Tenant Screening

Tenant screening gives you a consistent, background-checked picture of every applicant and tenant before you sign a lease. TIDY organizes screening reports alongside your applications and tenant records, so the information you need to make a decision is right where you need it.

What a Screening Covers

A screening report is a full FCRA-compliant background and credit report on a person, ordered through a screening partner — TransUnion SmartMove by default. A completed report breaks out:

Credit Score — the score plus its band (e.g. 762 · Excellent).
Income Verification — verified or not, plus the income-to-rent ratio (e.g. 3.4x rent).
Income / Rent — verified monthly income against the monthly rent.
Criminal Background — Clear, records found, or pending.
Eviction History — None, records found, or pending.

Each report leads with a single colored recommendation — Recommended, Review, Not recommended, or Pending — and a status like Completed, In progress, or Invite sent. A footer records who ran the report and when, and Download Full Report gets you the complete document from the screening partner.

The Screenings Tab

Revenue → Leasing → Screenings lists every screening you’ve run, with columns for Name, Property, Requested date, Credit score, Recommendation, and Status. A search box filters the list; on mobile, the same search filters the card list.

Screenings are tied to a person, not just an application — the same report is reachable from the applicant’s application, from the Screenings tab, and from their contact record.

The outcome is a signal, not a decision. “Recommended” and “Not Recommended” summarize the report against common criteria; they are not themselves an approval or denial. You approve the written screening policy and TIDY’s decision authority. Acting as your authorized property manager, TIDY applies that policy, completes routine decisions within its authority, and routes exceptions to you. The owner remains responsible for tenant selection and lawful, consistent criteria.

Screening Housing Choice Voucher Applicants

TIDY screens voucher applicants for tenancy under the same written policy used for other applicants, with any location-specific source-of-income adjustments. The local PHA decides voucher eligibility; TIDY evaluates the applicant’s tenancy history and other lawful criteria as the property manager. Voucher status is not included as a negative recommendation factor.

Where applicable law requires it, affordability math uses the resident’s expected family rent to owner instead of the full contract rent. TIDY also keeps accommodation and VAWA-related information out of ordinary screening results and routes it to restricted handling.

See Section 8 & Housing Choice Vouchers for the complete application, PHA approval, inspection, lease, and payment workflow.

Ordering a Screening

TIDY orders a screening by sending the applicant a secure invite. This creates a pending screening record and emails them a secure link to authorize their own report — neither you nor TIDY handles the applicant’s SSN or credentials; the applicant authorizes the pull directly with the screening partner. Depending on your settings, either you or the applicant pays for the report.

While you wait, the screening shows one of two pending states:

Invite sent — the applicant has been emailed a secure link to authorize their FCRA screening; results appear once they complete it. A Send a Reminder button nudges them.
In progress — the report is being processed, and usually returns within minutes.

Screening for By-the-Room Rentals

Units split into rooms carry an explicit screening policy — Screen the household once or Every member, every move-in — shown as a banner on the unit and on applications for that unit, so whoever reviews an application knows which rule applies.

Reusable Reports Applicants Already Have

Many applicants arrive with a screening report they already paid for on another platform. TIDY can accept these reusable (portable) reports so a qualified applicant doesn’t have to pay to be screened again — as long as the report is verified.

Verified source only. A reusable report is accepted when it’s viewed through the issuing bureau or platform’s own authenticated share flow — never as an uploaded PDF or screenshot, which can be forged.
Fresh and identity-matched. The report must be recent and the identity on it must match the applicant.
Complete. To stand in for a new screening, it should cover credit, criminal, and eviction history; otherwise you can order a screening at no cost to the applicant.

Compliance notes. Screening is regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and by state and local law, some of which requires accepting reusable reports and waiving duplicate screening fees. TIDY acts as a conduit to display screening information — it does not create, store, or score credit data itself. Because screening reports are consumer reports under the FCRA, an adverse action notice is sent automatically when you decline an application, and the report’s provider and completion date are recorded on every screening. TIDY applies the written policy and authority you configured; screening and fair-housing exceptions that require a legal judgment are routed for qualified review.