Proper tenant screening generally covers four main areas: credit history, income verification, rental history, and background/criminal history, each providing a different piece of the picture of whether an applicant is likely to be a reliable tenant. Credit reports show payment history and existing debt obligations. Income verification (typically requiring proof of income at least 2.5-3 times the monthly rent) confirms the applicant can reasonably afford the property.
Rental history — contacting previous landlords, not just the current one, since a current landlord may give a favorable reference just to move a problem tenant along — provides insight into how the applicant has actually behaved as a renter. Background checks screen for relevant criminal history, though landlords need to be careful here, as blanket criminal history bans can run afoul of fair housing guidance from HUD, which recommends individualized assessment rather than automatic disqualification.
The single most important legal principle in screening is consistency. Whatever criteria you use — minimum credit score, income requirements, criminal history standards — must be applied the same way to every applicant. Applying different standards to different applicants, even unintentionally, opens the door to fair housing discrimination claims, since inconsistent application can look like it’s based on a protected characteristic even when that wasn’t the intent.
It’s worth putting your screening criteria in writing before you start accepting applications, and using a legitimate tenant screening service rather than informal background checks, both to keep the process consistent and to have documentation showing your criteria were applied uniformly if a decision is ever challenged.