If you are a property manager or a landlord, assessing a prospective tenant without investigating the applicant’s history or background can be a recipe for disaster. Effective tenant screening services help you get a detailed report on the tenant’s history, criminal records, credit score, eviction history, sex offense or terrorism charges, and much more.
Obtaining tenant screening reports must be on your priority list because it can help you lessen both the potential risk and future liability.
Importance of tenant screening services and tenant screening reports
Correct information
Tenant screening reports help you paint a realistic picture of whether or not the prospective tenant is trustworthy. Tenant screening reports will incorporate credit report, credit score, criminal and terrorist report, previous tenant history, eviction information, and more.
Comparing the results of tenant screening reports with the rental application and personal correspondence will help you determine if the applicant meets the requirement of a valuable tenant.
Lowered risk
A person’s past behavior can indicate future actions. This holds true even while selecting the right tenant for your property. Knowing in advance what occurred in the past can help you easily discover any conspicuous issues with an applicant’s history.
Tenant screening reports and tenant screening services can help you get a clear idea whether the applicant will be able to afford your unit. It can also provide you assurance that they will be able to make on-time rental payments.
By identifying high-risk tenants in advance, you inevitably decrease your risks of having to manage evictions, misconduct, and other uncertain issues in the future. Getting complete data of applicants with the help of tenant screening reports is critical to minimizing your risk.
Protection from discrimination issues
The federal housing laws make it illegal for any landlord to discriminate against any applicant on the basis of family status, race or religion, sex, marital status, age, disability, or the birthplace or national origin.
With a consistent and systematic tenant screening service in place, you can decrease the chance of any discrimination issues, and base your decision on facts and evidence. If the prospective applicant feels that he/she is rejected due to discrimination, they have the right to open litigation, which can lead to substantial financial costs of preparing a defense, even if the applicant has a weak case.
Tenant screening services will help you objectify your reasons and make your screening process clear and honest.
Easier process of rental application
With tenant screening services, you can eliminate burdensome paperwork and time-consuming procedures that slow down the entire application process. It enables you to get quick information pertaining to all the data of the applicant, letting you select the right tenant, easily and swiftly.
Since tenant screening services lets you identify high-risk renters in fast, effective, and accurate manner, it not only helps to save your valuable time, but also money.
Rights of current tenants
Tenants who already reside in your property have a right to enjoy stress-free and enjoyable environment. Unruly or ill-behaved tenants who misuse the community areas and refuse to maintain a decent environment can breach the rights of current tenants.
Evicting abusive tenants is a long and expensive process and can further infringe the current tenant’s rights. Thus, tenant screening reports can benefit the neighborhood and landlord from a string of complaints or strict legal action.
