Tenant Background Checks: What Landlords Can Legally Check

What a tenant background check covers

A background check for rental property is usually a bundle. TransUnion SmartMove’s $40 SmartCheck Plus covers credit, criminal background and an eviction-related report. RentPrep’s $29 Full Background Check adds SSN verification, nationwide criminal and sex offender searches, nationwide evictions, judgments and liens, reviewed by an FCRA-certified screener. TurboTenant’s built-in screening covers credit, criminal and eviction history for $55 to the applicant.

Each piece answers a different question:

• Identity: is this person who they say they are?
• Credit: do they pay what they owe, especially rent and utilities?
• Evictions: has a past landlord taken them to court? A filing isn’t the same as a judgment, and many cases are dismissed.
• Criminal history: is there a recent, serious conviction relevant to the safety of other residents or the property?
• Sex offender registry: a separate public database most services search.
• Income and references: can they afford the rent, and how did past tenancies go?

The Fair Credit Reporting Act basics

Any report you get from a screening company is a consumer report, and the FCRA applies to you as the person using it.

Permissible purpose and consent. You need a legitimate reason, and evaluating a rental application counts. Get written consent anyway. Screening services require it, and it’s your proof.

Accuracy limits on the report. Arrests that didn’t lead to a conviction, civil judgments and most other negative items can’t be reported after seven years. Bankruptcies can be reported for ten. Convictions have no federal time limit, though some states set one.

Adverse action notices. If anything in the report contributes to a denial, a cosigner requirement, a bigger deposit or higher rent, you must tell the applicant. The notice includes:

• The name, address and phone number of the screening company.
• A statement that the company didn’t make the decision and can’t explain it.
• The applicant’s right to a free copy of the report within 60 days.
• The applicant’s right to dispute inaccurate information.
• Any credit score you used, if a score played a part.

Disposal. When you’re done with screening reports, shred or securely delete them. Don’t leave applicants’ reports in a shared inbox.

Fair Housing and criminal records

The Fair Housing Act bars discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status and disability. Many states and cities add more classes, often including source of income. That last one matters if an applicant pays with a housing voucher such as Section 8: in many places, you can’t turn them down for that, or apply an income rule in a way that shuts them out.

Criminal records are where landlords get into the most trouble. In April 2016, HUD’s Office of General Counsel issued guidance on how the Fair Housing Act applies to criminal history screening. HUD withdrew it in 2025 and hasn’t issued a replacement, but its main points still track how courts and many state laws look at screening:

• Arrests alone aren’t a reliable basis for denying housing, because an arrest isn’t proof that anyone did anything.
• Blanket bans are risky. A policy that rejects everyone with any conviction can have an unjustified discriminatory effect, because criminal justice involvement falls unevenly by race and national origin.
• Policies should match real risk. Consider the nature and severity of the offense and how long ago it happened, and look at each applicant individually, including evidence of rehabilitation.
• One narrow exception: the Fair Housing Act allows excluding someone convicted of manufacturing or distributing a controlled substance.

Federal enforcement priorities shift between administrations, and HUD has stepped back from this guidance. The Fair Housing Act itself hasn’t changed, applicants can still sue under it, and state and local laws often go further. The 2016 points remain a sound basis for a defensible policy.

Fair-chance housing laws

Some states and cities have passed fair-chance or ban-the-box housing laws that limit when and how landlords look at criminal history. Rules differ a lot, so read the actual ordinance. Well-known examples:

• New Jersey has a statewide Fair Chance in Housing Act that limits criminal history questions until after a conditional offer and restricts which records you can consider.
• New York City passed a Fair Chance for Housing law that took effect in 2025 and limits criminal background checks in most rentals.
• Cook County, Illinois, including Chicago, requires landlords to screen on other criteria first and limits which convictions can count.
• Seattle passed a Fair Chance Housing Ordinance in 2017, parts of which have been challenged in court.
• Washington, DC limits when landlords can ask about criminal history.

Other cities and counties, including several in California, have their own versions. If your rental is in a large city, assume there may be a local rule and check.

Reading eviction records

Eviction records are easy to misread. A filing only means a landlord started a case. Many cases are dismissed, settled, or end with the tenant paying and staying. Some states seal eviction records in certain situations, and sealed cases shouldn’t appear on a report.

When you see an eviction, check the outcome and date, not only that a case exists. A judgment for unpaid rent two years ago tells you something. A dismissed filing from five years ago usually doesn’t. Ask the applicant about it, and ask for court papers if the report seems wrong. If you deny over an eviction record, send the adverse action notice so the applicant can dispute it.

What not to do

• Don’t ask about arrests that didn’t lead to a conviction.
• Don’t use a one-size criminal ban, such as “no felonies, ever”.
• Don’t ask about a disability, medical history or medications.
• Don’t screen out families with children, or set occupancy limits tighter than local codes require.
• Don’t ask about immigration status where your state bars it.
• Don’t run checks on some applicants and not others.

Putting it together

A defensible process is simple. Write criteria, get consent, run the same report on every adult applicant, review criminal records individually, give the applicant a chance to explain, and send adverse action notices when the report plays a part. Keep the application, report summary and your reasons for a few years in case of a complaint.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Screening laws change, especially at the city and county level, so check current rules or ask a local attorney before you adopt criminal history criteria.