Key Takeaways:

  • Checking a prospective tenant’s rental history is key to finding reliable, long-term renters who respect your property and pay on time.
  • The process includes collecting rental applications with authorization, verifying the tenant’s previous addresses and landlord contact information, and conducting reference checks.
  • Most rental history reports cover the last seven years and can help landlords assess payment history and lease compliance
  • Using automated tenant screening services can help speed up the process while staying compliant with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

There are many moving parts to the rental verification process, but the one you won’t want to gloss over is a prospective tenant's rental history.

A rental history report provides details on any previous leases as a tenant, which can give you better insight into how they’ve behaved as a renter in the past.

It can also provide you with their eviction and payment history and give you a better idea of how they treated their previous rental property from the perspective of their previous landlord(s).

But you’ll need to keep some compliance and privacy considerations in mind – including how to stay compliant with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). You could risk fines and legal penalties if you do not follow the proper process.

Let’s look at the process of checking a tenant’s rental history to verify they’ll be reliable, rent-paying tenants.

Previous Rental History: The Rental Application Form

When it comes to screening a potential tenant to decide if they are a good fit, the steps go beyond a basic tenant screening checklist.

Part of the process should be to gather information on a prospective tenant's current and prior rental addresses, as well as landlords from the past five years. When you have this information via the tenant's application, you should verify each address to ensure consistency in their housing history.

How much rental history is too much?

While five years is typical to ask for, keep in mind it is also common to stick with seven years, especially if red flags come up on the background check for renters.

If you want to cover the last seven years, this typically aligns with how long most negative information remains on credit reports and eviction records. But for many landlords, five years is plenty.

Red flags might be:

  • Past due utilities owed to a utility company at their prior rental(s)
  • Real estate-related late payments on their credit report
  • Judgment or court-ordered lien related to real estate debt
  • Outstanding debts or financial obligations from previous rental properties
  • Eviction records or lease violations appearing on credit reports

Red flags aside, you'll need to make sure that your rental application includes a section for rental history, so your applicant can fill out all of the relevant address history and contact information for any of their prior landlords for the amount of time specified in your rental application criteria.

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Additionally, make sure your rental application must include the applicant’s written permission to contact any previous landlords and run background and credit checks.

Before we go over how. to check someone's rental history, let’s look at the rental application criteria. You'll need this first before proceeding. (Know this already? Feel free to skip ahead.)

Establish Your Rental Application Criteria

In general, it's a good idea to indicate in your rental application criteria how far back you plan to ask for rental history and how you plan to use this data to approve or deny the applicant.

You’ll need to maintain a record of all screening activities to comply with fair housing laws and to ensure you’re consistently evaluating all applicants equally.

By establishing clear, written rental criteria upfront, you can protect yourself from any potential legal problems. At a minimum, your rental application criteria should include:

  • Proof of income and minimum income requirements (typically three times the monthly rent)
  • Acceptable credit history parameters
  • The process you’ll use to evaluate rental payment history from previous landlords

Laying out these expectations ahead of time can help you speed up the process, filter out any ineligible tenants, and stay compliant with the law. When in doubt, start from a rental application template online, and work with a rental attorney.

Get Rental History Verification Authorization

To complete a rental history verification, you will need the applicant’s written permission to verify their rental history.

Landlords must obtain written consent from any applicants before conducting a rental history verification, as required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). If you complete this step without the applicant's express written consent, you could land in some hot water.

The good news is that the rental history authorization can be signed in person or electronically. You can use platforms like TenantCloud, which offer fully customizable online rental applications. This makes it easy for you to acquire the necessary authorization for a rental history check from prospective tenants as part of the routine application process.

Most tenant screening services will charge a basic fee, ranging from $20 to $50 for detailed rental history reports, though you can pass this cost along to the applicant as an “application fee” in most legal jurisdictions.

Under the FCRA, you must obtain this written consent before you attempt to access any consumer reports. This includes any credit reports or rental history information compiled by tenant screening agencies. You’ll need to include what information you’ll be checking and how it will be used in the tenant screening process.

Once you have that authorization, you can get started with the screening process.

Methods Used to Verify Rental History Records

When screening potential tenants to assess their rental history, you have several verification methods at your disposal to ensure you are making well-informed decisions. There are both automatic methods and manual methods. We'll cover the most efficient methods first.

Automatic Rental History Verification

Rental History Reports

Many tenant screening services (including the ones right here on TenantCloud) provide rental history reports, including eviction history, prior address history, and rental payment patterns, if reported to the bureaus.

Most rental history reports cover the last seven years of tenancy history and behavior, which can give you a good overview of how the potential tenant has performed as a renter. Tenant screening services typically compile comprehensive reports that include rental history.

Credit Reports and Credit Checks

Typically, tenant credit checks do not include an actual FICO credit score, but rather, a 'Renter Score' or just a detailed credit report. Credit reports often contain past addresses and payment history – including any evictions or judgments related to past rentals.

Running a credit check using the TenantCloud Tenant Screening tool can provide insight into a tenant's personal information, including payment habits and whether they have a history of paying bills on time.

This often includes prior rent payments, rent judgments, and liens, especially if they were reported to the three major credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax).

Under the FCRA, tenants are entitled to a free annual rental history report from the major credit reporting bureaus, and landlords must provide an Adverse Action Notice if they choose to deny a rental application based on a screening report.

Court Records Search

Public records can be checked for past evictions or landlord-tenant disputes. Eviction records from housing courts can help reveal any violations or unlawful detainer actions.

How to Access Eviction Records

Many jurisdictions offer online databases of court records that can be searched for free or for a small fee.

On TenantCloud, you can use the tenant background check tool to automatically screen them in the county they currently live in, as well as every county they've lived in previously. Landlords may check public records for any past evictions or disputes when screening applicants.

Income Verification

Confirming the applicant’s income through pay stubs, tax returns, or employer contact can help ensure they have the means to afford the rent, which indirectly supports a stable rental history. Many landlords will verify employment status and income to make sure the tenant can afford rent each month.

On TenantCloud, this can largely be done through the Income Insights report as part of your standard tenant screening process. For applicants with limited rental histories (such as new renters or college students), landlords may accept proof of rent payments, such as bank statements or payment receipts, to verify that the tenant can pay.

Side Note: When taking rent-to-income ratios into consideration, this study found that the average nationwide recently reached 40%, marking the lowest rent affordability in decades. This decline is attributed to rapid inflation, stagnant wages, and soaring home prices, significantly impacting households renting median-priced homes, which now allocate 40% of their gross income to rent.

Manual Rental History Verification

Previous Landlord Interviews

Contacting previous landlords or property managers directly is one of the most common and effective methods; however, it can also be the most tedious and time-consuming method.

It’s common practice for landlords to contact two to three previous landlords to ask specific questions about the tenant’s behavior and payment history. You can typically complete this step by phone or email to get a quick response.

Reference Checks

Apart from landlords, personal references can sometimes provide insights into the character and behavior of potential tenants.

However, landlords should be cautious about relying solely on personal references, as references may not offer the same level of objective information as landlord references or a portable tenant screening report.

Online Property Records

Manually checking online property records can sometimes verify ownership and the applicant's claims about where they have lived. This can also help you confirm that the landlord contact information the tenant provided is legitimate and not a fake reference (a growing issue!)

Social Media and Online Presence

While not always reliable, some landlords review an applicant’s public social media profiles for red flags or confirmation of past residences.

This has become less reliable as social media platforms have made it possible for people to make their profiles and the information they share online invisible to the general public.

But note: This method should never be used as a primary screening tool and should not influence decisions – protections that are guaranteed under fair housing laws.

Prep Your Questions for Prior Landlords

If you opt for the phone call, fax, or email method to verify your rental applicant's payment history, you'll want to prepare your questions before reaching out to the previous property management company or landlord.

You’ll be looking to verify rental dates, rent amounts, and the names of residents listed on the application.

Here’s a list of questions to help guide you as you create your own.

Disclaimer: This list of questions is for general guidance and has not been reviewed by legal counsel. Ensure compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local housing laws when conducting tenant screenings.

Questions for Past Landlord(s)

  • Lease Responsibility
  • "Can you confirm that the tenant was the primary leaseholder at your property?"
  • Lease Term
  • "Could you provide the exact dates the tenant started and ended their tenancy?"
  • Rent Details
  • "What was the agreed monthly rent for the tenant, and did this rate include utilities?"
  • Property Address
  • "What is the full address of the property the tenant rented from you?"
  • Payment History
  • "Did the tenant consistently pay rent on time? If there were late payments, could you provide details on the frequency and circumstances?"
  • Outstanding Payments
  • "Are there any outstanding payments for rent or utilities owed by the tenant? Did you ever receive a rent check from them that was returned for insufficient funds?"
  • Notice and Vacating Procedures
  • "Did the tenant provide proper notice before vacating the unit as per the lease agreement?"
  • Security Deposit Usage
  • "Was any portion of the security deposit retained due to property damage or cleaning fees? Could you elaborate on the nature of the damages, if any?"
  • Legal Actions
  • "Were there any instances where you had to serve a legal notice, such as a '3-day notice,' to the tenant? Was an unlawful detainer ever filed or an eviction carried out?"
  • Neighbor Relations and Complaints
  • "Are there records of any neighbor complaints or formal noise complaints against the tenant?"
  • Pet Ownership
  • "Did the tenant have any pets, and if so, were there any issues or damages related to pet ownership?"
  • Property Maintenance and Care
  • "How did the tenant maintain the property? Were there any concerns regarding the upkeep or reporting of necessary repairs?"
  • Lease Compliance
  • “Did the tenant comply with all other terms of the lease, such as rules regarding noise, use of common areas, and parking?”
  • Lease Renewal History
  • “At any point was the tenant offered a lease renewal, and did they accept it?”
  • Overall Tenancy
  • “Based on your experience, would you rent to this tenant again? If not, can you provide specific reasons?”

It's important to note that if a question is not based more on facts than on opinion, many landlords may not answer it.

In fact, many property management companies have stopped asking opinion-based rental history questions altogether and have strictly focused on fact-based questions.

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Once you have prepared your own questions, here are some things to expect and look for during your phone call with the tenant's previous landlord.

Managing Landlord Responses and Red Flags

Hard-to-Reach Landlords

You can probably relate to the fact that landlords are busy people. Property managers and landlords can often juggle multiple responsibilities, which can make it difficult to contact them during the rental verification process.

It may be tough getting through to them. If the landlord or property manager has an assistant, ask what time of day is best to reach out so you can proactively try again.

Keep in mind that some rental properties may require you to send a rental history request form by email or fax, along with proof of your applicants’ approval, to obtain this information.

Some property management companies have standardized forms and processes for handling landlord reference checks – which can speed up the rental verification process.

On-Guard Landlords

If they tell you only positive things about the applicants and neglect to mention negative things, that could expose them to legal risks for offering misleading half-truths. On the other hand, if they say negative things, the tenant could attempt to sue them for defamation.

This means that law-savvy landlords will request a copy of applicants’ written permission before they give out any information—and they’ll only offer you factual information they can back up with documentation, like rental terms, property locations, number of late rent payments, and the like.

Many landlords maintain detailed payment records and documentation to protect themselves legally.

Offloading Landlords

Some landlords may want to rid themselves of current problem tenants. If these landlords aren’t legally savvy, this desire to offload tenants may lead them to offer you only positive information.

This is why it’s crucial to verify rental history across multiple sources, such as credit reports, eviction records, and court records, rather than relying solely on landlord references.

Fake Landlords

Sometimes, applicants put down fake references—friends or family members who are willing to pose as landlords. If applicants have had rocky relationships with their prior landlords, they may not want to give you their complete rental histories.

If this is the case, there are a couple of ways you can assess if they have given you fake landlord references:

  1. Use public property records to research the referenced property and its listed ownership before calling the landlord and asking the landlord about anything that doesn’t seem to make sense from your research
  2. Keep your questions open-ended and ask property-specific questions that you can verify on your own.

Cross-referencing the rental application with credit reports and public records can help identify fake references to make sure you’re getting accurate rental history information.

How To Check Rental History on TenantCloud

Now that you know what to generally expect during these calls and how to prepare for them, you can place them confidently.

If you want to save time, you can purchase a tenant screening report through TenantCloud that includes these services, and they can take the time-consuming task of verifying your tenants' rental history, along with the entire background check research, off your plate.

TenantCloud makes it easy to cover all the tenant screening services you need – rental history, credit reports, background checks, and income verification. As always, be sure to check your local laws to understand any area-specific nuances that may differ from this information.

Rights and Responsibilities when Checking Rental History

A quick note on legal rights and responsibilities. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) gives landlords and tenants rights during the rental verification process.

Under the FCRA, tenants can dispute inaccurate information in their rental history report with the reporting agency that compiled it. Correction of mistakes in rental history reports must be completed within 30 days of the dispute being filed.

For landlords, conducting a credit and background check is key to identifying any potential tenant red flags. However, errors in rental history reports can potentially jeopardize the tenant’s ability to secure a rental property, so you should give applicants every opportunity to explain negative information in the report.

Making the Final (and Best) Rental Decision

Jumping into tenant screening, especially checking out a potential renter's past, is super important for landlords who want to find tenants they can count on. A good rental history can significantly improve a tenant’s chances of securing a property, and landlords love having a quality tenant.

Here is a quick overview of what has been covered in this article:

Tenant Screening Importance

  • Essential for finding reliable tenants
  • Requires careful attention, finesse, and the tenant's written consent
  • Rental history checks include data on prior addresses, payment history, eviction records, and lease violations

Methods for Completing a Rental History Report

  • Direct Communication with Previous Landlords
  • Offers factual insights into tenants' reliability and behavior.
  • Automates and streamlines the screening process.

Combining Manual and Automated Techniques

  • Blending both methods can provide comprehensive insights, helping in making informed decisions about prospective tenants.
  • Landlords often pair rental history reports with employment verification and background checks.
  • Gathering the right documentation from landlords before applying can bolster a tenant’s application.

As discussed in the sections above, multiple methods are available to complete a rental history report. You could opt for direct communication with previous landlords, which offers invaluable insights into the tenant’s reliability and behavior.

Or you can use a property management software platform like TenantCloud to automate and streamline the entire process.

Or, you may find that, like many other property owners and landlords, blending manual and automated techniques to vet the rental history of your tenants will give you the insights you need to make an informed decision.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I check someone’s rental history?

To check a tenant’s rental history, start by obtaining written consent from the tenant through the rental application. Request their previous rental addresses and landlord contact information for the past five years. You can then contact previous landlords directly to verify the provided information, or use a tenant screening service like TenantCloud to automate the process.

What information is included in a rental history report?

A rental history report provides details on any previous leases as a tenant, including prior rental addresses, monthly rent amounts, tenancy lengths, payment history (on-time, late, or missed payments), eviction history, lease violations, and landlord contact information.

Can tenants get their own rental history report?

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) allows you to get your rental history report for free annually from the three major credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax). Tenants can obtain their own rental history reports to check for discrepancies before applying for rentals.

What should I do if I find errors in my rental history report?

If you discover any issues in your rental history report, you’ll need to dispute them with the reporting agency quickly. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) gives you the right to dispute incorrect information on reports compiled by tenant screening agencies. Correction of mistakes in rental history reports must be completed within 30 days of a dispute being filed.

What questions should I ask previous landlords?

When contacting previous landlords, ask about:

  • The confirmation of tenancy dates and rental amounts
  • Whether rent was paid on time and in full
  • How well the tenant maintained the property
  • Whether there were any lease violations or neighbor complaints
  • Whether any legal notices or eviction proceedings were filed
  • Whether they would rent to this tenant again

How far back do rental history reports go?

Most rental history reports cover the last seven years. However, many landlords request rental history information going back at least five years to get a full picture of the tenant's rental behavior. Some landlords may go back even further if red flags appear on credit reports or background checks.