Released: August 22, 2007

Tenant screening could cost you rental

Source: Claes Bell, Bankrate.com

The process of finding the perfect rental house or apartment can range from hectic to nearly impossible. But it could be worse: Picture yourself locating that long sought-after apartment or town house only to be rejected by your prospective landlord because of a negative report from a company you’ve never heard of. Sound like a nightmare? Unfortunately, for many Americans it’s all too real.

Of the approximately 37 million rental units in the U.S., 17 million are overseen by professional property managers. Many landlords, especially those who supervise large multifamily apartment buildings, rely on tenant screening bureaus to check the background of potential customers. These companies collect information from court records, police blotters, credit bureaus and other sources to help identify risky tenants before they become headaches.

Sounds reasonable, right? Unfortunately, because of the way these screening services collect and store information, responsible tenants can sometimes be branded as risky and can be at a serious disadvantage in tight rental markets.

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