Tenant Screening Checklist: How Small Landlords Can Screen Tenants Consistently
The easiest way to screen tenants fairly is to decide your standards before you advertise, write them down, and then check every applicant against the same list in the same order. A checklist keeps you consistent and leaves you with a dated record of what you reviewed and why you decided.
Write your criteria before you advertise
- Decide what you will look at (for example income, rental history and reports) and what standard each one must meet.
- Put it in writing and keep a dated copy.
- Share the same criteria with every applicant who asks, and process applications in the order you receive them.
Check the law first
What you may ask, which reports you may use, application fee limits, and what you must tell an applicant you deny all depend on federal, state and local law, and they change. Check them, or ask a qualified attorney, before you screen anyone.
Good starting points: HUD's Fair Housing page, USAGov's tenant rights page, and your state and city housing agency.
The screening steps
- Application: a completed application from every adult who will live there, and ID verified.
- Income and employment: income documents and verification, recorded against your own written standard.
- Rental history: current and previous landlord contacts, a call to a previous landlord, and the reason for moving.
- Reports, with written consent: such as credit and eviction or court records, only where allowed and applied the same way to everyone.
- Decision: record the decision, the reason and the date, then store the applicant's files securely.
Stay fair and consistent
Fair housing laws prohibit discrimination against protected classes, and many states and cities add their own protections. In practice, consistency means the same written criteria, the same questions and the same steps for every applicant, and no questions about protected characteristics. If you deny someone based on a report, look up what notice you may need to give.
Example screening record
Example only. The name is fictional and the details are placeholders.
Application signed: yes · ID verified: yes
Income documents: [type] · Verified with: [source] · Meets written standard: [yes/no]
Previous landlord called: [date, notes]
Reports (consent on file): [which reports]
Decision: [approved/denied] · Reason: [per written criteria] · Date: [date] · Recorded by: Alex Example
A printable checklist
The Tenant Screening Checklist in the Small Landlord Kit PRO is a one-page form with sections for application, income and employment, rental history, reports with written consent, fair and consistent, and decision. It comes in US Letter and A4.
When a tenant moves out, the free Move-Out Deposit Deduction Checklist (pay what you want, $0+) is a one-page printable PDF covering the steps between the tenant's notice and returning the deposit. Get the free checklist.
Related: move-in/out inspection guide and how to keep a rent ledger.
Not legal advice. This is general information. Screening rules, fair housing protections, application fee limits and notice requirements vary by state and city and change over time. Check your state and local law or ask a qualified attorney.