Top 12 Tenant Screening Services For Landlords In 2021

You invest in rental property to make money, but you can’t make money without great tenants. Even if you buy a turnkey property with the best tenants, most tenants don’t stay forever. You’ll need a way to screen for tenants and find the best renters for your property.

Doing it yourself can be tedious, time-consuming, and expensive. Enlisting the help of the top tenant screening services is often a smart move for landlords. Here are the top 12 tenant screening services you should consider. 

What Are Tenant Screening Services?

Tenant screening services do just as the name suggests - they screen potential tenants for you. If you ever had a tenant that turned into a nightmare renter, you know the value of screening services.

While each company offers different services, here’s what the average company does:

• A background check (criminal history)
• Credit checks
• Eviction history

A screening service helps you understand a tenant before you accept their application to rent your property. For example, suppose a potential tenant’s screening comes back with multiple evictions or a low credit score. In that case, you may either want to move onto the next tenant or charge a higher security deposit to make up for the risk.

What Should You Look For in Tenant Screening Services?

No two tenant screening services are created the same. Knowing what to look for will help you choose the company that’s right for you.

• The right background checks - Think about what you want to know about potential renters. Do you want a background check, sexual offender registry check, criminal history check, or something else? Make sure the service provides the information you want.

• Eviction history - Knowing a tenant’s eviction history helps you determine if they are a reasonable risk. 
• Address history - Knowing how often a tenant moves can help you determine if they’re reliable. Do you want a tenant that breaks leases and/or moves annually or someone that sticks around longer?
• Credit history - Looking at a tenant’s credit reporting can help you determine if they are a reasonable risk. While it shouldn’t be the only factor in your decision, it’s a part of the big picture in determining if they’re a reasonable risk.

The Top 12 Tenant Screening Services

RentPrep

RentPrep is one of the more prominent names in tenant screening services. They have in-house Fair Credit Reporting Act certified professionals and are the official tenant screening service in many states.

They provide tenant screening reports within an hour in most cases and are easy to use. Landlords get various reports, and RentPrep uses live screeners to ensure all data is accurate and up-to-date.

Features

• Background check
• Address history
• Social Security number verification
• Eviction information
• Public record information (BK, judgment, etc.)
• Landlord or tenants can pay

Pricing

• SmartMove Full Credit Report $38 - Includes full credit report, SSN verification, criminal and sex offender registry, eviction report, and bankruptcy report. Judgment and lien report ($4.95) and income verification ($10).
• RentPrep Background Check $18.95 - Includes SSN verification, eviction report, bankruptcy report, judgment, and lien report. Add-ons are available, including credit decision report ($9.95), criminal and sex offender report ($4), and income verification ($10).

MyRental

MyRental (owned by Core Logic) updates its database 24/7 in real-time and has extensive quality control measures (7 total) to ensure its data is accurate. It’s an online program that landlords can use 24/7, making it more convenient to get reports when you have time, not during regular business hours.

Features

• Criminal background checks
• Address history
• Credit reporting
• Sex offender registry
• Provides a Core Logic SafeRent score that details a tenant’s ability to pay on time, renew leases, and care for the property

Pricing

• Basic $24.99 - Includes an eviction history, address history, criminal history (multi-state), sex offender (multi-state), terrorist check.

• Premium $34.99 - Includes everything in Basic plus credit report, SafeRent score, and landlord acceptance rate

SmartMove

SmartMove is another internet-based tenant screening service making it easy for landlords to screen tenants on their time. If you’re thinking about buying a rental home, consider using SmartMove who uses TransUnion (a credit bureau) to screen tenants, providing immediate validity of the service.

SmartMove is great for tenants and applicants. Landlords know the information is accurate, and tenants feel secure about sharing their personal information with a reputable screening company. Tenants input the information themselves on the site - they don’t have to share their most private information with the potential landlord. 

Features

• Tenant credit report
• Criminal report
• Eviction report
• Income Insights report
• Free to sign up, and it’s pay as you go

Pricing

• SmartCheck Premium $40 - Includes a Credit-Based Resident Score, criminal background check, credit report, eviction report, and Income Insights

• SmartCheck Plus $38 - Includes everything above except the Income Insights

• SmartCheck Basic $25 - Includes Credit-Based Resident Score and criminal background check

*The Credit-Based Resident Score helps you understand the type of tenant the applicant may be based on their rent payment history, lease treatment, and eviction notices.

LeaseRunner

LeaseRunner is an a la carte service that doesn’t offer packages but is a reputable tenant screening service. It’s best for landlords who don’t want a full package and know exactly what they want to check before renting out their property.

Features

• Credit report
• Criminal report
• Financial health report
• Eviction report
• Rent applications
• Rent ads

Pricing

• Rental ads and rental application free
• Credit report $20
• Criminal report $15
• Financial health report $10
• Eviction report $12

Avail

Avail is a one-stop-shop platform for landlords that includes tenant screening. It has an A+ rating on the Better Business Bureau, and they offer services specifically for small landlords owning up to 10 properties.

Avail has limited services, but you can access the program online or a mobile app for easy access. Avail collects payments from applicants, saving landlords money while providing them with the required information.

Features

• Credit report
• Criminal history
• Federal sex offender registry
• Terrorist watch list
• Eviction search
• All landlords start an application review on Avail. They send all the necessary information they need to the tenant, let them handle the process, and provide you with the necessary information to make a decision.

Pricing

Avail charges the applicant the screening fees, but landlords can choose which reports they want. Each report (credit, criminal, and eviction) costs $30 each, or Avail provides a bundled price of $55 for all three reports.

National Tenant Network

National Tenant Network has been in the tenant screening business for 35 years and is one of the oldest companies in the industry. They don’t have a one-size-fits-all approach to tenant screening - they offer custom options to each landlord.

You can choose different reports or one NTN score that helps landlords make an informed decision about an applicant quickly. If you choose the NTN score, you receive it within minutes of applying and will see on a scale of 0 to 100 how an applicant scores.

Features

• Eviction data
• Lease performance data
• Credit reports
• Criminal history
• NTN Decision Point - Overall NTN tenant score

Pricing

• Full-Service package $50 - Includes all reports above plus applicant verification, including income verification. It also includes an NTN tenant score to help you make an informed decision.

• NTN Decision Point $22 -  Includes credit summary and eviction report and the overall NTN tenant score.

• NTN Decision Point Plus $24 - Includes everything in Decision Point plus a TransUnion credit score instead of just a credit summary.

• Multi-State criminal search $21 - Searches all criminal reports plus sex offender registries

• Employment verification $15

RentSpree

RentSpree offers a full-service tenant application and screening service. Your applicants can apply directly for your property through the RentSpree website, and you’ll receive the best screening products to make a leasing decision.

RentSpree uses TransUnion and provides the most extensive background checks and eviction reports to help you make the right decision. Best of all, your applicants’ credit scores are unharmed by the credit check because it’s a soft inquiry.

Features

• Full credit report and score
• Criminal background check
• Sexual offender registry check
• National eviction report

Pricing

RentSpree charges the applicants directly and charges between $30 - $39, depending on the types of reports you want. You receive reports instantly after the applicant pays.

TurboTenant

TurboTenant is also an all-in-one platform that helps landlords manage properties and screen tenants in one application. Applicants complete an application in TurboTenant for your property, and the results are sent directly to you. 

Like other screening services in our list, TurboTenant charges the tenant directly. TurboTenant checks just about all areas of the applicant’s history to help you make a rental decision.

Features

• Credit score
• Social Security number validation
• Address history
• Employment verification
• Criminal history
• Sexual offender registry check

Pricing

• Credit and Criminal Report $35
• Credit, Criminal, and Eviction Report $45

AAOA

The American Apartment Owners Association understands the importance of screening tenants, and they offer a large number of packages to fit every landlord’s needs. Their service is available online day or night, so you can run checks whenever it’s convenient for you. 

You’ll receive results instantly, as there’s no underwriting or documentation necessary. The system asks for identifying information from the applicant and provides the information you need fast.

Features

• Eviction reports
• Credit reports
• Address history screening
• TeleCheck verification
• Criminal background check
• Sex offender and terrorist list checks
• Social Security number verification

Pricing

AAOA packages start at $19.95 and go up to $49.95, depending on if you want basic screenings (eviction, criminal, and previous address history) or something more complex, including a package that includes everything mentioned above. 

Experian Connect

If you just want a credit check of any potential applicants, Experian Connect offers access for just $14.95 per applicant (paid by the applicant). They don’t offer any other services such as a background check, eviction reports, or Social Security number verification. However, if you have enough background information and just want to know their credit score/history, Experian Connect may be enough.

Features

• Experian credit score and credit history

Pricing

$14.95 per applicant, but the applicant pays Experian directly and grants you access to the report.

Cozy.co

Cozy makes it easy to choose the right tenants. They provide the tools necessary to screen tenants, so you know who is a good candidate and who isn’t. Cozy offers in-depth credit and background checks, so you know everything you need to know about an applicant.

Features

• Credit reports including a credit history and credit score
• Criminal background check
• Sex offender registry check
• Eviction records

Pricing

Cozy charges the applicants the tenant screening fee at the cost of $24.99 per report or $39.99 for both criminal and credit reports.

E-Renter

E-Renter is run by two landlords who knew there needed to be a better way to screen tenants. Because they’ve ‘been there, done that,’ they provide class A customer service, and you always have contact with an FCRA certified specialist when you call.

E-Renters basic package is robust enough for most landlords, but they provide various packages to help anyone screen tenants and ensure they are a good fit.

Features

• Social Security number validation
• Eviction history check
• Liens and judgments check
• Bankruptcy check
• Criminal background search
• Sex offender search
• Credit check
• Advanced background checks with more focus on rental history

Pricing

• Basic $21.95 includes SSN validation, eviction check, liens/judgments/bankruptcy check, criminal background search, and sex offender search.
• Premium $31.95 + $2.49 includes everything from above plus a full credit check.
• Ultimate $36.95 + $2.49 includes everything from above plus the advanced background check.

The Bottom Line

Choose the tenant screening service that offers the reports you need at the price you can afford. Many services allow you to pass the charge onto your tenants, taking the burden off you but protecting you from bringing on a risky tenant. Whether you own a rental property or are in the market to buy a rental property, don’t forget to hire a tenant screening service to protect you.