Azibo Tenant Screening Services for Landlords

For landlords and property managers, ensuring the security and stability of their rental properties starts with selecting the right tenants. Tenant screening is a vital step in this process, providing a structured way to evaluate potential renters.

It involves gathering and reviewing key information, such as credit scores, employment history, and rental backgrounds, to ensure that applicants can meet their rental obligations and are a good fit for the property. Selecting the best tenant screening service is key to ensuring a smooth rental process and enhancing overall landlord confidence.

In this article, we will discuss the importance of tenant screening, the key components involved—such as credit checks, criminal background checks, and eviction history—and how platforms like Azibo simplify the process while keeping landlords compliant with state and federal regulations.

Let’s get started.

What is tenant screening, and why is it needed?

Tenant screening is an essential process for property owners and managers seeking to safeguard their real estate investments. This comprehensive evaluation of potential renters serves as an important step in the leasing process, offering multiple benefits:

1. Financial security: Thorough screening helps ensure that tenants have the financial capacity to meet their rental obligations consistently.
2. Property preservation: By selecting responsible tenants, property owners can better maintain the value and condition of their assets.
3. Risk mitigation: Screening processes can identify potential issues before they become significant problems, reducing the likelihood of costly legal proceedings or property damage.

Implementing a robust tenant screening protocol is not merely a precautionary measure; it is a fundamental aspect of sound property management. This process enables informed decision-making, ultimately contributing to the long-term profitability and stability of rental investments.

What is included in effective tenant screening?

A thorough tenant screening process is essential for property owners and managers to make informed decisions about potential renters. This process typically involves several key components:

Rental application

The foundation of the screening process, a comprehensive rental application collects information from prospective tenants. This includes personal details, employment history, income sources, previous landlords, and references.

A well-designed application also requests consent for background and credit checks, ensuring legal compliance.

Credit check

A credit report provides insight into an applicant's financial responsibility. It reveals payment history, outstanding debts, and credit utilization. 

For rental applicants, many screening services, including TransUnion, now use a "ResidentScore" instead of a traditional credit score. The ResidentScore, ranging from 350-850, is designed specifically for residential leasing and uses improved logic to match applicant history with the likelihood of eviction. 

Landlords often look for a score above a certain threshold, though this may vary depending on local market conditions and individual landlord preferences. The report also includes detailed information on tradelines, collections, public records, and inquiries, giving landlords a comprehensive view of an applicant's financial history and reliability.

Income verification

To ensure tenants can consistently meet rent obligations, landlords typically verify that an applicant's income is 2.5 to 3 times the monthly rent. This verification often involves reviewing recent pay stubs, bank statements, or tax returns. For self-employed applicants, additional documentation such as profit and loss statements may be required.

Employment verification

Confirming an applicant's employment status and tenure provides assurance of a stable income source. This often involves contacting the employer directly to verify position, length of employment, and salary information.

For self-employed individuals, client references or business license verification may be necessary.

Rental history

Contacting previous landlords offers valuable insights into an applicant's behavior as a tenant. Key questions often include payment timeliness, property care, lease compliance, and reason for moving.

A positive rental history is a strong indicator of a reliable tenant.

Criminal background check

This search reveals any criminal convictions that might pose a risk to property or other tenants. While the specific criteria for evaluation may vary, landlords must ensure their screening policies comply with fair housing laws and do not unfairly discriminate against protected classes.

Eviction history

An eviction search can uncover past legal actions taken against the applicant by previous landlords. This information is crucial, as past evictions often indicate a higher risk of future problems. However, it's important to consider the circumstances and timeframe of any evictions found.

By thoroughly examining each of these components, property owners and managers can build a comprehensive profile of potential tenants. This detailed approach not only helps in selecting reliable renters but also contributes to maintaining a safe, stable, and profitable rental property.

Implementing a standardized screening process that applies these components consistently to all applicants ensures fair treatment and compliance with fair housing laws, while significantly reducing the risks associated with renting properties.

Azibo's tenant application and screening services

Azibo offers a comprehensive and user-friendly platform for managing tenant applications and screening processes via our partner, TransUnion. With robust background, credit, and eviction checks, landlords and property managers can confidently assess applicants to find trustworthy tenants. 

The application and screening services are available across all 50 states, making it accessible for property owners nationwide. However, it's important to note that processing times for reports may vary.

Through Azibo, landlords can invite prospective tenants to complete a free application via email, SMS, or by embedding links in online listings. Applicants can upload essential documents like proof of income and identification directly into the platform, which simplifies the process for both parties. 

It's important to note that the application data is self-reported by the prospective tenant, and verification of this information is the landlord's responsibility.

The system allows you to manage every step in one centralized hub, from receiving applications to onboarding tenants. While Azibo provides the platform for collecting and organizing tenant information, landlords should conduct their own due diligence to verify the accuracy of the submitted information.

Credit check

Azibo’s tenant screening provides a detailed credit check, offering landlords insights into an applicant’s financial responsibility. The credit check includes:

• Resident score: A comprehensive look at the applicant’s creditworthiness, helping landlords assess risk.
• SSN verification: Ensures the applicant’s identity is accurate and legitimate.
• Previous employment: Verifies the applicant’s work history to ensure a stable income source.
• Credit history: Reviews the applicant’s payment history and any significant financial patterns over time.
• Accounts in poor standing: Identifies delinquent accounts that could indicate financial instability.
• Level of debt: Assesses the applicant’s current debt load, providing insight into their ability to meet rental obligations.
• Recent applications for credit: Shows any recent credit inquiries, which may affect the applicant’s financial standing.

A soft credit check ensures that applicants’ credit scores are not negatively impacted by the screening process.

Criminal background checks

Azibo’s background checks ensure landlords receive information about any past criminal activity, giving them peace of mind. The criminal background check includes:

• National Sex Offender registry search
• National Crime database check
• Federal sanctions (including OFAC) check
• State and local criminal searches in counties covering approximately 85% of the population

As previously mentioned, while the specific criteria for evaluation may vary, landlords must ensure their screening policies comply with fair housing laws and do not unfairly discriminate against protected classes. In jurisdictions where it's illegal to consider criminal history (e.g., Seattle), criminal history will not be returned.

These features help landlords identify any red flags before entering into a lease agreement.

Eviction proceedings

Eviction history plays a vital role in assessing whether a tenant might pose a risk in terms of non-payment or problematic behavior. Azibo’s tenant screening includes:

• Tenant judgments for possession and money: Reveals any past legal actions taken for possession or owed rent.
• Unlawful detainers: Identifies any cases where the tenant has been ordered to vacate a property.
• Tenant judgments for small claims: Searches for any small claims court judgments against the applicant related to rental disputes.

Having this information enables landlords to make informed decisions about whether an applicant is a potential risk.

Processing times

Azibo's tenant screening reports are designed to provide quick results while maintaining thoroughness:

• Approximately 90% of reports are returned in less than 1 hour, with the majority coming back in less than 5 minutes.
• Most of the remaining reports will be completed within one business day.
• In some cases, reports may take up to 10 days, depending on the counties being checked.

How Azibo helps you stay compliant with state and city laws

Azibo’s platform is built to ensure that property owners stay compliant with both federal and state-level regulations governing tenant screening. For example, in states like New York, where laws limit the fees landlords can charge for tenant screening, Azibo allows landlords to subsidize a portion of the screening cost, reducing the fee to as low as $20 for applicants.

Pre-screening notifications

In states such as Washington, tenant screening laws require landlords to provide written notice before conducting background or credit checks, outlining the specific types of information collected and how it will be used. Azibo’s custom application instructions and criteria notice allow landlords to specify this information, ensuring full transparency. 

Additionally, Washington state laws cap the screening fee at the actual cost, which Azibo adheres to by offering transparent pricing and the option for property owners to cover a portion of the screening cost.

Federal compliance and Adverse Action Notices

Azibo complies with federal regulations such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which governs the collection and use of credit report information. Through partnerships, such as with RHAWA, Azibo ensures that landlords can instantly generate and send adverse action notices (AAN) when declining an applicant. 

Azibo also supports conditional offers, allowing landlords to adjust terms (e.g., requiring a co-signer or higher deposit) when making an offer to an applicant, all within the same AAN flow.

Fair application review process

Azibo enhances compliance by providing accurate timestamps for all tenant actions and reports. Landlords can sort applications by criteria like last updated, completed, or invitation date, and can mark applications as complete or incomplete as they process information. 

This ensures a fair, chronological review process, preventing accidental bias or oversight while maintaining an accurate record of the application timeline.

Local criminal background check regulations

Finally, Azibo also ensures compliance with local regulations regarding criminal background checks. In jurisdictions where it's illegal to consider criminal history, such as Seattle, criminal history information will not be returned as part of the screening report.

With these features, Azibo simplifies tenant screening while keeping property owners compliant across different legal frameworks, ensuring a transparent and efficient process for both landlords and renters.

What is the cost of tenant screening services with Azibo?

Azibo provides tenant screening services free of charge to property owners and managers. Applicants are responsible for the cost of background checks, which is $39.99. However, as mentioned, landlords have the option to subsidize part or all of this cost to help applicants afford the screening.

For instance, New York landlords can reduce the screening fee to $20 for applicants by covering part of the cost. Compared to other tenant screening services, Azibo stands out for its user-friendliness and affordability.

How to get started with Azibo tenant screening

1. Sign up for Azibo: Create a free account on the platform, or by clicking here.

2. Invite applicants: You can invite potential tenants to apply via SMS or email or share the application link in your rental listings.

3. Applicants submit applications: Prospective tenants fill out the application and upload any necessary documents like proof of income and ID.

4. Screen applicants: Review the background, credit, and eviction reports once the application is submitted and the screening report is delivered.

5. Select renters: Once a suitable tenant is identified, you can proceed with the lease process and manage rent collection through Azibo’s platform.

Azibo makes it easy to manage tenant screenings and applications in one convenient place, helping you find qualified renters faster.

Get your tenant screening report from Azibo, today

Incorporating tenant screening into your property management routine is a powerful way to mitigate risk and ensure the long-term health of your investment. Platforms like Azibo streamline the screening process, offering a seamless experience for both landlords and applicants.

With services like credit reports, eviction history, and background checks available at little to no cost for property owners, tenant screening becomes an accessible and essential part of property management.

By investing in thorough screening, landlords can foster better tenant relationships and improve the profitability and stability of their rental properties.

Start your screening with Azibo, today.