A tenant background check form is a document landlords use to gather information before screening applicants who want to lease a rental property.
When providing the tenant background check form, tell the potential renter what checks you will run and how to use the results. Your investigation can provide valuable details to make your applicant search more efficient and successful.
Using a tenant background check form to screen tenants before signing a binding Lease Agreement is smart.
Sample Background Check Authorization Form
Use the free form below to get authorization for a background check on a potential tenant.
Alternatively, you can use our document builder to easily create the form and send it to your prospective renter in minutes.
What Does a Rental Background Check Form Consist Of?
A rental background check form template typically contains three essential parts:
Applicant Information
Requesting the applicant’s personal information helps you conduct your search. The applicant should give you details, such as name, contact information, social security number, and driver’s license number.
Do not ask about disability, race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, or familial status. These questions violate the Fair Housing Act and many state and local laws.
Disclosures
Inform the applicant that you will use their personal information on the background check form to obtain and check records concerning many areas of their background.
These may include information such as:
- Financial information, such as bank and credit accounts
- Consumer credit report
- Rental history
- Employment history and income
- Criminal background
- Legal history
Disclosing the types of records you will check and how you will use them may prevent complaints or legal action if you decide not to rent to an applicant based on information obtained during the background check.
Authorization
Finally, get the applicant’s permission to conduct the background check.
An application to lease a rental property sometimes contains authorization to run a credit check. However, getting the tenant’s permission in a separate authorization form is a good idea for many reasons.
How To Conduct a Tenant Background Check
Once you have a completed and signed authorization form, it is time to run the background check. Most landlords use the services of a third party to conduct the examination.
Note that the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act applies to tenant background checks.IMPORTANT
Landlords who use a third-party company should ensure the company complies with state and federal laws.
If you decide not to rent to the applicant based on the background check results, or you take a step like requiring a higher security deposit or increased rent because of what you find out on the background check, the FCRA requires you to give the applicant notice.
Before rejecting an applicant based on criminal history, check federal, state, and local laws limiting what types of criminal record you may consider denying housing, such as the federal Fair Housing Act and California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act.
When evaluating applicants, focus on crimes that may impact the safety of other tenants or neighbors, like violent sexual offenses. But note that many states have legislation like Ohio Revised Code 5321.051 that exempts landlords from liability for renting to registered sex offenders.
When ready to screen rental applicants, use our builder to create the background check form and other critical documents like your lease agreement.
How to Write a Background Check Authorization Form
Follow the steps below to write a background authorization form.
Step 1 – Obtain Information about the Person Giving Authorization
This section is for the person authorizing the background check to provide basic identifying information about themselves.
The person will enter their full name, address, contact information, date of birth, social security number, driver’s license information, and any other names or aliases used.
Step 2 – Note Party Receiving Authorization
Write in the name of the person or entity receiving the authorization to conduct the background check.
Step 3 – State Purpose of Background Check
Write in the purpose of the background check, such as a tenant or employment screening.
Step 4 – Gather Signatures
The person giving the authorization must sign the background and credit check authorization form and provide the date of their signature.
Frequently Asked Questions
Read on for answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about tenant background check forms.
Can landlords ask about criminal records in California?
Landlords can ask about criminal records in California, but there are many restrictions governing the use of criminal background checks. The use of criminal background checks is limited to help minimize disparate effects on certain minority groups.
To comply with these restrictions, you should do the following:
- Do not use criminal background checks only for certain applicants. If landlords conduct criminal background checks, they should do so for all applicants. Using them only for members of certain racial or ethnic groups is illegal.
- Only consider criminal offenses related to whether the applicant would be a good tenant.
- It would be best to consider the context of a criminal offense, including mitigating circumstances and how long the crime occurred.
- Consider performing the criminal history check after performing financial background checks.
What background checks do most landlords use?
Most landlords use third-party services to perform background checks. Landlords commonly review credit reports, conduct a public record search to check for civil lawsuits, and check criminal history.
Some landlords perform interviews as part of their background checks. If you interview a prospective tenant, note that special rules may apply depending on your jurisdiction.
What other checks should I do on tenants?
A good tenant background check authorization permits you to do more than pull credit reports and run a criminal history check.
You can check several other things that may impact whether an applicant will be a good tenant, such as verifying employment. You can also ask for pay stubs, bank statements, and references, among other things.
