Renting to the wrong person is one of the most expensive mistakes a property owner can make. We’re not talking about a minor inconvenience. We’re talking about weeks of lost rent, court fees, repair bills, and a vacant unit staring back at you while you wait for the legal process to run its course.
“We’re talking about weeks of lost rent, court fees, repair bills, and a vacant unit staring back at you while you wait for the legal process to run its course.”
If you’re a landlord who handles your own screening, or you’re thinking about it, this post is for you. We’ll walk through how a real background check works, what it should actually include, and where most owners get tripped up before they even know there’s a problem.
In This Guide
A Background Check Is Not a Google Search
Let’s be direct about something: pulling up a name on a search engine is not a background check. Neither is calling one reference, glancing at a pay stub, or going with your gut because the applicant “seemed trustworthy” at the showing.
We see this constantly. An owner runs an informal check on a few applicants but not all of them, skips a step here and there depending on how busy they are, and considers that sufficient. It’s not. And beyond the practical risk, that inconsistency is a Fair Housing problem waiting to happen.
A defensible background check is documented, repeatable, and applied the same way to every applicant, every time. Anything short of that is more liability than protection.
What a Real Background Check Should Cover
A complete screening report does more than show a credit score. Here’s what should be in every file before you make a decision:
- Credit history: Look at the overall picture, not just the score. Medical debt and student loans read very differently than repeated missed utility bills or collections from prior landlords.
- Criminal background: Run a national and county-level criminal search. In Shelby County, this matters a lot.
- Eviction history: This is the one most owners skip, and it’s the most predictive data point in the file.
- Income verification: Documented, not verbal. Pay stubs, bank statements, or employer letters.
- Rental history: Contact prior landlords directly and document the conversation.
- Identity verification: Confirm the applicant is who they say they are.
A standard screening report through a tenant screening service runs about $30 to $75 per applicant depending on the depth. That cost is nothing compared to what a bad placement actually runs.
Why Eviction History Beats Credit Score in This Market
Here’s a take that might surprise owners new to property management in Memphis: a 700+ credit score is not the number you should be chasing.
The average rent here is around $1,100 per month, and a meaningful share of the renter pool carries medical debt or modest income. Holding out for a high credit score in this market will leave your unit sitting empty for weeks. What matters more is what a tenant has actually done with a lease.
We weight eviction records heavily for this reason. A tenant with a 590 credit score who has rented the same unit for three years and never been late is often a far safer bet than a 700+ applicant with zero rental history.
Tennessee eviction court records are generally retained for 10 years after final judgment and may then be destroyed, though local court rules can vary the retention period. They’re searchable right now through the Tennessee Courts online portal at tncourts.gov. Shelby County General Sessions Court handles local eviction filings, and those judgments show up in public records. Any screening you do that doesn’t include an eviction search is missing the most important data point in Memphis.
Income Verification: Documentation Only
Gross monthly income should be at least 2.5x to 3x the monthly rent. At $1,100 per month, that means verifying at least $2,750 to $3,300 per month in gross income before you approve anyone.
Why verbal verification isn’t enough
We’ve talked to owners who accepted a phone call to a supervisor as income verification. One Memphis-area owner we work with had a tenant list a manager at a local distribution center as their employer. The “manager” was a friend. The tenant was behind on rent within 60 days.
Verbal confirmation is not verification. Get pay stubs covering the last 30 days. For self-employed applicants, pull 2–3 months of bank statements or the prior year’s tax return. Document what you received and when.
Out-of-state references require extra diligence
Memphis has a transient renter population near medical employers like Methodist Le Bonheur and some military-adjacent communities. We frequently see applicants listing out-of-state landlords as references, and those references can’t be cross-checked locally. Call them, ask specific questions, and document the responses. A landlord who can’t describe the unit, the tenancy dates, or whether there were any issues is a red flag.
The Fair Housing Problem Most Owners Don’t See Coming
Inconsistent screening is the fastest way to end up in front of a HUD investigator.
We worked with one owner who approved an applicant without requiring proof of income because the person “seemed reliable,” while requiring full documentation from every other applicant. A rejected applicant filed a Fair Housing complaint. The case was eventually resolved, but the owner spent months in correspondence and paid over $1,500 in legal consultation fees. That’s the low-end outcome.
Federal Fair Housing Act violations can result in civil penalties of up to $23,011 for a first offense in ALJ proceedings (with the statutory ceiling set at $50,000). The Tennessee Human Rights Act covers many of the same fair housing protections as federal law but does not include all federal protected classes — notably, it omits familial status. Screening criteria must be written, consistent, and applied equally to every applicant regardless of protected class.
Angie, who handles compliance coordination on our team, walks owners through written screening criteria before we ever post a listing for their property. It’s not optional. The written standards are what protect you if a complaint comes in.
Section 8 Screening: Different Rules Apply
Managing Section 8 properties is not a reason to skip screening. It’s a reason to screen more carefully and understand the additional compliance layer.
Vouchers cover a portion of rent, which changes the income verification math, but Criminal history policies in HUD-assisted housing have long been subject to Fair Housing Act scrutiny, and housing providers are generally encouraged to consider individualized assessments rather than relying on blanket bans—though specific requirements can vary and the regulatory landscape continues to evolve.. HUD guidance is clear that a “no criminal history” policy applied uniformly to HUD applicants creates Fair Housing exposure.
We restructured the criteria for one owner who transferred a Section 8 property to us after using a blanket criminal history ban for years. The new process includes individualized review, documented reasoning, and consistent application. The owner stayed compliant and kept the unit filled.
We use Propertyware to manage screening records across all applicant types, which keeps documentation clean and auditable if a complaint ever surfaces.
What Happens When You Skip the Steps
One owner we work with had self-managed a single-family rental for two years before bringing it to RJ Property Management. He skipped criminal background checks to fill the unit fast. Within eight months, the tenant was arrested and the property was tied up in a court-ordered hold. He lost four months of rent and paid over $4,000 in repairs and legal costs before it was resolved.
Another owner with three multi-family units in Midtown Memphis approved a longtime “family friend” without running a credit check. That applicant had two prior evictions in Shelby County General Sessions Court. A standard screening would have flagged both in about 48 hours. Instead, the owner spent $2,200 in court fees and lost two months of rent recovering the unit.
Memphis ranks among the highest eviction rate cities in the country. Owners who skip screening steps here face disproportionate risk compared to most other markets. The numbers are not abstract.
Setting Credit Score Minimums That Actually Work
For standard market-rate rentals in this area, a minimum credit score of 580 to 620 is common and workable when paired with strong rental history and verified income. Chasing 700+ in a market where average rent is $1,100 will leave you with a lot of vacancy.
That said, credit score should never be evaluated in isolation. Here’s the combination that actually predicts good tenancy:
- No evictions in the past five years
- Verified gross income of at least 2.5x–3x monthly rent
- Positive landlord references from at least one prior landlord
- Clean criminal history (assessed individually for Section 8)
- Credit score meeting your written minimum
Set those criteria in writing. Apply them every time. Document every decision.
If You’re Managing More Than One Property, Build a System
One or two properties, you might get away with a manual process. But across three, five, or ten units, inconsistency creeps in fast. Different criteria applied at different times, a reference you forgot to call, an income document you accepted verbally instead of on paper. That’s where Fair Housing exposure builds up quietly.
Across the roughly 1,200 properties we manage and 400 owners we work with, we’ve been doing this for 15 years. The owners who sleep well at night are the ones who handed screening over to a process rather than a feeling.
If handling tenant screening feels harder than it should, we’re open to a conversation about what a managed approach looks like for your property. Contact us to talk through what that looks like for your situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to run a background check on every applicant, or just the ones I’m seriously considering?
Run it on every applicant who submits a completed application. Screening only your “top choice” applicants and skipping others creates an inconsistent record that can look discriminatory if a rejected applicant files a complaint. Apply the same process to everyone, every time.
Can I use a credit score as my only screening tool?
Credit scores alone miss too much. Eviction judgments often don’t appear on credit reports at all, and a mediocre score driven by medical debt tells you very little about how someone treats a lease. Use credit as one input alongside eviction history, rental references, and verified income.
How much does a tenant background check cost?
A standard background check through a screening service typically runs $30 to $75 per applicant, depending on whether it includes credit, criminal, and eviction history. Many landlords pass the cost to the applicant as an application fee, which is common practice here. Review our Rental Requirements to see the criteria we apply to every applicant.
Are there different screening rules for Section 8 applicants?
The income verification math changes because vouchers cover part of the rent, but Fair Housing rules still apply in full. A blanket criminal history ban for HUD applicants creates compliance exposure under HUD guidance. Any criminal history policy for Section 8 applicants should include an individualized review process with documented reasoning.
What if an applicant has no rental history at all?
No rental history is not automatically disqualifying, but it does mean you’re relying more heavily on income verification and criminal/credit data. Ask for additional documentation and weight the income ratio more carefully. A first-time renter with verified income at 3x rent and a clean background can still be a solid placement. If you’re ready to apply, you can submit a Rental Application directly through our site.
How long do eviction records stay on file in Tennessee?
Tennessee eviction records are generally public, but Tennessee law provides expungement mechanisms that can remove certain court records — including dismissals and some convictions — from public access under Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-32-101. Anyone can search them through tncourts.gov, and a proper background check will pull them as part of the eviction history report.