At this time we only offer our tenant screening services in the 50 U.S. states.

You will be notified via email when an applicant shares screening documents with you. 

When an applicant generates screening documents, they must grant your account permission to view them. To do so, they must click Share which can be found in the middle of their account dashboard. This will prompt them to pay the $30 screening fee, if applicable, and share the documents with you.

If you see the Pending submission label underneath the applicant’s document request, this means that the applicant has not shared their documents with you. 

All documents that are available on your account will be marked as View. 

Credit and background reports expire in your account after 30 days from the date they were generated and shared with you. These reports have an Expired label on them. If you require another copy, your renter will need to regenerate and reshare the reports with you. 

Agents and landlords who process application fees through Zumper eligible for payout will receive funds during the first 10 business days of the month after they processed eligible reports. We partner with a service called Tipalti to deliver these funds. Please note that all funds must be claimed within 90 days of receiving the Tipalti invite, otherwise funds will be forfeited.

Once you have received a confirmation email that your fee has been adjusted outside of $30, you will receive an invitation to set up your Tipalti account within 24 hours. It is important that you set up your epayment information and tax information through the invitation link before the end of the month to ensure that you are eligible for payouts shortly after. 

Within your Tipalti account you can view all the previous payouts you have received and update any contact information. If you encounter any issues with Tipalti, make sure to contact them directly via their support request form.

There are two ways that you can request screening documents from prospective applicants. If you would like to send an application link personally via text or email, we recommend that you use your Application Link. If you would like the renter to receive an email from Zumper stating that you are requesting documents from them, we recommend that you request your documents via email.

Application Link 

1. Your personal application link is located on the left side of your dashboard as Copy Apply Link. 
2. You can select which documents (Credit Report with Background Check, Rental Application, or both) you would like from your applicant. 

This link can be sent to applicants via text message or email. It prompts renters to create and share their screening documents directly with you. To test out this link for yourself, copy and paste it into a window using a different internet browser. 

Requesting via Email

1. From the Renters tab, click the Screen renters button in the top right corner of the page. 
2. You will be prompted to enter the address for which you are screening renters. If you already have a property created for this address under the Properties tab, you will be able to select it from the drop-down options. If you have not yet created a property for the address for which you are screening renters, you can simply input and select the fully formatted address here.
3. Select which documents (Credit Report, Rental Application, or both) you would like from your renter.
4. The final step is to select Email and input the email address or addresses of the renters and click the Next button. 

You will receive a Zumper email confirmation that you have requested documents from this applicant as well.

We recommend you screen every prospective renter on an individual basis. For example, if you have a husband and wife applying for a property, you should request documents from two separate email addresses. Due to the fact that our screening is on an individual basis, each person is also responsible for paying their own screening fee. Some landlords prefer to have renters fill out an application prior to a property showing while others will host tours before requesting an application, the order in which you screen renters is entirely up to you.

How to screen renters guide

Zumper’s screening services are free for landlords and agents. After a renter generates screening reports, they are prompted to pay a $30 fee in order to send them to a landlord or agent for the property they are  applying to. Rental applications provided by Zumper are free of charge for renters to fill out and share with landlords and agents.

The following reports are provided with Zumper screening services: 

• Credit report
• Background (criminal and eviction) report
• Rental application

We partner with TransUnion to generate credit reports and background checks. Zumper provides an online rental application, separate from TransUnion’s credit and background reports. Please view the attachments below for examples of both screening documents.

TransUnion provides a comprehensive credit report including a ResidentScore. ResidentScore is very similar to a Vantage or Credit score but geared towards rentals. ResidentScore will help you score potential renters with more precision than a traditional credit score. ResidentScore uses a sophisticated formula to analyze the credit report and produce a score between 350-850. Where your applicant’s score falls on the scale can help you better assess their risk.

The first part of the screening report provides the applicant’s full credit history and report. There will be two sections near the end of the report for any Criminal or Eviction records that are found based on the TransUnion search. While it's ultimately the landlord's responsibility to ensure they are utilizing a service that is in accordance with local laws, we do have restrictions in place for Illinois and New York. We do not provide eviction reports in New York State and do not provide criminal reports in Illinois. These specific sections will not be included in reports generated in those states. 

Before you screen potential renters, you should have a set of requirements each renter must meet to help you make an objective decision about who to lease your property to. Keep in mind, there are local and federal laws you also must adhere to when screening applicants and selecting a renter.

Determining what qualifies a renter as good can vary from one location or landlord to the next. As a general rule of thumb, they should be in good financial standing, have a good credit score, and a good rental history. Some red flags may include past evictions or poor credit.

To learn more about qualifying renters, check out these resources:

Tenant Screening 101: How to Screen and Qualify Renters

How to Read a Renter's Credit Score 

In the Renters tab under Applicants, click on the applicant whose reports you would like to download. On the right-hand side of the screen, their documents will appear. Here you can select View or Download. This will generate a PDF for you to view. 

We charge applicants a standard $30 fee to generate and share their screening documents with you, which includes a credit report and background check. 

You can customize your screening fee if you desire. Once you increase your fee, you are eligible to receive the difference between your adjusted fee and $30. These payouts are made the month following when your reports have been run. We partner with a service called Tipalti to deliver these funds. All funds must be claimed within 90 days of receiving the Tipalti invite, otherwise funds will be forfeited. At this time we do not support charging renters less than $30. 

To adjust your screening and application fee, contact us through the support request form and let us know what price you would like to update your fee to. You will receive an email confirmation when the adjustment to your account has been made along with instructions on how to set up your ebanking information.

Please note that it is your responsibility to adhere to renters local/state guidelines surrounding screening fees.

We pull a comprehensive report directly from TransUnion’s database for all credit and background reports. If a renter believes the information generated in their report is inaccurate, they can initiate a dispute. To do so, please have them contact TransUnion directly via phone at (833) 458-6338 or email. 

Renters can also find this contact information on the first page of their credit report when they click the Dispute Content button, or you can direct them to the Dispute button that appears next to the View button on their account dashboard.