SCREEN TENANTS
Online tenant screening for landlords
Run a complete renter background check, credit check, and get insight into an applicant’s income qualifications and eviction history with our tenant screening service.
Sign renters quickly and confidently
Zillow Rental Manager puts the most important information at your fingertips — so you can easily choose your next tenant.
Start accepting applications with ease
You can view the renter's application and tenant screening reports all in one place including credit report, background check, eviction history and income documents.
Flexible, easy-to-manage applications
Choose who applies to your rental and when. Enable applications to let anyone apply right from your listing, privately invite individual applicants, or do both. You can even invite prospective renters who don’t come from Zillow.
A tenant screening service you can rely on
Get the information you need to feel confident about each applicant. Zillow partners with industry leaders Experian and CIC, to provide you with an in-depth tenant credit and background check.
Credit report
View your applicant's credit score, open credit lines, employment history, residence history, and past bankruptcies or collections.
Background check
View your applicant’s background check to learn if they’ve been evicted or have a criminal history.
No fee for landlords
Renters pay an affordable fee when they apply to your listing -- and it doesn't cost you anything.
Screen tenants fairly with industry-leading filtering tools
Zillow helps rental partners screen tenants compliantly by partnering with industry-leading credit and background check providers that filter the information provided to meet local tenant screening laws and regulations.
Accept, review and approve applications in minutes
Accept applications
You can enable renters to apply directly to your listing, or you can share a private application link with them.
Review screening report
You receive a complete application with tenant screening reports, including credit and background check, eviction history, and income documents.
Fill your vacancy
You get alerted when an application is ready to review — and can accept it in one click.
Here's what others are saying
"With Zillow Rental Manager it was easy to accept messages from potential tenants, easy to accept and screen applications (including credit/background checks), and even create a lease! Everything was nicely integrated into one interface, making it simple and centralized."
"It was very helpful and made my life a lot easier. The applications and associated renter reports are easy to review. I also like the auto-pay feature to simplify rent collection each month."
"Zillow simplifies the whole rental process from listing to leasing to applications and payments."
"While Zillow kept the steps to rent my property simple, the process and outcome were excellent. I’ve found a renter and the process of building and signing the lease through Zillow were great! Thank-you!"
Frequently asked questions
- How does online tenant screening work?
All applicants fill out an online rental application with information about their current household makeup, prior residences, contact information and income. Zillow Applications include a credit report from Experian and a background check from CIC. You can review completed applications, including tenant screening reports, in your Rental Manager account.
- How do I start accepting tenant applications?
You have the flexibility to either allow any interested renter to apply directly from your listing, or privately invite someone to apply.
To accept applications from any interested renter, enable the Apply now button on your listing by going to the Applications tab for that property in Rental Manager. Once enabled, all renters can apply directly from your Zillow, Trulia and Hotpads listing by clicking the Apply now button. You’ll receive an email notification when a renter has applied to an enabled property.You can also privately invite renters to apply using a shareable link without enabling the Apply now button. All completed applications including tenant screening reports will appear under the Applications tab for that property.
- How much does it cost to screen a tenant?
The application and tenant screening reports are free for landlords. Renters pay a $35 application fee, which includes tenant screening reports, and allows them to apply to your listing and an unlimited number of participating rentals for 30 days.
- How long do tenant credit and background checks take?
Tenant credit and background checks are included as part of a prospective renter’s application — no additional waiting required.
In some cases, one or both screening reports cannot be completed. Learn about why that might occur for background checks here, and for credit reports here.- Can I screen prospective tenants if leads don’t come from Zillow?
Yes! You can screen any prospective tenant, even if they don’t come from Zillow. To do so, go to the Applications tab for that property in Rental Manager and click the Send application link. Then, you can invite them to apply via an email invitation to kick off the application and screening process.
You can do more with Zillow Rental Manager
Feel confident about your next renter
And get them in the door quickly with online tenant screening.
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