How to Screen Tenants: A Step-by-Step Guide

Choosing the right tenant is one of the most important decisions you’ll make as a landlord. A great tenant pays on time, treats your property with respect, and communicates clearly. The wrong one? They can cost you thousands in damage, lost rent, or even legal action.

Yet, many landlords still use outdated or incomplete screening methods, and that’s where things go wrong.

Why Tenant Screening Matters (and What It Includes)

At its core, a tenant screening report helps you answer a simple question: "Is this person likely to pay rent on time and treat your property with respect?'

To figure that out, you need to fit together a few key pieces of the puzzle to get a clear picture:

• Credit score and history, to see if they manage money responsibly.
• Criminal background checks, to surface any past offenses.
• Eviction records, to flag potential red flags like repeated lease violations.
• Income and employment verification, to confirm they can actually afford the rent.
• And ideally, rental history and references, so you know how they’ve behaved with past landlords.

Of course, it’s not as simple as just asking for this information or finding it online. It means handling sensitive data, following Fair Housing Act laws, and staying compliant with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). 

That means getting written consent before running reports, and if you reject someone based on the results, you’ll need to send a formal adverse action notice.

It’s a lot to manage, especially if you’re just trying to fill your vacancy quickly and get back to your day job.

How To Screen Tenants With Landlord Studio

While there are other, more manual ways to screen tenants, the easiest way is to use a purpose-built tenant screening service like Landlord Studio.

Landlord Studio helps you manage the entire tenant selection process from start to finish, create your rental listing, collect and prescreen leads, manage online rental applications and run comprehensive tenant screening reports. 

All the tenant information is then stored in a centralised database making it as easy as possible to compare applicants and make a final informed decision. 

Here’s how it works:

1. Create a free Landlord Studio account or log back in
2. Navigate to the Screening & Applicants tab via the left hand menu
3. Click “Screen a Tenant”.
4. Enter the tenants name and email (that’s it!) and submit.
5. Your prospective tenant will receive an email requesting they fill out an online form. 
6. They give consent for screening right there at the same time.

As soon as they complete it, you’ll get notified. Simply log back into Landlord Studio to view the full TransUnion SmartMove report — credit, criminal, and eviction history. You can even see their income and job info, all attached to the same file.

If you want to move forward, send the lease.

If not, Landlord Studio you can use our free adverse action template.

All without collecting Social Security numbers, navigating endless back and forths, and without worrying about whether you’ve crossed every legal “t” and dotted every compliance “i”.

Tenant Screening Made Smarter with Landlord Studio

With Landlord Studio, tenant screening is fast, secure, and built for compliance — even in states with strict regulations (like New York, where screening fees are capped and must be billed to landlords).

Here’s how we make screening easier:

• TransUnion SmartMove integration for credit, criminal, and eviction history
• Built-in applicant consent to ensure you stay FCRA-compliant
• Mobile-friendly, automated process that’s simple for both the landlord and the tenant
• Centralized dashboard for managing applications and screening reports in one place

And because the application and screening request are part of the same flow, you get everything you need faster so there’s no duplicated effort, and no waiting around.

Run Fast, Compliant Tenant Screenings Today

The right screening process protects your property, your income, and your peace of mind. And with Landlord Studio, tenant screening is built into your application process. No more double-handling. No more legal grey areas. Just the information you need, delivered securely, so you can make the right call — fast.

Start screening tenants with confidence — try Landlord Studio’s TransUnion-powered reports today.

Your next great tenant is just a few clicks away.