On Tenant Background Checks

It is a tenant's right to be considered fairly and without prejudice when applying for residence. It is a landlord's right to select only those tenants who they believe will pay their rent on time, treat the premises (including neighbors) respectfully, and conduct themselves in an orderly manner. In the interest of making it easier for good tenants to find a place to live and responsible landlords to find good tenants, there exists the tenant background check.

A landlord can now run an evictions record search as part of their tenant background check to make sure nobody they're renting to has ever been evicted. It is likely that in the process of a tenant background check, a landlord may run a full criminal and credit background check too. That includes conducting state and nationwide criminal background searches. If there are children living in the same building, a landlord may even choose to run a sex offender registry check on a prospective tenant.

The most crucial element to a tenant background check is disclosure. The landlord must inform the applicant of their intention to run a criminal and credit background check and obtain the applicant's signature on a document acknowledging their awareness of the tenant background check and their consent to having it done. A landlord that runs a tenant background check without obtaining the consent of the applicant could be in for some serious legal trouble.

A comprehensive tenant background check should include the following background check information:

• Personal data - like name, address, phone, age, marital status, children, SSN

• DUI/DWI convictions

• Legal history - whether they've ever sued or been sued and for what

• Criminal history - whether they've ever been convicted (not simply arrested) of a crime, what crime, and what consequences

• Educational background - access to school records are restricted, but you'll at least find out the highest education level achieved

• Employment background

• Assets

• Verification of employment and landlord references

• Military information - restricted to cursory info like what branch, awards received, and highest rank achieved

So long as a landlord's questions in an application for tenancy don't break any laws (for example - landlords cannot ask how many children will be living in the residence), they can utilize a tenant background check to verify the applicant's truthfulness in answering them.

If, however, a landlord asks the wrong questions, a tenant who knows his or her rights could bring them up on charges of discrimination. A landlord found guilty of discrimination could be forced to rent to that tenant at their own expense. A tip to landlords, then: better to ask only the most basic, legally-permissible questions (name, current and past employers, current income, current and past residences/landlords) and obtain an authorized tenant background check to any further information desired.

Whatever the background check information obtained, landlords need to know that basing their decision to rent or not to rent to an individual on certain criteria could be found discriminatory and subject them to legal recourse. Tenants need to know that, beyond those practices that qualify as discrimination, a landlord can base their decision on anything else they want to. The tenant background check, therefore, is a powerful tool that must be wielded carefully.

Additional Resources:
Web Detective Reviews
Web Detective Top 10 List
Back to Articles Index