Tenant Frequently Asked Questions

No. This is one of the things that makes SmartMove such a valuable tenant screening service. Since the rental applicant initiates the release of his or her own data, the resulting inquiry is considered a “soft inquiry,” which does not impact his or her credit score. On the other hand, when a landlord initiates a credit check on a rental applicant, it results in a “hard inquiry” on the applicant’s credit report which can negatively impact his or her overall score depending on other variables. (This is similar to the process involved when a consumer applies for a loan or a credit card.)

SmartMove uses the email address entered by the property owner to send the rental applicant an email request. If the potential tenant does not receive the email, either the property owner did not enter the email address correctly or the potential tenant’s email service may be blocking the email. Please check Spam folders or Junk Email folders to make sure that the email has not been filtered out. Note that the sender will appear as SmartMove. To ensure future emails continue to reach the Inbox, please add the email address smartmoverequest@mysmartmove.com to an address book or safe sender list.

If that doesn’t fix the problem, either request that the property owner correct the email address he or she entered or go directly to www.mysmartmove.com and click on any of the “Create an Account” buttons if an account has not already been created. A potential tenant account will need to be created using the email address to which the landlord sent the request. For potential tenants who are unsure what address the landlord used, we recommend contacting him or her for confirmation. Once the renter creates an account, there will be an option to complete the process.

If the potential tenant receives a request to be screened by a property owner and does not wish to proceed, there will be an option in SmartMove to either Confirm (proceed) or Decline (cancel) the screening process. No parties are charged if the application is cancelled by either party prior to the screening taking place.

At this time, SmartMove only has the ability to process an application for potential tenants who have a valid U.S. Social Security number. Please contact the property owner to discuss how he or she wishes to proceed with the application process.

When a potential tenant sets up a SmartMove account, he or she is required to answer a series of personal questions to authenticate identity before TransUnion can release the credit report and criminal record data to a landlord. If any difficulty transpires with this process, contact SmartMove for further assistance. We suggest renters obtaining a copy of their TransUnion credit report to verify all information before attempting any further authentication. A renter may obtain a copy at www.annualcreditreport.com or by calling TransUnion at 800-916-8800.

Other services may have a potential tenant provide personal identifying information, like a Social Security number or account numbers, directly on a property owner’s application. This means the potential tenant can’t control who has access to that information once provided. With SmartMove, however, the renter provides his or her information directly to TransUnion in a secure, online environment. It stays between the potential tenant and TransUnion—a trusted credit reporting company that already maintains safe files for nearly 500 million people worldwide.

Only those property owners to whom the renter grants permission will have access to the potential tenant’s credit and criminal record information.

SmartMove offers landlords the option to view a renter’s credit and criminal background data. However, none of these services affect the potential tenant’s credit score and they do not include personal identifying information such as their Social Security number or account numbers.

After the potential tenant provides approval for screening, the property owner only has access to their credit and criminal record information for 30 days.

No. SmartMove is only for tenant credit and background searches. This means that only a property owner can have access to reports, and only with the potential tenant’s permission.

Yes, please contact customer service at 1-866-775-0961 to verify your identity and for further information on how to obtain a copy of your criminal and/or eviction report.

For a copy of your credit report, click here.

You may dispute items within your credit report that are used as inputs by the model. You can follow the standard credit reporting dispute process if you feel items within your credit report are incorrect.

Income Insights relies on a statistical model that analyzes your credit data. Using credit report information about your spending and payment behavior, the model is able to estimate your annual income.

Yes, Income Insights uses behavior found in credit data to estimate your total income. Therefore, non-work sources of income such as retirement distributions, pensions, social security, and alimony should be reflected in the results.

Yes, Income Insights uses behavior found in credit data to estimate your total income. Therefore, non-work sources of income such as retirement distributions, pensions, social security, and alimony should be reflected in the results.

Income Insights cannot be used as a reason for declining an applicant. It can only be used to determine whether or not the landlord requires additional proof of income.