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You have finally listed your rental on the market, and applications are starting to come in. One applicant says they “just need a peaceful place to restart”; another says they “love to garden and keep things quiet”; and one claims their last landlord ghosted them.
Now what?
Tenant screening is a crucial part of the process that many new landlords often overlook. But if you’re not doing it thoroughly, or worse, relying on outdated methods, you might be walking into a financial mess.
Luckily, there are tools today that make it way easier to figure out if someone’s actually going to be the kind of tenant you want. So let’s break down why background checks matter, how to set your renter criteria before you even start screening, and how to avoid the common traps that come with incomplete or unreliable reports.
Why Tenant Background Checks Are Crucial
The biggest mistake a landlord can make is assuming someone will be a good tenant just because they seem friendly or say all the right things. A tenant background check gives you a real, data-backed view of a person’s rental history, not just their vibe during a walkthrough.
With a proper screening, you can find out if someone:
Has been evicted in the past
Has a criminal history that could be relevant
Has a pattern of missed payments, collections, or debt
Is likely to respect your property and lease terms
Skipping this step (or doing it halfway) can cost you thousands of dollars in lost rent, damages, and legal fees. One bad tenant can undo years of smart investing.
Not All Background Checks Are Created Equal
Here’s what most landlords don’t realize: Not every background check gives you the whole story. Some are too basic, pulling only partial credit or criminal history. Others take too long to process, giving you a report after you’ve already picked someone. Even some of the largest credit bureaus have accuracy rates below 86%.
All this means you could be relying on information that’s outdated, incomplete, or flat-out wrong.
A thorough background check should be accurate, instantaneous, and include information on credit, criminal, and eviction history. That’s why I use TurboTenant.
What TurboTenant Does Right
TurboTenant runs over 20,000 background checks every month, so they’ve made the process quick and easy; no need to dig for details yourself. They have also recently teamed up with Rent Butter, a tech-forward screening tool, to offer near-instant credit and background checks directly within the platform.
Their reports have a 99% accuracy rate across credit, criminal, and eviction history, so you’re getting the real story, not just a highlight reel.
Results are instant, which means no awkward waiting period while your applicant wonders what’s taking so long. It’s a soft credit pull, too, so it won’t ding their score and scare off quality renters. And best of all? It’s entirely free for landlords, which keeps your margins happy and your stress levels low. Their tenant background check is easy to access and simple to understand, even if you’re screening tenants for the first time.
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Define Your Renter Criteria
Before you even start screening tenants, you should know what you’re looking for. This is where clear, consistent rental criteria come in. It’s not just about keeping things organized; it’s about staying legally compliant and making your screening process fair.
Your criteria might include:
Minimum credit score
Monthly income threshold (for example, 3x the rent)
No prior evictions or violent criminal history
Pet restrictions or smoking policies
Maximum number of occupants
Once you’ve got that written down, you can apply it equally to every applicant. This protects you from claims of discrimination, keeps you focused on what matters, and makes the selection process easier.
Not sure where to start? Here’s a great guide to set tenant criteria from TurboTenant.
Why Some Checks Don’t Tell The Whole Story
Any screening inaccuracies can be detrimental to your rental business. And with so many solutions for tenant screening out there, how can you be sure yours is telling the full story? And why do so many get it wrong?
Screening inaccuracies can be due to a slew of reasons. In one example from 2020, The New York Times reported three cases of mistaken identity leading to housing denial. Other examples have uncovered a variety of challenges like mixed files, outdated information and mixed files.
An inaccurate screening report can be just as harmful to your business as no screening report. Between potential discrimination lawsuits, inability to find a qualified renter, confusing or incomplete reports, and more, there’s no room for error when your investment is on the line.
What sets apart trusted screening services like TurboTenant is their ability to partner with industry-leading solutions like Rent Butter. Rent Butter strives for the most accurate and transparent screening in the industry by retrieving data from multiple sources to identify any potential gaps in reporting. Instead of missing critical information like felonies, their reports are a full look into an applicant’s history.
Final Thoughts
Great tenants aren’t found by luck. They’re seen by process. When you list your property, you’re not just hoping someone will pay rent on time; you’re trusting a stranger with your asset.
So take the time to screen like a pro. Set your criteria upfront. Use a platform that gives you the whole picture, and don’t settle for background checks that leave you guessing.
TurboTenant makes it simple, affordable, and accurate. And with over $3 billion in rent facilitated annually, millions of renter leads, and over 20,000 checks processed every month, they’ve already helped thousands of landlords protect their rentals from day one.
So, before you hand over the keys, take five minutes and run a tenant background check that works. You’ll thank yourself later.
Garrett Brown
Short-Term Rental Expert & Content Creator
BiggerPockets
Garrett Brown is a seasoned real estate professional with over seven years of experience focusing on STRs.
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