Get peace of mind with tenant criminal background checks

Access robust criminal reports to help provide visibility into your applicant.

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What’s in the criminal background check for tenants?

TransUnion SmartMove® searches millions of criminal records. Data includes multiple state background checks, most wanted databases and Sex Offender Public Registries.

  • Multiple state criminal background checks**
  • National coverage of state Sex Offender Public Registries

Online Tenant Screening for Property Owners

Person holding up 370MM records

Millions of criminal records searched.

Access robust criminal reports** to help provide visibility to who you are potentially renting to.

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Credit bureau strength record matching.

Helping you feel more confident in the information that you are getting.

Straightforward Pricing

Choose who pays (where permitted) and no hidden fees.

SmartCheck Plus

When you want a little more information on your potential tenant.

 

${SmartCheck Plus:40}

SmartCheck Basic

Our basic screening includes our proprietary score and criminal background check.  

${SmartCheck Basic:25}

Background Check Basic

Our basic screening includes our proprietary score and criminal background check.  

${SmartCheck:25}

**The Criminal Report and Eviction Related Proceedings Report are subject to federal, state, and local laws that may limit or restrict SmartMove's ability to return some records. Certain jurisdictions may limit what records are eligible for return, click here for more information.

✝ Based on a 2016 TransUnion Survey:

Protect your investment.

Frequently Asked Questions:

A criminal background check for renters is used to get information on a prospective tenant’s criminal background. SmartMove provides data from public records, such as court records and databases, to determine whether a rental applicant has any criminal convictions or charges.

With a SmartMove tenant criminal check, millions of criminal records are searched. Having this information on hand can help landlords make informed leasing decisions.

SmartMove makes it easy to run a criminal background check to help fill vacancies. To receive results same day, you only must take a few steps. Here’s how to run a criminal background check on a tenant with SmartMove:

  1. Create a free account: Signing up for a SmartMove account is completely free. With no hidden costs or set-up fees, getting started is easy.
  2. Authorize Processing the Criminal Check: To do this, simply provide your renter’s email address, and we’ll handle the rest.
  3. Review results: After your prospective tenant provides their authorization, we’ll run our criminal background check and deliver most results same day. This way, you can make an informed leasing decision on the spot and fill vacancies quickly.

Now that you know how to run a criminal background check with SmartMove, on a tenant, it’s time to get started. Choose TransUnion SmartMove to find your next tenant.

Conducting tenant criminal background checks should be a common practice for every landlord. There are many benefits of online tenant screening that can help ensure you and your property are protected. Here are some of the reasons why you should run a criminal background screening on a tenant:

  • Safety: First and foremost, a criminal background check on a renter can help improve safety and security by ensuring you approve tenants that don’t pose potential risks, such as those with violent or dangerous behavior.
  • Property protection: Investing in real estate can be expensive, which means it’s important to protect your property to ensure you continue to generate consistent income. Running criminal background checks on renters can help do just that. Reviewing criminal histories helps identify applicants with a history of property damage, theft, or other behaviors that can put your property at risk.
  • Financial protection: Running a tenant criminal background check can also protect you financially, especially in the event of a possible eviction. The cost of an eviction can be high, but running a criminal background check may help mitigate this risk by placing responsible and trustworthy tenants in your units.
  • Fraud prevention: With more landlords switching to online applications, the risk of fraud in the rental housing industry is on the rise. By using a trusted screening service like SmartMove, you can ensure applicants are who they say they are, so you can have peace of mind knowing you’re approving qualified tenants.

These are some of the top reasons why landlords should always screen their rental applicants. With a criminal background check for renters from SmartMove, you can rest assured knowing you made an informed leasing decision.

TransUnion SmartMove criminal background checks offer landlords access to key information needed to help make confident leasing decisions. With a tenant criminal background check, landlords gain access to:

  • Multiple state criminal background checks*
  • National coverage of state Sex Offender Public Registries
  • Global Sanctions

*The Criminal Report and National Eviction Related Proceedings Report are subject to federal, state, and local laws that may limit or restrict SmartMove's ability to return some records. Certain jurisdictions may limit what records are eligible for return, click here for more information.

 

With TransUnion SmartMove and where permitted, who pays is up to you. As a landlord, you have the option to pay for tenant criminal background checks, or you can pass that cost on to rental applicants as part of their application, where permitted.

Depending on the screening service you choose, criminal background check results can take days or weeks. With TransUnion SmartMove, that doesn’t have to be the case. With our criminal background checks for tenants, you can receive most results same day, helping you make informed leasing decisions.