably, reviewing screening reports for each applicant is one of the most important tools landlords and property managers have in deciding who to accept as tenants.  (Checking references is another, which we’ve written about here.) In this article we’re evaluating online property management products in order to help landlords choose the best tenant screening service for their needs.

What to Look for when Choosing a Tenant Screening Service

We considered six factors when evaluating the tenant screening services we’re comparing:

1. Credit and Financial Reporting:  We look for thorough credit information, including a summary of debt and detailed payment history.  Flexibility to choose only information deemed important (or only what’s legal to consider in specific locations) is also valuable to many landlords.  We also value the ability to access reports without requiring the landlord to go through a site inspection or vetting process.
2. Criminal Background Checks:  Although cities such as Seattle and Oakland have passed legislation making it illegal to consider criminal background when evaluating a potential tenant, if it’s permissible we believe it is valuable to know if a potential tenant has a record.  We highly recommend consulting a lawyer or local rental association for guidance on using this type of information.
3. Identity, Employment, and Address History:  It is essential to verify that the information an applicant provides is accurate, and that they are who they say they are.  Tenant screening service reports help verify this information and add some context.  It’s important to know whether an applicant has lived and worked where they have claimed to, and whether the Social Security number they’ve provide is actually theirs.  Note: ALWAYS ask for a valid government-issued ID that shows that the person and the data you’re reviewing match-up.
4. Evictions & Judgements:  Because credit and payment history can be influenced by so many life circumstances, considering prior evictions may be the most relevant predictor of whether an applicant will violate the terms of a lease, or skip-out entirely.
5. Costs – and Who Pays?  We have only evaluated the specific cost of screening reports here.  Most of these software products offer many property management features, beyond tenant screening.  Landlords need to look at what features they want to use, and calculate the value based on each product’s overall costs. 
6. Flexibility:  Each landlord has preferences as to which information to consider when selecting tenants, and in some locations they are prohibited from considering certain information. (Such as criminal history, in places such as Seattle.)  They may also want to consider whether they want to have the option to either pay for screening reports or have applicants pay.  Some like reports that that return a clear “Accept” or “Deny” result based on criteria they’ve set.

Also Read: Rental Criteria Checklist for Screening Tenants

The Best Online Tenant Screening Service – Our Top Picks

We considered the following rental property management software products for the tenant screening. While we have selected an overall winner, we also highlight winners based on specific features they offer. You can also read more information below about our complete criteria for what you should look for when choosing the best tenant screening service.

• RentPrep – Winner:  Best Overall Tenant Screening Service
• TurboTenant – Winner:  Best Value Tenant Screening Service & Property Management Tool
• Avail – Winner:  Best Screening with Full Property Management Features
• Azibo – Free Rent Collection in a full property management platform
• RentRedi – Free Rent Collection in a full property management platform
• RentecDirect – Full-Featured Software for Small Landlords or Property Managers Alike
• ezLandlordForms – Tenant Screening and Comprehensive 50-State Lease Documents
• ApplyConnect – Tenant screening solution perfect for independent landlords.
• Hemlane – Unique Hybrid Property Management Platform

RentPrep ONLY provides tenant screening services, and really delivers for landlords by offering both custom-designed in-house products as well as TransUnion SmartMove reporting. Moreover, RentPrep gives customers great flexibility to order the information and format they want most. Without a doubt, for credit, criminal, identity, and eviction reporting, RentPrep digs deep for in-depth information on rental applicants. In fact we believe they are the easy choice for best tenant screening service if accessing affordable background information is your main concern.

Credit and Financial Reporting:  RentPrep does tenant screening exclusively, offering two types of credit report. Their proprietary Credit Decision Report allows landlords to set a FICO threshold for applicant acceptance. If a threshold of 600 is set, for example, anyone below that score would come back as “denied”. This is a “red light/green light” approach, where no credit detail or specific FICO score is provided.The second report comes via TransUnion’s SmartMove.  This is a full credit check, with detailed records related to debt, payments, bankruptcies, and more.  

A feature unique to RentPrep is their report detailing judgments and liens, which is included as part of their proprietary Background Check. This product is also available as an add-on ($7) to the Full Credit Report. 

Like RentecDirect, RentPrep is offering an Income Verification Report, which is a summary of income, expenses, and account balances. This information is drawn directly from an applicant’s banking institution.

Criminal Background Checks:  Their proprietary Tenant Background Check does not include a criminal background check, however a 50-state search is available for an additional charge of $6.  The SmartMove Full Credit Report includes a Nationwide Criminal & Sex Offender Search. Criminal records can not be removed from this TransUnion report.

Identity, Employment, and Address History:  Both available reports deliver address history and SSN verification.  Neither deliver employer information, however we think the Income Verification Report (a $10 add-on) is at least as useful, as it shows banking activity including sources of income.

Evictions & Judgements:  Both products offered include nationwide eviction records.  The RentPrep Background Check, which is compiled by in-house screening experts, includes judgements and liens. This information is available as an-add on ($7) to the TransUnion SmartMove report.

Costs – and Who Pays?  Since RentPrep only provides screening reports and does not use any kind of subscription model, pricing is fairly simple.  Their Tenant Background Check costs $21, with the option to add-on a criminal & sex offender report ($6), and Credit Decision Report ($11).  We believe it’s advisable to order both additional reports, so the overall cost would be $38.  On the negative side this report can only be paid-for by the landlord, who goes through a one-time credentialing process.  On the other hand the SmartMove Full Credit Report costs $38.00 and can be paid-for directly by the applicant. Add-ons to this report include Judgements/Liens for $7 and Income Verification for $10. On balance, given the number of options available and the quality of the reports, we believe RentPrep delivers excellent value.

Flexibility:  RentPrep provides flexible a-la-carte pricing, which allows landlords to order the information they value most. Choices include their in-house Background Check or a SmartMove Full Credit Report.  The Credit Decision Report provides a “approve/deny” result, with criteria set by the landlord – detailed financial information and scoring omitted.  

TurboTenant provides a complete set of property management features.  Advertising, applications, screening, custom 50-state leases, rent collection, and tenant communication are all part of the package.  In addition, TurboTenant integrates with REI Hub (an add-on feature) to offer powerful rental property accounting capabilities.

We’ve selected TurboTenant as our best product for overall value, since they provide such a wide range of features.  Landlords can be on a free plan, or sign up for a Premium membership for a reasonable flat fee.  The premium package has many valuable functions, and pays for itself quickly.  With any more than one or two rental units TurboTenant turns out to be less expensive than competitors who charge a fee per unit.

Credit and Financial Reporting:  TurboTenant makes it simple by offering one screening package, from TransUnion.  Landlords receive a full credit report listing accounts, their status, payment history, and any collections.  Evictions, criminal convictions, and public records are all included.   At a glance you get a credit (FICO) score, and visual red-to-green scale showing what means.  Unique to TurboTenant is the Income Insights report, which surveys available financial data on an applicant and gives you a read on whether their stated income is likely accurate.

Criminal Background Checks:  TurboTenant offers one screening report, which includes comprehensive background data from all 50 states, using TransUnion’s SmartMove product.  Criminal records DO get included, even if you’re in a state where landlords are prohibited from using that information.

Identity, Employment, and Address History:  Aliases are not included, however prior addresses, employment history, and identity verification are.

Evictions & Judgements:  TransUnion delivers “Public Records”, ie court judgements, as well as data on any evictions or criminal history.

Costs – and Who Pays?  By default applicants pay for screening reports.  If a landlord is a subscriber to the paid Premium package the cost to the tenant is $45 per report.  If a landlord is on a free plan the cost is $55 per report.

Flexibility:  TurboTenant keeps things simple, offering one comprehensive screening report package.

Avail offers a full complement of property management features in addition to tenant screening. In fact, each step in managing small-medium sized portfolios is streamlined in a simple and comprehensive package.  This is what we call a “Fulll-Featured Property Management Software” product, which gives landlords tools to advertise vacancies, take applications, receive screening reports, write leases, collect rent, and communicate with tenants about maintenance and other issues.

Credit and Financial Reporting:  Avail uses TransUnion to provide full, detailed credit reports. A “Credit +” report costs $30, which is paid either by the applicant or landlord. You get get both a green/yellow/red rating and a FICO credit score, as well as a total of all recorded debts. Not to mention, for those that wish to dig into the details of payment history, collections, and account particulars, that information is included as well.

Criminal Background Checks:  Avail’s “Full Screening” report includes criminal history from all 50 states plus U.S. territories, OFAC Terrorist Watch List, Most Wanted List, and Sex Offenders List. A nice feature of Avail’s Full Screening report is that it automatically omits the criminal background information where it is not allowed.  It probably sounds strange to most landlords, but in a growing number of places (here in Seattle, for example) it is illegal to factor-in criminal records when choosing tenants.

Identity, Employment, and Address History:  Social Security Number verification, employment history, and past addresses are all included in Avail’s “Full Screening” report.

Evictions & Judgements:  Avail provides failure-to-pay and eviction records from all 50 states, as well as any prior judgements against an applicant.

Costs – and Who Pays?  Pricing is a mixed-bag with Avail. On one hand they are the only service that has a report that’s truly free to both landlord and applicant. It includes job history, rental history, and income verification. On the other hand the Full Screening report, which is very comprehensive, costs $55. Landlords can choose whether to pay for the report or have the applicant do so.

Flexibility:  When it comes to Avail the landlord chooses to pay themselves, or to require that applicants pay. In either case, Avail offers three reports, or a bundle of the three. Criminal reporting can be eliminated for locations where it is disallowed by choosing the Credit+ instead of the Full Screening option.

Azibo offers a full range of property management features, with an emphasis on screening, quality lease documents, banking, and bookkeeping / accounting.

Credit and Financial Reporting:  Like most other offerings, Azibo sources their data through TransUnion.  One difference is that instead of providing a FICO credit score they provide a Resident Score.  This is based on information TransUnion believes will predict how reliable a tenant will pay, but we prefer the traditional credit score because it is easy to evaluate because it commonly understood.

Criminal Background Checks:  Azibo’s reporting provides TransUnion’s data on criminal background, sex offender status, FBI’s most wanted list, public registries, and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

Identity, Employment, and Address History:  Azibo returns identity, employment and prior address records.

Evictions & Judgements:  Azibo also uses TransUnion for their screening reports, which include eviction, unlawful retainer, and small claims information.

Costs – and Who Pays?  Applicants pay for screening reports ordered from Azibo, at $39.95 per report.

Flexibility:  Azibo offers one screening package, paid for by the applicant.

RentRedi is an all-encompassing rental property management software. As an app, it’s simple for you and your tenants to access RentRedi from your mobile device anywhere at any time.

Credit and Financial Reporting: RentRedi generates a Resident Score and “Custom Leasing Recommendation”, value-added features based on TransUnion data. This is in addition to thorough financial records on debt, payments, etc. RendRedi’s mobile app makes running and reviewing reports particularly handy for both landlords and tenants.

Criminal Background Checks:  A nice feature RentRedi offers is a 10-question pre-sceening survey, which saves you both time and money spent screening applicants who don’t qualify on basic criteria. In their own words: “Over 370 million criminal records from state and national databases provide you with comprehensive information.”

Identity, Employment, and Address History:  In addition to the other important information in this category we like the way RentRedi asks applicants screening questions up front. We believe this helps landlords to start developing a profile of who they’re dealing with right from the beginning.

Evictions & Judgements: RentRedi scans 27 million eviction reports, delivering results for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Costs – and Who Pays?  At $35 for a comprehensive report RentRedi is very reasonably priced. While they provide great tenant screening services, we had to give them a lower score for cost because a paid subscription is required for all features. Additionally there is no option to have a landlord pay instead of the applicant.

Flexibility:  As we’ve mentioned before, we believe the pre-screening questions built into RentRedi’s process is a big benefit. Landlords are given information that helps narrow-down the applicant field even before screening reports are ordered. We also like the fact that RentRedi offers an app that lets the rent-up process proceed on the fly.

Rentec Direct offers rental property management software and tenant screening solutions for landlords and real estate professionals to manage properties, tenants, and accounts online. Subscribers can collect rent payments, post vacancies, balance accounts, create reports, access tenant and owner portals, coordinate maintenance, accept rental applications online, and generate tenant screening reports.

Credit and Financial Reporting:  A full TransUnion Credit report with FICO score is available with the Premium Screening Package.  This report includes a debt summary, payment history, and any bankruptcy records. Rentec is the only service we’ve seen offering an Income Verification Report. It requires that an applicant enter bank credentials into the system, which then returns results on recurring payments. This information helps landlords verify that their employment and income level are what they’ve listed on the application.

Criminal Background Checks:  All screening packages include nationwide criminal and sex offender records. On the negative side however, it is not possible to eliminate criminal records from any of the three report packages.

Identity, Employment, and Address History:  The “Basic” package includes SSN and prior address verification, while the middle-tier “Enhanced” report package adds nationwide eviction records and the “Premium” package adds a full TransUnion credit report.

Evictions & Judgements:     Both the “Enhanced” and “Premium” screening packages include a nationwide eviction search, while the “Basic” level does not.  

Costs – and Who Pays?  To begin with a monthly subscription, which starts at $35 for landlords with 10 units or fewer, is required to use any of RentecDirect’s tools. On the other hand, screening reports are affordable and very flexible. The Basic Report costs $7 and includes criminal and address history records. The Enhanced package costs $10 and adds an eviction report to the Basic offering. Another option is the Premium package, which runs $15 and includes all the information in the lower tier reports and adds a full TransUnion credit check including FICO score. In the event that you want to pick and choose, a-la-carte offerings include: eviction ($8.50), SSN verification & Address history ($3.95.

As I have noted, pricing with RentecDirect is a bit complicated. While there’s a $35+ subscription fee up front, actual tenant screening reports are less expensive than with other companies. Depending on how often you’re screening applicants, on the other hand, the subscription costs may make sense. 

Flexibility:  Reports can be ordered a-la-carte or at “wholesale” package pricing, in either case giving landlords extensive flexibility.

In addition to tenant screening services ezLandlordForms offers a range of free rental applications and lease templates, which landlords can easily create legally binding documents in minutes.

Credit and Financial Reporting:  ezLandlordForms uses TransUnion data to create a nice package of credit-based tools for evaluating potential tenants. You’ll get a “ezTenantScore” which, in their words is; “the result of sophisticated analysis that looks at the risk of eviction, late payment, and skipping out on the Lease.” In addition landlords set criteria they want new tenants to meet, and receive a “Credit Recommendation” for each applicant. In addition to listing credit accounts and payment history, ezLandlordForms’ report gives you any records related to judgements or bankruptcies.

Criminal Background Checks:  ezLandlordForms criminal background tenant screening checks all the boxes. Nationwide data, including DEA, FBI, and most wanted searches. Fraud alerts also show up, and identity verification is included.

Identity, Employment, and Address History:  Social Security verification and identity alerts are included. The credit report lists current employers, and ezLandlordForms pulls credit, evicition, and criminal data together to give landlords a recommendation on how to proceed based on criteria they have set.

Evictions & Judgements:  An evictions report is a $5 add-on to the standard background and credit screening package ($29.95). It is very thorough, including any records of evictions, convictions for unpaid rent, or warrants for possession. Locations, dates, and court records for any evictions are also on the report.

Costs – and Who Pays?  On balance, Tenant screening reports are priced reasonably at $29.95 for the Standard package and $34.95 for the Gold package, which includes the eviction report. Landlords can pay directly or have their applicants do so. Significantly, no subscription is required to use ezLandlordForms’ application or screening services.

Flexibility:  While it’s possible to select an eviction report separately, there is no way to eliminate criminal records. This is a problem in locations where it is illegal to consider criminal background when selecting tenants. Landlords can set desired criteria, however, and can choose to pay themselves or have the applicant pay.

ApplyConnect is no-cost rental property management software that focuses on tenant screening solutions for independent landlords and property managers. Screen tenants, market your vacancies, and lease legally and securely for free.

Credit and Financial Reporting:  ApplyConnect focuses on tenant screening, and uses Experian to provide a full credit report, including a “Vantage 3.0” score.  Their reports also include civil judgments and liens.

Criminal Background Checks:  Criminal searches covering “local courts” from all 50 states plus Washington DC, as well as the National Sex-Offender Registry.   

Identity, Employment, and Address History:  SSN verification, past names, past addresses, and employment history are included.

Evictions & Judgements:  ApplyConnect states that it does a “civil court search, scanning the nation’s largest eviction database with 36+ million unique records (no duplicates) including judgments and filings”.

Costs – and Who Pays?  Pricing is simple. Applicants pay $29.95 for a single copy of their report, or $39.95 for the ability to share their report with up to 3 properties. Unless a landlord wants to pay for the reports – which is possible – this is a no-cost service.

Flexibility:  We love the simplicity of using a service that provides a good report that’s affordable and paid-for by applicants. While all reports will include an Experian credit report paired with a nationwide criminal and eviction history, landlords also have the option to update information to reflect local laws. When the property zip code is included ApplyConnect will check for laws restricting what information can be used in the rental decision, and automatically update reports to be compliant. ApplyConnect also provides a decision feature that makes it simple for landlords to notify applicants whether they’ve been approved or denied, and sends them a legally compliant notice by email.

Hemlane is a next-gen property management software that helps landlords manage their properties in all 50 states. This user-friendly platform automates day-to-day administration, from advertising rentals to collecting rent and late fees online. It also helps you connect with local, in-person leasing agents to deal with finding and placing a renter.

Credit and Financial Reporting:  Hemlane puts together a complete credit reports with records of all accounts, delinquencies, judgements, and bankruptcies.

Criminal Background Checks:  Hemlane delivers nationwide criminal records, sex offender registration, and data on fraud indicators and court cases.

Identity, Employment, and Address History:  Landlords receive standard identity and residence history that is typically included with credit reports.

Evictions & Judgements:  Each tenant screening package includes a nationwide eviction search.

Costs – and Who Pays?  On balance Hemlane tenant screening reports are quite affordable at $30, which the applicant pays when they apply. We deducted points here, however, because a subscription is required to use Hemlane services, including background reports.

Flexibility:  Hemlane provides a great screening package, however there are no options or opportunity to customize screening reports.

Honorable Mention: “Virtual” Rental Management Services

Given that it’s a new and unrecognized phrase, you’ll probably look at our header here and wonder what “virtual property management” is. You won’t be the only one, as the rental real estate industry is still trying to figure out what to call this category of services. In short these companies take some or all showing, screening, and maintenance coordination duties off your hands.

Each company has different options, which allows you to choose which tasks you want to keep and which you want to outsource.

• Marble finds and screens tenants, coordinates maintenance, but doesn’t handle rent collection or leasing.
• Hemlane will help you DIY manage, or take take-on full management duties.
• RentRedi is a property management software product for landlords that also offers maintenance coordination.

These companies offer an interesting approach for those who want to step back from property management, or live away from their rentals, but still want to stay engaged.

Our Criteria: How We Choose the Best Tenant Screening Services

Types of Information to Look for in Credit Reports

All of the products we’re ranking use either Experian or TransUnion to pull credit and background information on rental applicants.  Reports from the two sources have many similarities, typically including the following:

• debt summary 
• payment history
• bankruptcies 
• accounts that have gone to collection
• tax liens
• civil judgments
• Social Security number verification
• name verification and alias history
• past addresses
• past and current employers
• credit score on a scale from 300-850 points.  TransUnion gives applicants a “FICO” score, while Experian gives a “Vantage 3.0” score

Also Read: The Best Online Rent Payment Service For Small Landlords

Criteria We Used To Evaluate on Criminal Background Records

In ranking the best online tenant screening service for criminal background reporting, we considered the following factors:

1. Will reports cover all states?
2. Does the report include local court records?
3. Are national registries (terrorism, sex-offender, most wanted, etc) searched?
4. Is jail, arrest, and warrant information included?
5. Is it possible to customize the type of information returned?

Also Read: Choosing the best questions to ask rental references

Criteria Used To Evaluate on Identity, Employment and Address Records

When evaluating the best tenant screening service to provide identity, employment, and address information we considered the following questions:

1. Are aliases included?
2. Is employment history included?
3. Is there value-add analysis (such as SmartMove’s “Income Insights” report).

Also Read: Reporting and Accounting Tools: Best Accounting Software for Landlords

Criteria Used To Evaluate on Eviction and Judgements Reporting

In choosing the best tenant screening service to provide information on evictions, we asked:

1. Are court judgments included?
2. Are records of a tenant’s failure to pay included?
3. Does the report provide data on writs of eviction and warrants?

Criteria Used To Evaluate on Pricing

We considered these cost-related questions when choosing the best tenant screening service:

1. Cost to a landlord.  We favor services that require applicants to pay directly.  
2. Overall cost of reports, no matter who pays.
3. Whether a subscription is required.  While we think it’s reasonable to have an account (profile) with a service, we believe a monthly paid subscription requirement is a negative.
4. Flexibility. While we prefer applicant-pay models, some landlords will prefer to pay so that applying for an apartment is free to prospective tenants.  Being able to order some reports but not others is also a choice that some landlords will value.
5. Integration with a free online application and additional tenant management features.

Also Read: Property Management Fees Calculator

Features We Looked for When Evaluating Our Contenders on Flexibility

Undoubtedly, we believe the best tenant screening services provide flexibility. For the purpose of this evaluation we considered the landlord’s ability to customize their approach, and the questions we asked included:

1. Can landlords choose which reports to receive?
2. Is it possible to set acceptance criteria and receive a simple “approve/decline” response?
3. Is it possible to choose who pays?
4. Are there pricing options?

Landlord Gurus Takeaway

In reality, each landlord or property manager has a different approach to choosing the best tenants for their properties. Now more than ever landlords have a variety of tools to help them make this important choice. Unquestionably, we believe finding the best tenant screening service is crucial to easily, quickly, and affordably accessing background information on rental applicants. With this in mind, we certainly hope this evaluation helps you find the service that’s the best fit for you!

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links and Landlord Gurus may earn a commission. Our mission remains to provide valuable resources and information that helps landlords manage their rental properties efficiently and profitably. We link to these companies and their products because of their quality, not because of the commission.

Tagged background check, criminal background