Tenant screening software is a critical tool for landlords to find the best tenants for their property. Screening potential tenants is a process of verifying their identity, rental history, employment, and income. This helps landlords make informed decisions about who to rent to and avoid problem tenants. There are many different options for tenant screening software on the market, so it cannot be easy to decide which one to use. To help you out, here are the top 10 tenant screening software options:

10 Best Tenant Screening Services

  1. First Advantage – Best for financial services and tenant screening checks
  2. LeaseRunner – Best for viewing tenants’ criminal checks, financial status and credit reports
  3. RentSpree – Best used for rental screening process
  4. RentPrep – Best used for screening prospective tenants for the landlord and property managers
  5. E-Renter – Best used for background and credit checks for landlords and property owner
  6. SmartMove – Best used for screening credit check by property owners
  7. MyRental – Best used for screening potential tenants
  8. Buildium – Best used by business owners for property management
  9. TurboTenant – Best used for advertising and managing properties
  10. Avail – Best used for advertising property, Pre-screening applicants and tracking tenants

1. First Advantage – Best for financial services and tenant screening checks

PRICING: Basic plan: $25.00; Plus plan: $40.00; Pro plan: $60.00

First Advantage is a tenant screening service offers credit and criminal background checks that are easy to use for landlords and property managers to rent out houses.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Customer support
  • Credit report
  • Forms manager
  • Nationwide criminal check
  • Eviction and skips
  • Identity fraud

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Extensive catalog
  • Detailed international background check
  • Well integrated with enterprise platforms.
  • Quite affordable

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • No credit check residential screening.
  • Slow service
  • Does not send emails on completion of a background check
  • Difficult to get to customer service

2. LeaseRunner – Best for viewing tenants’ criminal checks, financial status and credit reports

PRICING: Credit report: $21/tenant; Criminal report: $16/tenant; Financial report: $19/tenant; Eviction report: $13/tenant

LeaseRunner is a tenant screening service that helps landlords and property managers to determine if prospective tenants have the financial ability to pay the rent and whether a prospective tenant has an arrest record.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Eviction history
  • Credit report
  • Customer support
  • E-signature
  • Mobile friendly
  • Nationwide criminal check

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Robust credit report toll
  • Budget-friendly
  • Mobile apps
  • Soft-pull credit report
  • Free tools for automated adverts
  • Posting of free rental adverts

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • No complete package
  • Services are costly when compared to others.
  • No previous address history
  • Long durations to complete the screening process
  • Not available to all apartment owners and property managers

3. RentSpree – Best used for rental screening process

PRICING: $30/month

RentSpree is a platform that streamlines the process of collecting rental applications, screening tenants, and managing them.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Rent estimate
  • Nationwide criminal check
  • Renters insurance
  • Document upload
  • Rent payment
  • Agent profile

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Customer support
  • Mobile use optimization
  • Soft credit check
  • An extensive criminal record check
  • Free for a start
  • Easy to use

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • The user interface is not very appealing.
  • Limited integration with other tools
  • Uses one screening service

4. RentPrep – Best used for screening prospective tenants for the landlord and property managers

PRICING: Starts at $21

RentPrep offers various tenant screening tools that are designed to protect property owners and managers while helping them find the best residents.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Credit check
  • Income verification service
  • Credit reports
  • Background check
  • Bankruptcies
  • Judgment and Liens

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Cost-effectiveness compared to its competitors.
  • Offers judgment and liens
  • It is very easy to use.
  • Offers detailed resources for landlords in renting process
  • Substantial discount for owners of over 50 properties
  • Good Customer support

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • No residence verification
  • No instant reports
  • Credit check add-ons are exclusive of a credit score
  • Limited by local data sources
  • Limited reference checks

5. E-Renter – Best used for background and credit checks for landlords and property owner

PRICING: Basic: $21.95/screening; Premium: $31.95/screening; Ultimate: $36.95/screening

E-Renter is one of the tenant screening services that help landlords and property managers have detailed access to available information on a tenant’s credit history and past evictions & lawsuits

KEY FEATURES:

  • Address history
  • Eviction reports
  • Credit report
  • Nationwide criminal check
  • Customer support
  • Identity verification

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Fair prices
  • Well-formatted reports
  • User- friendly
  • Eviction history report
  • Does not require an on-site inspection
  • Provides screening solutions for landlords and employers

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • No default prediction
  • Can’t charge applicants directly
  • Tenant credit inquiries may be difficult.
  • No debit payment history
  • Extra cost for certain features

6. SmartMove – Best used for screening credit check by property owners

PRICING: Basic plan: $25/screening; Plus plan: $38/screening; Premium plan: $40/screening

SmartMove can checks credit report but also all of their public records, including criminal history and eviction records. They will ensure no one asking to rent from your property has trouble paying rent or has an extensive criminal record.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Nationwide criminal check
  • Tenant verification
  • Income insights
  • Eviction history
  • Credit report
  • Customer support

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Easy to use
  • Good integration
  • Credit report
  • Reputable company
  • Reports are easy to interpret.
  • Affordable

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Limited criminal checks in some regions
  • Single eviction database on national eviction report
  • Tenant involvement

7. MyRental – Best used for screening potential tenants

PRICING: Basic plan: $24.99/applicant; Premium plan: $34.99/applicant

Rental makes tenant screening easy and saves time for property managers and landlords when renting out properties. It has a database of public records.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Credit reports
  • Criminal check
  • Free demo
  • Eviction history
  • Customer support
  • National criminal background check

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Access to a powerful database
  • Seamless application process
  • Demo is available
  • Easy to use
  • Integrates well with other software
  • Quick & efficient

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Costly when compared to top competitors
  • No reference checking
  • Customer support is not 100% effective.
  • Limited features

8. Buildium – Best used by business owners for property management

PRICING: A free trial is available; Starting price: $50/month

Buildium is the fastest-growing cloud-based software. Buildium is a tenant screening service that offers background checks and eviction records.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Accounting integration
  • Background screening
  • Credit check
  • Commercial leases
  • Contact database

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Free trial
  • Fast & reliable
  • Searchable property database
  • Outstanding customer support
  • Easy to use
  • Easy integration

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • It is time-consuming
  • Updates might be bumpy.
  • No online tenant screening reports
  • It May be expensive for small businesses.

9. TurboTenant – Best used for advertising and managing properties

PRICING: Premium plan: $4.20/month

TurboTenant offers access to tenant screening reports, online rental applications and a real-time tenant database from one central location.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Credit check
  • Lease management
  • Tenant tracking
  • Tenant portal
  • Rent tracking
  • Contact management

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Easy to use
  • Free for landlords and agents
  • Quick screening process
  • Free property management tools
  • Available on mobile devices
  • Customer-friendly

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Suited for not more than 100 properties
  • Lacks robust screening checks
  • No automated withdrawal for tenant rents
  • No reporting tools
  • No maintenance request tracking
  • No support for outgoing payments owners

10. Avail – Best used for advertising property, Pre-screening applicants and tracking tenants

PRICING: Free plan; Price starts from $5/month/feature.

Avail provides free report where you can check if there are any red flags about your prospective tenant.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Tenant history
  • Tenant portal
  • Lease management
  • Background screening
  • Credit check
  • Transaction history

REASONS TO BUY:

  • It has a free plan
  • Effective customer service
  • Easy to use
  • Effective streamlining process
  • Great user interface
  • Customizable template

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • The reporting module is weak.
  • No 3rd party integration restriction
  • No marketing website on the free plan
  • No live chat agent
  • No accounting module

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to get tenant screening reports?

Depends on the type of tenant screening report that you are looking for. If you are looking for credit reports, you need to pay a monthly or yearly fee to get your credit reports.

What are the basic features of tenant screening service?

Any tenant screening software should have basic features: credit reports, fee quotes, tenant screening reports, and background checks. Other features include the application, background check, and other useful features.

What if I don’t have enough money to pay for the tenant screening service?

You can contact the software company to ask for a free rental quote or free trial. You can also use one of the best tenant screening companies with a lower budget.

Is tenant screening service secure?

Yes, the tenant screening service is secure since the information and the reports are secured through a password-protected system.

How many people can I connect to my tenant screening service?

It depends on the type of tenant screening service you are looking for. You can have as many applications connected to your tenant screening software.

How to avoid tenant screening services scams?

Never enter your confidential information into a tenant screening software without reading the whole Terms and Conditions carefully the software and know what specific information you are allowed to enter into the tenant screening software.

What is a tenant screening service?

Tenant screening service is a process that helps you to get access to your applicant’s criminal history their credit report, and shows you the best quality tenants in the market with this tenant screening service you can avoid fraud and can find the best quality tenants in the market.

Resources & Links

  • https://www.investopedia.com/best-tenant-screening-services-5070361
  • https://www.smallbizgenius.net/best-tenant-screening-services/
  • https://fortunly.com/business/best-tenant-screening-services/#gref
  • https://spendmenot.com/best/tenant-screening-services/
  • https://www.bobvila.com/articles/best-tenant-screening-services/