New York Tenant Screening Background Checks

If you are a landlord of one or more rental properties in New York, you are likely vigilant regarding the upkeep of your rental properties. Demonstrating that same vigilance about New York Tenant Screening Background Checks is imperative. You cannot just assume that someone is truthful about the information given when you show a property or even that the documents the applicant brings along to confirm the information are valid. New York landlords should never accept any written letters or copies that are allegedly records of rental history, credit reports, background checks, employment verification or bank statements. Savvy scammers can create legitimate-looking fake documents that will fool a landlord into thinking that just accepting the applicant’s documents will save time and money. Nothing is further from the truth. If you fail to conduct thorough New York Tenant Screening Background Checks you run the risk that the person you hand the keys to is your worst nightmare.

It is important to realize that while a credit report is essential for providing details of the applicant’s willingness to pay bills when due, the credit report does not provide eviction history or criminal records. The Eviction History is a crucial background screening tool that may provide quite a different picture from the one painted by the prospective tenant. Applicants sometimes attempt to secure a new residence immediately after court, believing that recent evictions will not appear on a New York eviction history check. The American Apartment Owners Association provides you with the most up-to-date, reliable Eviction History Report as well as all the thorough and comprehensive New York Tenant Screening Background Checks that you need.

The Previous Address History will disclose previous addresses which you can then compare to the previous addresses listed by your applicants during the application process. If known previous addresses are left off the application, red flags should go up. Some reasons that prospective tenants fail to disclose previous addresses is the fact that the applicant was evicted, caused damage to the property, still owes past due rent or the applicant was arrested at the previous address for conducting illegal activities on the premises.

The Criminal History is extremely important to include in your New York Tenant Screening Background Checks. Perhaps you felt confident just getting on your home computer and searching the local criminal history for the area where your New York rental properties are located. You are likely to miss a wealth of information that could potentially result in calling a convicted criminal to give them the good news that you approved their application. Local criminal records only give a very small amount of details and many local criminal history databases are municipal court records which only include misdemeanor offenses. Including the Criminal History Search in your background checks is crucial to protecting your rental properties and protecting the safety of your other tenants, other individuals and even yourself. Search for state-specific criminal records or feel more secure when you conduct the Federal Search. For even more peace of mind, elect to include the Terrorist Search as well as the Sex Offender Search options when ordering your New York Tenant Screening Background Checks. Terrorists may use rental properties to stockpile weapons or plan terrorist attacks. It is not unusual for a terrorist suspect to move from one area to another. Conducting the terrorist search is imperative so that you can feel confident that you do not rent to known terrorists.

The Sex Offender Search will reveal whether an applicant has a record of sex-related offenses. Sex offenders may skip bail before their court sentencing, engaging in new sex offender offenses while living in one of your New York rental properties. When you conduct thorough New York Tenant Screening Background Checks you are taking the necessary steps to make sure that only the very best of the applicant pool rises to the top while the rest sink to the bottom once you receive the background screening results.

For more information, visit:
New York Landlord Tenant Laws
New York Landlord Forms

The American Apartment Owners Association provides tenant screening background checks nationwide. Looking for a tenant screening report in a state other than New York? Visit our tenant background checks page to learn more.