Prospective renters pay for the rental background check. It’s free for you as the landlord or property manager. 

Very carefully. Let’s face it, with technological progress, we will see an advance in fraud. That makes identity verification a must in tenant screening reports. 

Our tenant background check screening service uses credit bureau Transunion’s identity verification for all rental applicants. This verification happens not only through the renter applicant’s identifying information (name, address, date of birth, Social Security Number, etc.) but also through their recent credit history and transactions.

SparkRental takes privacy and security extremely seriously.

Once you invite an applicant to complete a tenant background check:

1. 1. They receive an email with a link to where they can fill out their personal details.
   2. If you selected to include a rental application, the prospect provides information including their address history, employment history, any other income, assets, liabilities. They also supply references, along with their pets and vehicle information. All topped off with the names of all occupants, and an electronic signature providing authorization to run all tenant background checks.
   3. We ask them a series of questions provided by Transunion to verify their identity.
   4. They pay the screening fee and you receive copies of their tenant credit check, criminal report, eviction history report, and rental application.

The credit check is a soft inquiry on your applicant’s credit, so it doesn’t hurt their credit score, or even show as an inquiry on their report. 

Yes, yes and did we say yes? A good tenant credit report score is an excellent measure. However, it should never be the only one.

How will you know if your renter applicant will take good care of the property? How do you know if your tenant applicant has a good, strong employment history? How do you know their rent payment history with previous landlords? A credit score will not provide these answers.

That is why we strongly urge landlords and property managers to not only speak to the current landlord but also the one before.

Make sure you ask these landlords questions such as:

1. 1. How did the applicant care for the property?
   2. Did you have to make any deductions from the security deposit?
   3. Did the renter cause any nuisance complaints?

Ask similar questions of their employer. Besides just income verification, ask other important questions like:

1. 1. How long was the prospective tenant employed?
   2. Do they show up for work every day?

The idea is to get as much background as possible to prevent problems later.

Of course. We make it easy to save a PDF version of the rental application or print it directly. When viewing the online application, there is an option to “Download (PDF)”.

No, unlike many other screening companies, you don’t need a site inspection by a consumer reporting agency. Since your prospective renter approves the screening package themselves, it counts as a consumer-initiated credit report. You don’t need to hassle with inspectors or other red tape. 

The states of New Jersey and New York have banned property owners and property management companies from using criminal records in their screening criteria for rental decisions. By law, we cannot provide criminal background checks for prospective renters in these states. 

These states impose extremely tenant-friendly laws, beyond standard Fair Housing laws. As a general policy, we recommend real estate investors avoid states and cities with anti-landlord laws.