Screening a Tenant You’ll Never Meet: A Remote Landlord’s 8-Step System

When your rental is 800 miles away, you may never shake hands with the person who signs the lease. That’s fine. But it does mean the screening has to do the work your gut would normally do at a showing.

Here’s a step-by-step system a one-to-five-door owner can run from a laptop. It treats every applicant the same way and catches the most common fakes.

Why this matters more than it used to

Fact: In a National Multifamily Housing Council survey of 75 large apartment operators (Nov. 2023–Jan. 2024), 93.3% said they had seen fraud in the past year. Of those, 84.3% had seen fake pay stubs or employment references, and 70% had seen identity theft or fake IDs. About a quarter of their bad debt was tied to fraudulent applications.

Fact: The screening reports have problems too. The CFPB received about 26,700 tenant-screening complaints from January 2019 through September 2022. Its 2022 snapshot describes records that belonged to someone else, outdated items, and eviction filings shown without their outcome. In 2023 the CFPB and FTC settled with TransUnion’s rental screening unit over eviction-record accuracy, with $11 million in consumer redress and a $4 million penalty.

Interpretation, not fact: the NMHC numbers come from big operators, but the same fake pay stub templates are online for anyone to use. A small owner who never meets applicants has fewer chances to notice something is off. The cost runs both ways: approving a fake, or rejecting a good applicant over a report error.

Step 1: Write your criteria before you list

Put your standards on one page and give that page to every applicant: minimum income, credit approach, rental history, pets, occupancy. Use the same page every time. The Fair Housing Act bars discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status and disability. Many states and cities add more protected categories, such as source of income. Written criteria applied the same way to everyone are your best protection.

The FTC’s landlord guidance also warns that a blanket “no criminal record” policy may violate the Fair Housing Act. Check your state and city rules on criminal history before you write that line.

Step 2: Check your state’s application-fee rules

Some states cap screening fees. California’s Civil Code 1950.6, for example, limits the fee to your actual out-of-pocket cost. The ceiling started at $30 per applicant and adjusts each year with inflation. California also bars charging the fee when no unit is available.

Step 3: Verify identity on a video call

• Schedule a 10-minute video call. Ask the applicant to hold their photo ID next to their face, and confirm it matches the application.
• Use a screening service where the applicant enters their own details and consents online. That way you never handle Social Security numbers by email.
• When the report comes back, check that the name, date of birth and past addresses match. Name-only matches are a known source of wrong records.

Step 4: Verify income at the source, not from the paper

Fake pay stubs look perfect. So check the source:

• Look up the employer’s main phone number yourself and call HR to confirm employment. Don’t use the number printed on the stub.
• Ask for two months of bank statements and compare the deposits with the stubs.
• Do the math the same way for everyone. Illustrative example: with rent at $1,600 and a 3x income rule, you need $4,800 a month in verified gross income. That’s a common rule of thumb, not a legal standard.

Step 5: Read the report, not just the score

Open the full report. If you see an eviction filing, check the outcome. A filing that was dismissed or settled is not the same as a judgment. If a record looks wrong (wrong middle name, a state the applicant never lived in), ask the applicant before you decide.

Step 6: Call the landlord before the current one

A current landlord may give a glowing reference just to get a problem tenant out. The previous landlord has no reason to. Before you call, check the county property records (search by address) to make sure the “landlord” actually owns the home.

Step 7: Decide, and send the right notice

Here’s a common mistake: thinking only a denial needs a notice. Under the FCRA, as the FTC explains, you owe an adverse action notice any time a consumer report played even a small part in a less favorable decision. That includes requiring a co-signer, a larger deposit or higher rent. The notice must include:

• the screening company’s name, address and phone number;
• a statement that the company didn’t make the decision and can’t explain it;
• the applicant’s right to dispute the report and to get a free copy if they ask within 60 days.

If you used a credit score, you also have to disclose the score, its range and source, and the key factors that hurt it. Oral notices are allowed, but the FTC says written notices are best practice because they give you proof.

Step 8: Store it safely, then shred it

Keep the application, the report and your notes in one folder per applicant. When you no longer need them, dispose of them securely. The FTC says to shred paper and delete electronic files so they can’t be reconstructed.

Your Monday checklist

1. Write a one-page screening criteria sheet and save it as a PDF.
2. Look up your property state’s application-fee and criminal-history rules.
3. Pick a screening service with applicant-entered data and built-in adverse action letters.
4. Add a 10-minute ID video call to your process.
5. Verify employment through independently found phone numbers, and check bank deposits.
6. Call the prior landlord and confirm ownership in county records.
7. Send a written notice for every denial, co-signer request or higher deposit.
8. Set up a secure folder, plus a reminder to shred or delete old files.

Want someone else to run this? Read our guide on how to hire a property management company and ask any candidate to walk you through their screening steps. Managing on your own? Start with how to manage out-of-state real estate by yourself, keep our 2 a.m. repair-call playbook handy for after move-in, and use the calculators on our resources and tools page to set rent before you screen.

This article is for general educational purposes only and is not legal, tax, financial or investment advice. Screening, fee and fair-housing rules vary by state and city. Consult a qualified attorney or professional about your specific situation. Cost and income figures are illustrative.