Tenant Screening Forms: Fill & Download for Free

I work at TurboTenant and we’ve partnered with TransUnion to perform tenant screenings, along with many other things to simplify the landlording process. The screening process includes a customizable online rental application and integrated credit, criminal and eviction reports, all free to landlords. The tenant pays an application fee that covers the reports. Super simple and there’s a ton of other great features and advice on the site and blog!

Below are the few important tenant screening questioners. My questioners are more relevant to Indian origin.What is your name? Where do you come from?Where do you employed?What is the rough estimate of your salary? or your income 3X of rent?Why do you want to move-in here?When will you move-in?How many people will live with you? or what is your family size?What date would you like to move-in?Do you currently rent and if so where?How long have you lived in your current house? and why are you moving-out from current house?Have you given notice to your current house owner?How many living with you smoke?How many parking space would you require if you rent here?Do you own pet(s)? If so how many?Will you provide your identification proofs and reference letter to run background check?Would you able to pay the rent of Rs. _______ + maintenance cost of Rs. ________ per month and Rs, ________ refundable security deposit.Would you able to pay the annual increment of 5% -10% of rent?Are you willing to sign a rental agreement of at least 6 -11 months lock-in period?Is the rent paid by you or your company?Is TDS or any taxation applicable to house owner?What is the mode of rent payment? Online, wallet, cheque, DD or cashDo you have any questions for me about the process?In Bangalore, we provide tenant screening and rental agreement service. Our service includes tenant screening+ draft agreement + rent agreement execution + notary + agreement home delivered. To opt for our service, please write to us. Our details are in our profile description.PGN Property management, Bangalore.Thank you for reading…

Screening tenants properly is the single most important step you can do to prevent lots of pain down the road.Because it’s soo important to access all risks of prospective tenants accurately before you entrust them an expensive rental property, I dedicate the entire chapter in my book “Landlord Hacks” just to tenant screening.In a nutshell:Start with a standard rental application compliant with legal regulations in your state. I have “no blank space policy”, which means that I don’t accept any applications that are not completely filled out. It’s critical to have complete full information about tenants before you start.Verify who will be living at the property: you want to verify that the people moving in are the same people who filled the applications.Have all adults, every person over 18, fill their own application and charge a separate fee per each applicant.Meet everyone in person, avoid at all costs “my friend will inspect the rental and sign the paperwork for me”. Verify and meet pets, so there is no surprise when the 20 lb sweet terrier mix will suddenly become an 80 lb vicious pit bull.For applicants without SSN (recent immigrants/foreign students), your options are to request alternative forms of identification such as a federally issued identification card with photograph, like native passport, their alien registration number or naturalization paper.Be aware landlords in California and New York City legally cannot ask prospective tenants about their immigration status. Find out legal requirements for your state.Verify rental history: current and former addresses, names, and phone numbers of current and prior landlords. Ask tenants to provide the information from the last two residences for both current and past landlords.Contact and talk to a previous landlord (the one before a current landlord), who has no incentive to lie or misrepresent the past tenant’s behavior for whatever reason. And why the present landlord may lie or misrepresent? Because landlords can get in serious trouble or be sued for slander if they misrepresent someone or say bad things. They may also say only positive things about prospects because they are eager to get rid of bad tenants.Verify current gross income: job history could tell a lot about the responsibility of the potential tenant. For instance, a tenant that holds a job for three years is more responsible than a tenant who is on the third job in a year and does not have a verifiable source of income.Verify if the company is legit. If in doubt the validity of business, double-check the information in the phone book.Ask prospects recent pay stubs, and verify if social security number matches the one written on the application. The total combined income from all adult applicants in the group should be at least 2.5 to 3 times the monthly rent. Combine the incomes of all adults in the household then deduct monthly liabilities to understand if they can afford the rent and utility payments.Ask for copies of tax incomes for the last 2-3 years plus 6 months of bank statements, if the applicant is self-employed with uneven cash flow.If a prospect is unemployed, like seniors or students, ask to show any source of income like bank savings money, government subsidies, or get a co-signer with good credit. But remember a co-signer should be collectible, meaning they have to have money in case of the tenant’s default.Run credit report: it will show if the person has a credit history and how they pay bills and if any accounts have been in the collection. The credit check will also contain information if a prospect ever filed for bankruptcy, involved in the lawsuit or been evicted (available in some states).In my experience, the cheaper way is to run a complex report for one flat fee that many reputable background check companies offer:Rent Grow - RentGrowTenant Screening Credit - Landlords - Tenant Screening Center Inc.Tenant Background Search - Landlord Credit Check and Background CheckTenant Verification Service - Tenant Screening, Tenant Background Check, Tenant CreditCriminal background check: get authorization (signature) to conduct a very sensitive criminal background check.To pull a criminal report all you need is a date of birth and person’s full name. Be aware that there is always a possibility that two people share the same name and date of birth.To avoid a discriminatory complains, run a criminal check on all candidates, not on certain individuals based on their appearances.Be aware while tenants with criminal histories are not protected class under Fair Housing laws, having a blanket policy of refusing to rent a person with a criminal record could be considered discrimination. HUD wants landlords to give prospects with a criminal history a chance, and landlords shall prove that the exclusion is justified.Verify Pets: request pet’s pictures and meet pets in person to observe their behavior.Check the dog breed with your insurance provider in your state, as it may have a list of “blacklisted dog breeds”. It means that the insurance company might increase your insurance premium significantly or deny the coverage altogether due to high risk and financial burden associated with the breed. In that case, a landlord might be responsible and liable for the tenant’s pet in case of accidents.Service animals for the disabled tenants are not considered traditional pets and should not be treated as such.Verify Character and References: Someone can pay the bills on time, and have a nice credit history and yet be engaged in illegal activities or have a long list of engagement with police, or simply a pain to deal with. Use these strategies below to find out:Google them - search online at Facebook and LinkedIn, check any media coverage.Consult with your local rental property owners that may have a list of problem tenants that consistently cause problems for landlords.Check with police about calls to the prospective tenant’s address.If possible, drive by the place where prospective tenants live, you may or may not like this place. Or better yet talk to their neighbors, or “block mayor” - someone who knows everything about everyone. It’s unbelievable how many stories I keep hearing about oblivious landlords that have no idea what’s going on at their own rental properties: neighbors call the police routinely about illegal traffic or activity, yet landlords have no clue since tenants pay on time.Court records are another great source of information that could be obtained through the state court. Pending lawsuits related to collections and evictions will be held at your local courthouse. If you see an eviction record, it means the court did not rule in their favor. Sadly, many eviction cases go unreported. If you pay a court fee, check court records for several applicants at the same time.These should be enough to get you started. Last, but not least, listen to your gut feeling or intuition about prospect/s -it’ll be helpful in guiding you in the right direction.Finally, remember it’s illegal to discriminate, but it’s perfectly legal to investigate. Your goal is to make a sound decision based on facts, not looks or impressions. Good luck!