How to Find Out Your Rental Score

A rental score provides a numerical snapshot of a prospective tenant’s risk level, serving as an important tool for landlords evaluating housing applications. This score helps property owners quickly assess the likelihood of a tenant fulfilling their lease obligations, particularly regarding timely rent payments. Understanding how these scores are generated and interpreted can be beneficial for anyone seeking to rent property.

Understanding Your Rental Score

A rental score is a specialized numerical rating that predicts a prospective tenant’s risk to a landlord. It is often a component of a broader tenant screening report, which provides a comprehensive overview of an applicant’s background. These scores offer a quick assessment of an applicant’s reliability and financial habits, helping landlords make informed decisions.

These scores draw from several categories of information to assess risk. This includes credit history, which examines payment history, outstanding debts, and any bankruptcies. Eviction records, public records (such as judgments), and criminal background checks are also factored into the calculation. Income verification and previous rental references may also be considered. The goal is to provide landlords with a clear indication of an applicant’s financial responsibility and their potential to adhere to lease terms.

Obtaining Your Rental Score Report

To understand your rental score, you must obtain a copy of your tenant screening report. These reports are provided by specialized tenant screening companies or major credit reporting agencies. Key providers include TransUnion SmartMove, Experian RentBureau, CoreLogic SafeRent, RentGrow, Avail, and RentSpree. Many of these services offer direct access for consumers to request their own reports.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) grants consumers rights regarding these reports. If a landlord takes an adverse action against you, such as denying your application or requiring a higher deposit, based on information in a tenant screening report, they must provide you with an adverse action notice. This notice includes the name and contact information of the company that supplied the report. You then have the right to request a free copy of that report from the reporting agency within 60 days of the adverse action.

Even without an adverse action, you can request a copy of your report directly from these tenant screening companies. The process involves submitting a formal request, online or via mail, and providing identification to verify your identity. This requires your full name, current address, and a legible copy of a government-issued ID. Landlords must obtain your written consent before running any tenant screening report. Fees for these reports, when not provided free under FCRA, can range from $25 to $100 or more, depending on the comprehensiveness of the report.

Interpreting Your Rental Score

Once you obtain your rental score report, understanding the numbers and underlying data is important. Rental scores are presented on a numerical scale, though the specific range can vary by provider. For example, some scores might range from 0 to 100, where higher numbers indicate lower risk, while others, like TransUnion’s ResidentScore, use a scale from 350 to 850. A score above 700 or 80 is considered good or excellent, indicating a low-risk tenant. Conversely, scores below 560 or 600-650 signal higher risk to landlords.

The report will detail the factors that influenced your score. Payment history holds weight, reflecting your consistency in paying debts, including any past rent. The presence of collections, such as unpaid utility bills or other outstanding debts, can negatively impact your score. Past evictions or judgments against you are also red flags, indicating previous tenancy issues. Understanding these components allows you to pinpoint areas that may be affecting your score and how a landlord might perceive your application.

Disputing Inaccuracies in Your Report

Discovering inaccuracies in your rental score or tenant screening report can be concerning, but you have rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to dispute them. If you find incorrect information, you should initiate a dispute directly with the tenant screening company or credit bureau that provided the report. This process involves sending a written dispute letter, which should clearly identify the inaccurate information and include any supporting documentation you have.

The reporting agency is required to investigate your dispute within 30 days. During this investigation, they must review the contested information and either verify it or correct/delete it from your report. If the investigation confirms an error, the corrected information will be updated, and you should receive a revised copy of your report. Maintaining records of all communications, including dates and copies of documents sent, is important throughout this process.