If you are a landlord then you would have to be crazy not to use credit checks to vet tenants. You may just want to call up a few of their references, like old landlords or their employer to ask about them, or maybe you would rather pay a company to do this for you.

Credit checks help landlords to find the perfect renter. It helps them weed out those who may cause issues down the road. A credit check helps minimize any potential risk that may form.

Rental properties require applicants to disclose on their rental application their full name, current address, social security number and date of birth. These are basic information needed to conduct a credit check.

When performing a credit check, the landlord has to inform the prospective tenant that it is going to be done. Usually, it is disclosed on the application with an area where the prospective tenant will sign as indication of consent to the credit check.

The consent form for the credit check can be found on the application, or as a separate release form. Either way, the applicant needs to be aware of the credit check and needs to sign the consent form indicating they are aware of the credit check.

To save time, most landlords outsource credit checks to agencies especially if there are many applicants. However, credit reports are expensive so most landlords have the applicants carry the cost of the credit check.

Depending on whom you use, the company will either give you a price for each check or they will charge an annual amount for you to subscribe to their service. As well as doing normal credit checks, they will often be able to scrutinize employment and criminal pasts, former rental issues, insolvencies and all other pertinent information.

When a person doesn’t meet the landlord’s requirements, the landlord must notify in writing that they did not meet requirements. It is not required to disclose any details, but it must mention that the decision was made based on the credit check. This must be done in order to meet the terms of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

This writer has been publishing commentary with respect to credit checks for the previous three years. Furthermore, this writer enjoys providing knowledge on NYC neighborhoods, such as Chinatown apartments along with apartments Lincoln Center.