Tenant Screening Checklist

How to use this checklist: a fair screening process in plain English

Good screening answers two questions: will this applicant pay the rent, and will they look after the home and follow the lease? Everything on the checklist above serves one of those two questions. Anything that does not, such as an applicant’s family plans, religion, accent or the reason they receive a housing voucher, has no place in the process and can expose you to a fair housing complaint.

The rest of this page explains each step, why it matters, and where the law sets limits. It covers federal rules (the Fair Housing Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act) and points out where states and cities commonly add stricter requirements. It is general information, not legal advice. Screening law changes often and varies by city, so confirm the rules for your property with a local landlord-tenant attorney or your state’s fair housing agency.

1. Write your criteria down and apply them to everyone

Written criteria are your best protection. Before you list the unit, put on one page the standards an applicant must meet: the income test, what rental history you accept, how you treat credit, whether and how you consider criminal history, and your occupancy limit based on local code. Give the page to every applicant before you take a fee, and keep a dated copy with each file so you can show which version applied.

Consistency matters as much as the standards themselves. If you waive the income test for one applicant because they “seemed nice” and hold the next to it strictly, you have created exactly the kind of uneven treatment that fair housing testers look for. Decide in advance how you will handle common exceptions, such as a co-signer, a larger deposit where your state allows it, or proof of savings, and offer them the same way to everyone who falls short.

The federal Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. § 3604) protects race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status and disability. Many states and cities add more, such as source of income, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or military status. California’s list in Gov. Code § 12955 is a good example of how long a state list can be. Our fair housing cheat sheet summarises the federal rules.

2. Income verification, and why a rigid 3x rule can backfire

Verifying income tells you whether the rent is realistic for the household. Ask for documents that prove ongoing income: recent pay stubs, an offer letter on letterhead you confirm with the employer, benefit award letters, or two to three months of bank statements. Self-employed applicants can show tax returns or 1099s plus recent bank statements. Count every lawful, verifiable source, including pensions, Social Security, alimony or support, and housing assistance.

Many landlords use a rule that gross income must be three times the monthly rent. The problem is that a flat multiple applied to the full rent can screen out voucher holders whose subsidy pays most of the rent. In places that protect source of income, that can be unlawful. California’s statute is explicit: where there is a government rent subsidy, a landlord may not use an income standard that is not based on the portion of the rent the tenant pays, and must let the applicant offer alternative evidence of ability to pay instead of credit history (Gov. Code § 12955(o)). California also requires you to count the combined income of people applying together the same way you would for a married couple (§ 12955(n)). Other states and many cities have their own source-of-income protections, so check before you set your test.

Worked example: the same income test, applied fairly

Example (hypothetical): a two-bedroom rents for $1,800 a month and your written standard is gross income of at least 2.5 times the tenant’s share of the rent.

• Applicant A earns $3,900 a month in wages and receives a $700 pension. Total income is $4,600. The test is 2.5 × $1,800 = $4,500. $4,600 is above $4,500, so A passes.
• Applicant B has a housing voucher that pays $1,250 of the rent, leaving a tenant share of $1,800 − $1,250 = $550. The test is 2.5 × $550 = $1,375. B’s income of $1,600 is above $1,375, so B passes.
• Under a rigid “3x the full rent” rule, B would need 3 × $1,800 = $5,400 a month, even though B is responsible for only $550. That is the kind of rule that source-of-income laws target.

Write down the arithmetic for every applicant on the worksheet below. If you are ever asked why someone was approved or declined, a line of numbers is far more persuasive than a recollection.

3. Credit and eviction history: read the story, not just the score

A credit report shows how an applicant handles obligations. For a landlord, the most relevant items are unpaid rent or utility collections, recent patterns of late payment and outstanding judgments owed to prior landlords. A single old medical collection or a thin file from a young or newly arrived applicant tells you much less. If you set a minimum score, state it in your criteria and apply it to everyone, and consider allowing a co-signer or additional deposit (within your state’s deposit limit) as a uniform alternative.

Eviction records need care. A court filing is not the same as a judgment: cases are dismissed, settled or won by tenants, and some states seal records. Look at the outcome and the date, and give the applicant a chance to explain. Screening reports sometimes attach records belonging to someone with a similar name, so match the date of birth and address history before relying on them.

4. References: same questions, verified contacts

The current landlord may want a problem tenant to leave, so prior landlords are often more candid. Find the landlord’s number yourself from county property records or the management company’s website rather than relying only on the number the applicant wrote down. Ask every reference the same short list: dates of tenancy and rent amount, whether rent was paid on time, whether proper notice was given, the condition of the unit at move-out, any lease violations, and whether they would rent to this person again. Write the answers on the worksheet.

5. Identity verification and fraud signs

Rental fraud usually takes one of two forms: an applicant using someone else’s identity or fabricated documents, or a payment scam. Compare the photo ID with the person you meet, and confirm the name, date of birth and address history on the screening report match the application. Call employers on a number you find independently. Watch for edited PDFs, pay stubs whose deductions do not add up, bank statements with round-number deposits that match the claimed salary exactly, and references who cannot name the property address.

The most common payment scam is an overpayment by cashier’s check followed by a request to refund the difference. Do not refund anything until funds have fully cleared, and do not hand over keys before the deposit and first month’s rent are in your account. The tenant red flags cheat sheet lists more warning signs. Treat identity checks as identity checks only: asking about immigration status, birthplace or citizenship beyond what is needed to confirm who someone is can raise national origin concerns.

6. The Fair Credit Reporting Act: permissible purpose and adverse action notices

Tenant screening reports, including credit reports, eviction and criminal background reports, and screening scores, are consumer reports under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, enforced by the Federal Trade Commission. According to the FTC’s guidance “Using Consumer Reports: What Landlords Need to Know”, you may get a report only with a permissible purpose, which landlords have for applicants and for tenants renewing a lease (15 U.S.C. § 1681b(a)(3)(F)). You must certify to the screening company that you will use it only for housing, and getting written permission from the applicant is good practice.

If you deny an application, require a co-signer, or charge a higher deposit or rent based even partly on a report, you must give an adverse action notice (15 U.S.C. § 1681m(a)). The notice must include:

• the name, address and phone number of the consumer reporting company that supplied the report;
• a statement that the company did not make the decision and cannot explain the reasons for it; and
• notice of the applicant’s right to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information and to get a free copy of the report if they ask within 60 days.

If you used a credit score, the notice must also give the score, its source, date, range and the key factors that hurt it. The FTC allows oral notices but recommends written ones, because they prove compliance. You must also dispose of reports securely when you no longer need them. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s consumerfinance.gov explains the same rights from the renter’s side, which is useful to read so you know what applicants will expect.

7. Criminal history: HUD’s 2016 guidance, its 2025 withdrawal and local fair-chance laws

In April 2016 HUD’s Office of General Counsel issued guidance on applying Fair Housing Act standards to criminal records. It said arrest records alone are not a reliable basis for denial, that blanket bans on anyone with a conviction were likely to have an unjustified discriminatory effect, and that housing providers should look at the nature, severity and recency of a conviction. HUD withdrew that guidance effective September 25, 2025, as confirmed in a July 17, 2026 Federal Register notice. In January 2026 HUD also proposed removing its disparate impact regulation (24 CFR 100.500), though as of this writing that was a proposal, not a final rule.

What has not changed: the Fair Housing Act itself, the Supreme Court’s 2015 recognition of disparate impact claims under it (Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project), private lawsuits, and state and local law. A growing number of states, counties and cities have fair-chance housing laws that limit criminal history questions, require a conditional offer before a background check, restrict lookback periods or require an individual assessment. Check your local rules before you include any criminal history question on an application.

A defensible written policy usually:

• considers convictions only, never arrests that did not lead to a conviction;
• names the specific categories of offence that bear on resident safety or property, rather than “any criminal record”;
• sets a lookback period and applies it to everyone;
• lets the applicant explain circumstances, rehabilitation or errors before you decide; and
• follows the timing rules of any local fair-chance ordinance.

8. Application fees: know your cap

Application fees should cover your real screening costs, not generate profit. Some states cap them. New York’s Real Property Law § 238-a limits background and credit check fees to the lesser of the actual cost or $20, requires you to give the applicant a copy of the check and the receipt, and requires a waiver if the applicant brings a check run within the past 30 days. Other states and cities have their own caps, receipt requirements or refund rules for applicants who are not screened. Our state legal guides cover several large states. Collect a fee only when you are ready to process that application, and process applications in the order you stated.

9. Sample scoring worksheet

A worksheet turns your written criteria into the same yes-or-no questions for every applicant. Print one per adult applicant. The thresholds below are examples only; replace them with the standards in your own written criteria.

Avoid weighted point systems that you adjust by feel. A clear pass or fail on each line, with one uniform alternative such as a qualified co-signer, is easier to apply consistently and easier to explain.

10. Documentation and retention

Keep one file per application containing the criteria version you gave the applicant, the application, the worksheet, notes from reference calls, any adverse action notice and all correspondence. Keep files for applicants you declined as carefully as those you approved, because declined applicants are the ones who complain. A HUD complaint can be filed within one year of the alleged discrimination and a private lawsuit within two years (42 U.S.C. § 3613), so many landlords keep screening files for at least two to three years; your state may require longer. Store consumer reports securely, limit who can see them, and shred or permanently delete them at the end of your retention period, as the FTC’s disposal rule requires.

Common screening mistakes

• Changing the criteria mid-search, or applying them loosely to applicants you like.
• Using a rigid income multiple on the full rent for voucher holders where source of income is protected.
• Asking about children, pregnancy, disabilities or medications, or steering families to particular units.
• Denying on an arrest record, or using a blanket criminal history ban.
• Skipping the FCRA adverse action notice because the report was “only a small part” of the decision.
• Charging more than your state’s application fee cap, or collecting fees from more applicants than you can process.
• Treating a reasonable accommodation request (such as an assistance animal) as a pet application; disability law sets different rules.

Once you approve an applicant, the next steps are a clear lease and a documented move-in inspection. See the lease agreement template and the move-in/move-out inspection checklist.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Fair housing and screening laws vary by state, county and city and change often. Consult a licensed attorney in your state before adopting screening criteria.