Tenant screening without the back-and-forth
Ask the right things once, in the right order, and keep every renter on the same written criteria.
Most screening headaches aren't about the screening report. They're about sequence — asking too late, asking twice, and finding the dealbreaker after the tour.
Here's how to set it up so you ask once, everyone gets the same process, and you're not chasing documents over text for a week.
1. Write your criteria down first
Before a single lead comes in, write your screening criteria in plain language and use the same list for everyone. Income requirement, credit expectations, pet policy, occupancy limits, move-in timing. If it isn't written down, it's easy to apply it unevenly without meaning to.
2. Pre-qualify by text, before the tour
Keep it to a few questions about the unit and the requirements — not about the person.
3. Fair-housing-safe wording
Ask about the requirements, not the renter's life. A few rules of thumb:
- Don't ask about children, religion, national origin, disability, or marital status.
- State income requirements as a rule that applies to all income: “Income needs to be 3× the rent” — not “Do you work?” or “Is that from a job?”
- In New Jersey and New York, source of income is protected. Vouchers and other lawful income count.
- Use the same questions and the same order for every lead.
4. Send the application once, with the full list
Right after the tour, send one message with the application link and every document you'll need. One list, one time.
- Photo ID
- Proof of income (recent pay stubs, offer letter, benefit letter, or bank statements)
- Application fee, if you charge one — and what it covers
- Screening consent
5. Decide against the written criteria
When the report comes back, compare it to what you wrote in step one — not to how the tour felt. Tell the applicant the outcome in writing. If you decline, follow your state's adverse-action notice rules.
Where Pace fits
Pace asks the same pre-qualifying questions, in the same order, for every lead, and discloses that it's an assistant on first contact. It never approves or denies anyone — it gets renters to the application with the right information, and your team makes the decision.
We set it up for you on a 15-minute call. Your number, your units, your rules.
