TransUnion SmartMove Review (2026): Costs, Fees and Who It’s For

Who TransUnion SmartMove suits, and who it doesn’t

SmartMove fits a landlord who wants credit, criminal and eviction reports from a major bureau without signing up for full landlord software. It’s also a good backup if your rent app’s screening doesn’t cover what you need.

It suits you less if:

• Your rent app already includes TransUnion screening. Many do, so you may be paying for the same report twice.
• You need verified income. Income Insights is an estimate.
• You rent in a state where criminal or eviction data is limited. Reviews note that coverage is thinner in some states.
• Your applicants often have thin credit files. They’re the ones who get stuck at identity verification.

What’s in each SmartMove package

Package	Price	ResidentScore	Credit	Criminal	Eviction-related	Income Insights	Identity Check
SmartCheck Premium	$49	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
SmartCheck Plus	$40	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
SmartCheck Basic	$25	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
Background Check Basic	$25	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No

At our October 2026 check, SmartMove’s site listed the same contents for both $25 packages, so read the package description at checkout before you choose one.

ResidentScore is a TransUnion score built for rental decisions rather than lending. It’s useful as a quick read, but don’t decide on the score alone; read the report behind it.

Credit report shows accounts, payment history, collections and public records. You see the information, but not the applicant’s Social Security number or full account numbers.

Criminal background searches available records. Coverage depends on what each state and county reports, and it’s limited in some states.

Eviction-related report shows eviction filings and judgments where available. A filing isn’t the same as a judgment; many cases are dismissed or settled.

Income Insights estimates income from credit data. It isn’t verified income.

Identity Check adds a further check that the person applying is who they say they are.

How the SmartMove applicant flow works

1. You create a free landlord account and set up the property and the package you want.
2. You enter the applicant’s email address. SmartMove sends them a request from smartmoverequest@mysmartmove.com. If it doesn’t arrive, ask them to check spam.
3. The applicant creates their own SmartMove account and enters their personal details directly with TransUnion.
4. They verify their identity by answering questions drawn from their credit file.
5. They confirm or decline the screening. Confirming is their written authorization.
6. You get the reports once they approve, and you can view them for 30 days.

The credit pull counts as a soft inquiry, so it doesn’t affect the applicant’s score. Because the applicant enters their own data, you never store their Social Security number, which is one less thing to secure.

Screening rules SmartMove doesn’t handle for you

SmartMove takes care of applicant consent, but the decisions are yours, and so are the legal duties that come with them.

• Fair Credit Reporting Act. If you deny an application, require a cosigner, or ask for a higher deposit or rent because of anything in the report, you must send an adverse action notice. It names TransUnion as the reporting agency with its contact details, says TransUnion didn’t make the decision, and tells the applicant they can get a free copy of the report within 60 days and dispute anything inaccurate.
• Fair Housing Act. Write your criteria down before you list (minimum credit history, income ratio, rental history) and apply them the same way to every applicant. Never base a decision on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or familial status.
• Criminal records. Blanket bans on applicants with criminal records can still draw Fair Housing Act claims, even though HUD withdrew its 2016 guidance in 2025. Look at the nature of the offense, how long ago it was, and what’s happened since. That guidance also said an arrest without a conviction isn’t a reliable basis for denial, and some state and local laws bar using arrests at all.
• Income and vouchers. Many states and cities protect applicants based on source of income, including Section 8 vouchers. If you use an income rule, check how your area requires you to count voucher payments.

What SmartMove costs at 1, 5 and 20 units

SmartMove charges per report, so cost depends on how many applicants you screen, not how many units you own. The examples assume SmartCheck Plus at $40 and three screened applicants per vacancy.

Units	Vacancies per year (assumed)	Reports	Cost at $40
1	1	3	3 x $40 = $120
5	2	6	6 x $40 = $240
20	8	24	24 x $40 = $960

If applicants pay, your cost is $0 and each applicant pays $40 plus any tax. If you pay, those are your numbers. Moving everyone to Premium at $49 raises the 20-unit figure to 24 x $49 = $1,176, an extra $216 a year for Income Insights and Identity Check.

A cheaper habit: screen only the applicant you’d accept on paper, after a call and a look at their pay stubs. One report per vacancy at 20 units is 8 x $40 = $320.

Is TransUnion SmartMove worth it

For a landlord who needs standalone screening, yes. The reports come from the bureau itself, the applicant enters their own data, and you never hold a Social Security number. At $40 for credit, criminal and eviction records, the price sits in the middle of what landlord apps charge.

It’s less worth it if your rent app already runs TransUnion screening at a similar price, since you’d be adding a second login for the same data. And if you need a human to check that a criminal or eviction record really belongs to your applicant, RentPrep’s screener review does that for $49.

Which SmartMove package to choose

• SmartCheck Plus ($40) for most applicants. It has the three reports you need to decide: credit, criminal and eviction-related.
• SmartCheck Premium ($49) when identity is the worry, for example an applicant you haven’t met in person. The extra $9 buys Identity Check; Income Insights is a bonus, not proof of income.
• The $25 packages only when you’ve already seen credit elsewhere and need a background check, and after reading exactly what the package includes at checkout.

Whichever you choose, use the same package for every applicant for the same unit. Screening one applicant more deeply than another invites a fair housing complaint.

Limits and reported problems

Three issues come up in public reviews and landlord forums:

• Identity verification failures. Applicants with thin or mismatched credit files can get stuck answering the verification questions, which delays the report. TransUnion suggests the applicant check their own credit report first, then call SmartMove.
• Income Insights is an estimate. It can be off in either direction, so it shouldn’t be the only income check behind an approval or a denial.
• State gaps. Criminal and eviction data is limited in some states, so a clean report doesn’t always mean a clean record.

Alternatives to consider

• RentPrep, now ordered through Stessa, uses SmartMove for credit and adds a human screener’s review of background records, at $29 or $49.
• TurboTenant, Avail, RentRedi and Innago build screening into their free or low-cost rent apps, with the applicant paying.
• Rentec Direct includes screening from $10 to $29.45 depending on the plan and package.
• Buildium offers landlord-paid screening at $17 if you’re already on its software.