Rental history refers to a record of a tenant’s past rental payments, tenancy periods, and any related issues or incidents during their stay in a rental property. Landlords or property management companies typically compile this history and can include information such as:
- Payment history, including on-time payments and any late or missed payments
- Length of stay in previous rental properties
- Reason for leaving last rental properties
- Any damages or repairs made to the property during the tenancy
- Any lease violations or legal disputes with prior landlords
Landlords and property managers use rental history reports to evaluate potential tenants and determine their suitability as renters. Excellent rental history with on-time payments and no lease violations can increase a tenant’s chances of being approved for a new rental property. In contrast, a poor rental history with late payments, lease violations, or evictions can make finding a new place to live more difficult.
What is rental history?
Rental history represents a report of your past rental arrangements, late rent payments list, criminal history, etc. A rental history report gives a complete picture of a tenant’s past behavior.
A lease history report records prior locations from which a renter rented the property’s owner or property management contact information. The credit report will likely show the applicant’s past addresses, but it is good to ask them for a comprehensive list of communications and addresses.
The landlord or property management will attempt to make you a renter before you give over the keys and use you as a tenant while you apply for an apartment. Landlords are keen to ensure their new renters pay their rent as promised. Therefore, they often utilize specific reports on their rental history, credit, eviction, criminal past, jobs, and earnings.
A rental history report is one of the resources they may use to assess if you are likely to pay your rent on time. Service reports, like Experian RentBureau, disclose your rental payment history and may also provide details of the leases you signed up for, failed checks, outstanding amounts, and rental arrears. Experian RentBureau may also include positive rental payment data as part of your regular Experience Credit Report to allow your credit scores to make your prompt rental payments a factor — something that doesn’t happen automatically. In addition, you may review your rental record free of charge once every 12 months from a reporting agency.
The last thing a property owner wants is a poor lender to occupy his property because picking the incorrect individual might lead to an expensive eviction, damaged property, or non-paid rent.
Determining high-quality renters should be a top concern for landlords, and tenant screening is a critical element in the process. And over 95 percent of landlords feel that tenant vetting is valid and enables them to have a better renter into their rental property, according to SmartMove statistics.
How to Check Your Rental History?
To check your rental history, you need to visit one of the companies that collect rental history information, such as:
- apartments.com
- avail. co
- cozy. co
- e-renter.com
- experian.com
- learn.roofstock.com
- leaserunner.com
- myrental.com
- mysmartmove.com
- ntnonline.com
- onrentme.com
- rentberry.com
- rentprep.com
- rentspree.com
- sparkrental.com
- theburbz.com
- turbotenant.com
The best solution is to ask your landlord which internet website to use for tenant checking and gather information from that site.
How do you get a Free Rental History Report?
The best way to get a free rental history report is to check the Experian RentBureau report. In addition, you can get a free credit report (full report) from the Experian website once per year.
By reviewing your preflight rental checklist, you may verify which landlords will probably find while checking your file. It can also assist you in detecting and rectifying any errors. Many firms produce a report of this sort, so if you consider it vital to view the detailed information you are using, you may wish to find out which reporting agency the potential host employs. Please complete and submit a request form or call 877-704-4519 to get a reproduction of your Experian RentBureau report. LexisNexis, CoreLogic, and Tena are the other leading businesses that produce tenant history reports.
Additionally, this is my favorite list of online websites where you can get a Free Rental History Report:
How do I get your rental payments?
Not that all renters disclose Experian RentBureau payment information. However, submitting your rental payments to RentBureau on time may be a genuine benefit in many ways. For example, a good renters inspection report may assist prospective landlords in seeing how often your rent is to be paid in due time—and how the payments or collections you saved have been averted. This might facilitate the approval for a rental property and lead to other advantages, such as a cheaper payment.
In addition, prompt rental payments can be included in your regular credit report for the Experience, which adds to your payment history and makes a good contribution. So, how can you tell RentBureau about your existing rental payments? There are two primary ways to approach this.
Ask your customer or property management whether you are ready to send your payment history to RentBureau. The starting date of the lease, the monthly income, and the payment record for the last 25 months are included in the Experian Credit Report’s account section.
If your landlord does not report your account information to Experian RentBureau, you may wish to check a rental fee-based company that reported your request to credit offices. Companies like Cozy and RentTrack raise your rental money and pay your owner. If you sign in, you will tell Experian your credit score.
While these inspections are critical components of tenant testing, every owner must examine another element of tenant inspection before acceptance: the applicant’s rental history.
- Your revenue and jobs: Property owners can verify their income and employment differently. You can contact your employer directly or obtain evidence of your income through payment stubs, tax records, or bank accounts. You can be refused irrespective of other considerations if it is apparent from income information that you cannot afford the unit you ask for.
- Your loan: Proprietors may differ with the credit rates of the renter, although many examine the credit ratings. You may also check for prior bankruptcies, due payments, and other adverse information in your credit report. You may also get information on the monthly burden of your loan, which might be essential if it affects your mental capacity every month.
- Your criminal history: Past criminal offenses, ongoing prosecutions, and open warrants might severely influence your rental approval. You can notify the host of your potential host if you know about your criminal past. It can also help you explain why you do not think you’re a suitable tenant now because of your errors in the past.
Conclusion
In conclusion, rental history is crucial to the rental process and provides numerous benefits for landlords and tenants. For landlords, rental history reports can help evaluate potential tenants and mitigate the risk of late payments, lease violations, or property damage. This, in turn, can help landlords maintain the financial stability of their rental properties and reduce the costs associated with turnover and repairs.
For tenants, having a good rental history can increase their chances of being approved for a new rental property and may even result in lower security deposits or rental rates. Maintaining a positive rental history can help tenants build their credit scores and establish a solid foundation for their financial future.
Overall, rental history reports provide a valuable tool for landlords and property management companies to assess potential tenants and decide who to rent. By providing a comprehensive record of a tenant’s rental history, these reports can help landlords and tenants navigate the rental process with confidence and transparency.
After leaving Wells Fargo Bank in 2014, Daniel began a career as a finance consultant, advising companies and individuals on economic policy, labor relations, and financial management.
At Promtfinance.com, Daniel writes about personal finance topics, value estimation, budgeting strategies, retirement planning, and portfolio diversification.
Read more on Daniel Smith's biography page.
Contact Daniel: daniel@promtfinance.com