Whether you’re a landlord, a property manager, or a homeowner, you need to know how to perform a background check on your renters. There are a number of rreasons to perform a background check on your tenants, including security, liability, and legal reasons. In addition, you should know that your state may not allow you to recover the cost of performing an apartment background check.

Criminal records

Currently, most landlords use redberry tenant screening to run criminal background checks on prospective tenants. These are conducted to prevent eviction and to attract better renters. However, these actions have historically caused discrimination.

Landlord screening disproportionately affects minority groups. For instance, a landlord may refuse to rent an apartment to a person with a juvenile conviction.

Fortunately, HUD has issued guidelines for landlords on whether to reject a tenant based on a criminal record. The guidelines cover several factors, such as the nature and severity of the offense, the length of time since the offense, and the applicant’s rehabilitation efforts.

In addition, HUD believes that refusing to rent to someone with a criminal record could violate the Fair Housing Act. Consequently, landlords need to prove that they have a legitimate reason for their policy.

Employment history

Often, the first thing that a landlord will check is the employment history of a potential tenant. This can give them a good idea of the type of person they are letting into their home.

A good employment history can also help them determine how much money the renter can afford. Most apartments will require the renter to have been employed for at least six months. Some will also require that he or she have a co-signer.

Depending on where you live, your state might have a cap on the cost of a background check. These can range from $20 to $50.

A background check also includes your credit history. Most landlords will gather information from three major credit bureaus. These bureaus get their data from public records such as tax liens and bankruptcies.

Credit history

Whether you’re renting a single family home or a multifamily apartment, credit history is a background check that landlords do. The report can help them decide whether to rent to a tenant or not.

Credit history can show if a tenant has been in a previous apartment or home, and can also indicate any gaps in payments. It can also reveal whether a tenant has been evicted in the past.

Landlords can use credit reports to screen applicants, but they must follow federal and state housing laws. In addition, they must inform tenants that they’re conducting a credit check and inform them if they’re rejected. Landlords can’t reject a tenant without a reason, and they must inform the tenant of their right to dispute the information on their report.

Income Insights

Using Income Insights for landlords is a great way to improve the profitability of your rental business. The tool is provided by TransUnion, a trusted credit reporting agency. It uses a statistical model to calculate an estimate of a tenant’s income. It can also help you avoid problems with renter payments.

Income Insights is a smart piece of software, and it comes with a fee. It helps you decide if you need to do any additional income verification on a prospective renter. It can also help you make a faster leasing decision.

The tool is based on a proprietary model developed by TransUnion. It uses the applicant’s credit report and spend behavior to calculate an estimate of his or her income. It also includes retirement distributions, social security, and non-work related income sources.

State laws prohibiting landlords from recovering the cost of an apartment background check

Until recently, landlords were not allowed to recover the cost of an apartment background check from tenants. However, some states have changed this law. The California legislature, for example, recently approved the charge of an application fee to conduct a background check on prospective tenants.

The new laws also allow tenants to take action against landlords who violate the law. This is referred to as the affirmative defense, and may bar a landlord from recovering rent in a plenary action or summary proceeding.

Another change that affects landlords is the new requirement that landlords give prospective tenants an itemized statement of claimed conditions within 14 days after the tenant moves out. If a landlord fails to meet this requirement, he or she forfeits any claim to the deposit.