Looking to get a tenant but not sure if they’ll be more trouble than they’re worth? Don’t feel like playing private detective but want to know who you are going to let into your house? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. We’ve compiled a list of the best tenant screening services out there. You can check out our review methodology by clicking below. First, let’s take a brief look at the key features of each service.
Those in search of a free plan that will provide them with all the basic tenant-screening options should go for Avail. It’s the best background check service for independent landlords with less than 10 units. Avail offers a detailed knowledge base with educational resources to help inexperienced landlords learn about security-related aspects of leasing their property. The only drawback is that the most important screening services - eviction notices and criminal background checks - are only available upon paying an extra $55. Read Review
- ⦿Free plan available
- ⦿Fantastic property management options
- ⦿Great customer support
LeaseRunner is best for smaller landlords who don’t want to be tied up by pre-packaged tenant screening services. Besides offering eviction checks and a great credit and background check for landlords, their cash report (called Financial Profile) offers a peek into applicants' cash flows by safely pulling bank data. This tenant screening service is the right choice for hands-on rental owners and property managers. Read Review
- ⦿Simple a la carte system
- ⦿Many bonus rental services available
- ⦿Free rental application templates
Fidelis Screening Solutions’ RentPrep is a great screening service that pays special attention to Fair Credit Reporting Act compliance and has live screeners available to verify background checks. It offers the cheapest screening plan on our list, but for adding more features you will need to pay significantly more money. Read Review
- ⦿Inexpensive background check
- ⦿Live screening
- ⦿Excellent FCRA compliance
CoreLogic’s MyRental is a fantastic and versatile service, offering all of the tenant background check options that you could wish for along with some unique features such as automatic denial letters based on their risk evaluation reports. It is not FCRA-certified, though, and doesn’t do reference checking. Read Review
- ⦿Fantastic suite of screening options
- ⦿Versatile pricing
- ⦿Automatic adverse action letters
RentSpree is arguably one of the most affordable and best tenant screening services on the market. The company’s award-winning software is easy to set up, while RentSpree’s partnership with TransUnion gives customers access to a complete overview of the applicants’ credit histories, collections, and payment history. The reports also include criminal background checks, eviction-related proceedings, and rental history. With affordable prices and comprehensive packages, RentSpree is a great option for landlords looking for an all-in-one rental management solution. Read Review
- ⦿Free plan available
- ⦿E-sign documents
- ⦿Criminal check included in the free plan
EzLandlordForms was created to provide well-crafted forms to tenants, but it also offers tenant screening services. For $29.95, landlords get to find out their potential tenant’s criminal history and credit score. If they upgrade to the more expensive plan, they’ll also receive an eviction proceeding history. A free app also offers additional information, such as employment history. Read Review
- ⦿A range of features for a competitive price
- ⦿Offers a Resident Score
- ⦿The website contains a forum
Buildium is not for small time renters. It features an extensive cloud-based property management system and a host of other features besides tenant screening. That being said, its reports are handled by TransUnion, so if you liked SmartMove, Buildium gets you literally the same service, in addition to fantastic property management tools. Read Review
- ⦿Credit reports directly from TransUnion
- ⦿Extensive set of tools for property management
- ⦿Two week free trial of the service
TransUnion’s SmartMove is the best tenant screening service for people looking to get this service directly from a credit bureau. It offers a unique credit-based “Resident Score.” However, its instant criminal background checks are not available in all states. Read Review
- ⦿Information directly from a credit bureau
- ⦿Unique credit-based Resident Score
- ⦿Multi-state criminal check in the basic plan
RentRedi deserves a spot on our list of the top tenant-screening companies for taking mobile apps for landlords and tenants to another level. This app allows screening of tenants, handling rent payments, list properties, and even managing maintenance requests. Read Review
- ⦿All-inclusive tenant/landlord app
- ⦿Auto-screening available
- ⦿TransUnion-certified
TurboTenant offers an extensive set of free property management and rental tools, however their tenant screening services are not cheap. On the upside, they offer nationwide criminal checks across all plans, and their credit and eviction checks are pretty thorough as well. Read Review
- ⦿Detailed tenant reports
- ⦿Excellent set of property management and rental tools
- ⦿Instant screening results
First and foremost, Experian is one of the three legitimate credit-reporting agencies. It’s also a leading provider of tenant verification and background-check solutions. It has a database of more than 220 million individuals and 27 million businesses worldwide, and if you’re looking for the best background check app, you should know that Experian has a dedicated app for both iOS and Android devices. Its services are highly beneficial to real estate agents, landlords, property management companies, and commercial leasing agents looking to verify potential tenants’ credit reports, employment and payment history, and more. Read Review
- ⦿A direct product of Experian
- ⦿Charges tenants directly
- ⦿Credit check included
Related Products and Services
Our Methodology
Real estate is a volatile market. According to Statista, nearly one million people get evicted each year. How can you make sure you are getting tenants you can count on to pay their rent and leave the place as they found it or better? By checking our tenant screening services reviews and picking your favorite, of course! We’ve gone behind the scenes and done the homework so you don’t have to.
Read on to find all the information you need about credit reporting, criminal background and eviction notice checks, and more. Before going further, let’s take a look at the criteria that we used to choose our picks.
Pricing
The first thing we evaluate when looking at tenant screening services is the pricing scheme. Screening and background checks for renters can be offered as a la carte services or as part of a larger (and more expensive) plan. There are even sites that can help you get a completely free tenant background check, however these understandably tend to be feature-limited when compared to their paid counterparts. This category is all about evaluating the pricing scheme of the chosen service and how much value you are getting for your money.
Credit Score and Employment Status
The best tenant background check services are able to do a thorough credit score check and find out everything you need to know about your tenant’s employment status and work history. Performing a credit check for tenants and looking into their employment history are often available with premium services or come bundled with the more expensive pricing plans. This category determines whether credit score and employment status tracking is available, how detailed the reports are and what the terms and conditions are for using these services.
Criminal Background Check
When doing a tenant background check, landlords are generally interested in finding out about any past transgressions their future tenants might have committed. Criminal background checks are a commonly requested feature and the best tenant screening services offer this feature as part of most of their pricing plans. This category considers which criminal background checks are available (nationwide or state-specific) and how detailed the tenant reports are.
Residence and Eviction History
Another feature commonly requested by landlords is residence and eviction history. Your tenant does not have to be a hardened criminal in order to be a bad renter. People who have a history of late payments and evictions are sure to raise a red flag, and this is something you ideally want to know about before giving them your house key.
When performing a renter background check, companies usually provide the lengths of previous residences, potential eviction notices and addresses of previous landowners. This category looks at what reporting options are available, and how detailed tenant screening reports are.
Reporting and Additional Features
Where does the service get its credit reporting information from? How long does it take from the moment you apply for a tenant check to the moment you receive the report? Do you request and obtain the reports through email or other means? Does the company provide automated adverse action letters based on their reports, or does it offer denial letter templates? This category is concerned with how tenant reports are made, their turnaround time, and the methods of obtaining them. It also looks at any additional and unique features that the service may offer.
Customer Support
Any reputable background check company will pay special attention to the user experience. As a landlord, you’re bound to have a lot of questions about what the tenant background screening checks entail. This category evaluates the user experience, through assessing the customer support platform and looking at the available options for getting in touch with support staff.
Best Tenant Screening Services
- Avail
- LeaseRunner
- RentPrep
- MyRental
- RentSpree

Tenant Screening Services Reviews
Avail Review
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
EXTENSIVE LIBRARY WITH FREE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
- ⦿ Full-service property management
- ⦿ Great landlord packages
- ⦿ Free tenant rental background checks for one property
LeaseRunner Review
VARIES
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
A LA CARTE SYSTEM AND FREE RENTAL APPLICATION TEMPLATES
- ⦿ Rental application templates are free
- ⦿ Pick and choose tenant background check options
- ⦿ Wide variety of bonus services for landlords
RentPrep Review
VERY GOOD
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
LIVE SCREENING
- ⦿ Soft credit pull
- ⦿ Cheapest background check for tenants
- ⦿ Manual verification of tenant information
MyRental Review
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
VERY GOOD
AUTOMATED ADVERSE ACTION LETTERS
- ⦿ Adverse action letters are automated
- ⦿ Flexible services and pricing
- ⦿ Excellent tenant screening options
RentSpree Review
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
GOOD
SIZEABLE RENTING MANAGEMENT FEATURES
- ⦿ Access to National Sex Offender Registry
- ⦿ Integral partnership with TransUnion
- ⦿ Tenant screening via API
EzLandlordForms Review
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
THE OPTION FOR THE TENANT TO PAY FOR THE SERVICE
- ⦿ Free mobile app where landlords can view their tenants’ employment history
- ⦿ Free lease agreement and rental application forms
- ⦿ Nationwide criminal background check
Buildium Review
FAIR (EXCELLENT IF LOOKING FOR PROPERTY MANAGEMENT TOOLS AS WELL)
EXCELLENT
VERY GOOD
EXTENSIVE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT TOOLS
- ⦿ Cloud-based property management features
- ⦿ Extensive background check options
- ⦿ Great customer support
SmartMove Review
GOOD
EXCELLENT
AVERAGE
CREDIT-BASED RESIDENT SCORE
- ⦿ Information directly from Transunion credit data
- ⦿ Unique Resident Score based on credit rating
- ⦿ Basic plan includes criminal check across several states
RentRedi Review
EXCELLENT
GOOD
EXCELLENT
TENANTS COVER SCREENING FEES
- ⦿ Excellent screening options
- ⦿ Automated rent collection
- ⦿ Maintenance requests management
TurboTenant Review
GOOD
EXCELLENT
FAIR
STATEWIDE CRIMINAL REPORTS AND SSN VERIFICATION ACROSS ALL PLANS
- ⦿ Fantastic set of free property management features
- ⦿ Excellent statewide criminal checks for tenants
- ⦿ Detailed eviction reports
Experian Review
EXCELLENT
VERY GOOD
VERY GOOD
CREDIT REPORTING BY EXPERIAN
- ⦿ Affordable pricing plans
- ⦿ Quick and detailed reports
- ⦿ Evictions, bankruptcies, and tax liens included
The best way is to find an online screening service. You can check out our tenant screening reviews for ideas on which companies to consult and learn what important criteria to consider when screening potential tenants.
You mainly want to find out their rental history and potential eviction notices. Additionally, you should be interested in their criminal records, credit score and employment information.
Rental background checks usually take a look at prospective tenants' credit reports and proof of income as well as eviction, criminal and employment histories.
This depends on what service you pick and which features you need. Plans typically range from $18.95 to $49.99 and an à la carte system can start from as low as $7.95 per feature.
The best online background check will go as deep as possible. Criminal records are available from a person’s 18th birthday onwards, while credit checks usually go back seven to ten years. Some states like Texas also impose time limits on certain criteria, but for the most part it comes down to the screening companies themselves.
It’s best to consult one of the credit check services such as MyRental, Smartmove etc. There are three major credit bureaus: TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. And depending on the company you choose, you will get credit reporting from a different bureau. The best tenant screening services commonly use TransUnion, and these are soft credit checks that don’t affect your potential tenant’s credit score.
This depends on whether or not it is notarized. It’s technically not illegal unless your signatures are under penalty of perjury. However, it is still valid grounds for eviction, so it’s well-worth investigating if your tenants are hiding something.