Here at Employment Screening Services, we are a proud provider of background checks for rental property owners and employers. Over the past 20 years or so, the background check industry has evolved, and you’ll find a new provider of background screening just about every other month. There are other companies out there who can help you run an instant check, but our team here at ESS is seasoned in going the extra mile to ensure your property and or organization is safe. Your reputation depends on it!
Today on the blog we wanted to talk a bit about what types of background checks a property owner commonly runs on a new tenant, whether for residential or commercial rental properties.
In many cases, if a person is interested in renting an apartment, house, commercial or other property from a landlord or property management company, they will need to give some evidence that they are the smiling, bright person they say they are. These screenings are used by landlords to vet and choose who they approve of living in or working out of their space.
Typically a landlord wants someone who will respect their property, pay their rent, and be trustworthy. Having a background check partner who can provide in-depth, timely reporting on a person’s background can be extremely helpful in ensuring you have who you want under your roof.
What Does a Tenant Background Check Include?
We can take the background check to varying levels of depth, but most tenant background checks usually focus on the following key areas.
Criminal history-
Many if not most landlords prefer to run a criminal history background check for their candidates. The goal is usually to determine if the individual is a risk to the safety of neighbors and other residents of the property. Understanding that people can change for the better, it’s important to know if someone committed a crime, especially a violent crime, sexual offense, or drug offense. Arson, theft, and destruction of property can also be considered red flags for a property owner vetting a potential tenant.
Employment Verification
Some landlords prefer to know that an individual has a decent working lifestyle, and to help ensure a tenant does, they may run an employment verification. In the past, income could be used to demonstrate a potential tenant’s ability to pay, but employment verification today usually revolves solely around verifying the person worked at the place of employment, and for how long. This also helps demonstrate a person provided a legitimate reference.
Identity Verification
Identity and address history are important to some landlords. With a Social Security Number verification check, a landlord can verify a potential tenant’s identity, aliases, or any alternate names. This also may be used to verify a criminal background check result. Additionally, we can offer an Eviction search to demonstrate any past evictions forced on a potential tenant for the 80% majority of the states in the U.S.
This is a very high-level account of what some rental owners look for when conducting a rental property background check. Every case is different, and different situations may require different depths of searches. If you or someone you know needs a trustworthy partner for all your background screening needs, it’s good to partner with a company you can trust. There are going to be plenty of background screening companies to choose from, so ensure you find a partner who has a long history in the industry and can provide insight into what your needs are. Stay tuned here on the blog for more tips and if you ever have a question, give us a call!
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