What Is Included in Professional Tenant Screening?

If you own a rental in Orlando, Kissimmee or St. Cloud, you have probably heard that "tenant screening" is the single most important step in avoiding a bad rental experience. But what does a thorough screening actually include, beyond just pulling a credit score? Understanding the full picture helps you evaluate whether you are screening applicants well enough on your own, or whether a property manager's process offers protection you are currently missing.

A complete screening starts with a detailed rental application that collects identifying information, current and past addresses, employment details and references, plus written authorization for the applicant to be screened. From there, most professional screenings pull a credit report to review payment history, outstanding debts and any collections, and search eviction and civil court records to see whether an applicant has been sued for unpaid rent or removed from a previous unit. A criminal background check is typically run as well, though fair housing guidance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development cautions that blanket policies denying anyone with any criminal record can create unlawful discriminatory effects, so screening criteria should be specific, consistent and tied to legitimate safety concerns rather than applied as a blunt automatic disqualifier.

Income and employment verification round out the picture, confirming an applicant actually earns what the application claims and can reasonably afford the rent alongside their other obligations. Contacting previous landlords for a rental history reference, when available, adds another layer, revealing whether someone paid on time, kept the property in good condition and gave proper notice before moving out.

Two legal pieces matter for any owner handling this themselves. First, if you pull a credit or background report and decide to deny an applicant based on what you find, the Fair Credit Reporting Act generally requires you to send the applicant an adverse action notice explaining that decision. Second, Florida lawmakers have recently turned their attention to this area directly: a 2025 law created a new framework for "reusable tenant screening reports," spelling out what information those portable reports must contain and under what conditions a landlord may rely on one instead of running a fresh screening for every application.

Applying these standards consistently, on every applicant, every time, is what keeps screening both effective and legally sound. That consistency is exactly what a property manager builds into their process. KNA Property Management screens every applicant with credit, employment, rental history and criminal background checks, then brings the results to the owner for final approval, so you get the information you need without having to track every changing requirement yourself.

This article is general information for Central Florida property owners, not legal advice; consult a qualified attorney about how screening laws apply to your specific property and situation.