A rent background check on a condo or home is done by the landlord as part of screening and selecting prospective tenants.
Landlords and property managers usually perform background checks on tenants to whom they rent apartments. The purpose of the background check is to ensure that the tenant will not be a problem renter who uses the location for nefarious and illegal activities.
A rental background check is when the landlord or the property management company checks the tenant’s credit, rent, eviction, and criminal history to determine whether or not he is the right fit for the rental property. Specific landlords or property managers can opt to conduct any or all of a nationwide criminal background check, and applicants must provide signed consent for the background check to be conducted.
Every unit is different, and some property managers may opt to only run a credit pass/fail or check criminal history. Landlords can vet potential tenants through renters’ background checks, usually in conjunction with credit reports, in order to vet and select the best tenants for a property. By checking a tenant’s background, the prospective landlord wants to know whether or not you were a good renter.
Renters’ Background Checks Provide Invaluable Information
A renter’s background check provides an in-depth look into an applicant, including everything from rental history to criminal records. Once you have found a condo, you might even learn the landlord has conducted background checks on applicants for the rental–and that they wanted your permission to conduct one on you.
The landlord or property manager will look to see whether you have rented at these known addresses, and then they will check the address history against the ones you included in your lease application. Typically, a landlord looks at these 4 key pieces of information to decide if or not to approve your application.
If they find other tenants may be in danger, based on these factors, then they may reject your application. An apartment applicant can save money in rent fees and frustration later on down the line when the landlord rejects your application. A landlord may deny your application if they are concerned you cannot afford your rent or will not care for their unit well.
Tips for Prospective Landlords
When becoming a landlord, you want to find trustworthy tenants who will take good care of your property and pay their rent on time every month. If you have a positive history with renting, in which you have paid your rent on time and treated your property with respect, a landlord will have a lot more confidence in you. If you have a strong employment history, the landlord is more likely to assume you are responsible, you have a solid job, and have a steady income.
Whether you are signing a long-term lease or simply a month-to-month arrangement, most landlords want to see that you are reliable, financially stable, and have no criminal history before they will commit to taking you. If your rental history is shaky, be sure you have strong reasons why you left each apartment, and the previous landlords will be able to attest to your trustworthiness. Request credit reports to see what your credit scores are, and fix any errors before the landlord checks.
You can see what your current score is, and if any errors are found on your report, you can have those fixed before the landlord does any background checks.
What Credit Checks Reveal
A credit check will tell the landlord what your credit score is, and this single number, good or bad, is going to impact your application for the rental unit somehow. While the credit check is the most-performed evaluation in apartment applications, there are things you can do to make your application better. It is important to note that although landlords may use information from your credit report to deny your application, their criteria for accepting or rejecting a candidate should be consistent.
While the background checks may differ from one landlord to another, there are a few fairly standard issues that they will be looking for on both the background and credit checks of the apartment. Many apartment complexes will likely look for patterns in your credit history, noting if you are typically on the payment bandwagon or if your finances are more complex. Savvy landlords and property managers often will have excellent reasons for skipping this, particularly if you are going to be passing on to them the costs associated with running your tenant’s credit.
A tenant with a bad rental history in the past, with lots of evictions, is likely going to develop into a nightmare renter that does not pay the rent and damages the property. The biggest fears of a landlord are you going to go to jail and be unable to pay your rent, you are going to damage their property, you are going to engage in illegal activities on their property, bother the other tenants with too much noise, or you are going to bring criminal acquaintances onto the property that endanger other tenants.
Just Be Up-Front About Things
Even if you somehow manage to get into the rental without letting a prospective landlord know about your history, if they discover it when you are living there, you could still be evicted.
Even if you are on a stable income and are ready to find a place of your own, it could be hard for a prospective landlord to rent to you if they notice that your criminal record has not turned out to be clean. If you have no credit or a credit score that is very low, a landlord may require you to get a co-signer to co-sign on your lease, or, in some cases, a landlord might just reject an applicant altogether.
Sometimes, the landlord might call your supervisor at work to make sure that you are actually employed and making the amount of money that you say you are. In addition to calling your previous landlords and employers, apartment background checks may also call past roommates or character references. If the landlord is doing a thorough background check, he will probably call previous landlords, along with your personal or professional references.
To help the application process be a little less daunting, we review how long the background check can take, how far back it can go, what the landlord is looking for, and what your rights are as a renter.