E-Renter is a tenant screening service that provides credit and background checks on rental applicants. While E-Renter provides other resources, this review will focus on their tenant screening service.
| Feature | |
| Time to Get Results | Immediate* |
| Data Source | TransUnion |
| Who Pays | Options for either landlord or tenant |
| Type of Application | Online through their portal |
| Hard Inquiry | No |
| Nationwide Criminal & Eviction Check | Yes |
| Felonies & Misdemeanors | Yes |
| SSN Fraud Check | Yes |
| Terrorist Check | Yes |
| Sex Offender Check | Yes |
| Income Verification | No |
* E-Renter does not allow you to screen any relatives. If an applicant shares a last name with you, E-Renter will assume a relation and will hold the results until you call support.
Here’s how E-Renter’s process works for creating the application, the applicant’s process, the landlord’s process, and what the reports look like.
After creating a landlord account, you’re taken to a page to create a new rental property:
Next, you can select a minimum credit score that your applicant needs to have to be considered:
You can check the box to get an online application link, however the link took us to a 404 Error page.
You do get to select which package you’d like to include in the tenant screening, a feature that many services don’t have. However, there’s no description of the packages here. You have to open a new window and go back to their home page.
Next, you can write a description for your applicants. This is especially useful for including minimum requirements for your application.
Now, you’re taken to a page with the property you just created, and you can move ahead with screening a tenant.
When you enter your applicant’s information, notice that social security number, routing number, and account number are required. This is concerning, to say the least. One of the benefits of tenant screening services is that applicants don’t usually have to give sensitive info straight to the landlord.
However, with E-Renter, you must collect this information from the applicant and enter it yourself here. This is going to make many applicants nervous:
The checkout page makes it appear that you have no choice and the landlord will pay. At the last moment, however, we spotted this “OR Applicant will pay” feature on the side. This is incredibly easy to miss, but it’s good that the feature for tenants to pay exists.
First, the applicant gets an email (or in this case, two duplicate ones) from E-Renter notifying them that they’ve been invited to apply:
Then, here’s what the email looks like:
The applicant will confirm their identity:
Then we come to the total due page, which looks like a headache to read:
The applicant is then immediately told that they have met the credit requirements, which is nice for them to know right away.
The application process is sparse because the landlords input most of the information up front. However, we recommend still following up with qualified applicants to get more information such as pets, vehicles, and contact information for references, past landlords, and employers.
Once you’ve logged in, you’ll see the reports dashboard:
First, is the credit check. However, one interesting thing here, is that they don’t give you a credit score or a full credit report! All you’ll see is a range for the applicant, and then a quick summary of money they owe. Most other services will provide a breakdown of each tradeline (basically who they owe money too), a description of inquiries, and of course, a score. In our opinion, this reflects poorly on E-Renter’s service.
Here, you’ll see the standard Criminal Report (including OFAC and National Security databases):
Next comes the basic Evictions report:
E-Renter will do a quick search to ensure the applicant has no bankruptcies, liens, or judgments:
Then, landlords will see a Background Information report, which gives addresses going back a few decades:
Then, we’ll get a report here that gives a recommendation based on the check-writing history of the applicant. Even though rent is more commonly paid digitally, many renters still use checks, so this is a nice verification that you’ve got a responsible applicant.
To start with the positives, E-Renter offers a breadth of reporting rarely seen among tenant screening services. That information is helpful in creating a fuller opinion about applicants. However, the entire process was difficult to navigate, had many hiccups (which required numerous messages to their customer service), and they don’t provide a full credit report or score. While the price is competitive, the service itself left a lot to be desired. We’d recommend going elsewhere for your tenant screening.
These are the most common questions asked about E-Renter:
E-Renter runs a legitimate site and service. They’ve been in business since 2004.
Credit checks from E-Renter are done via soft inquiry and will not affect the applicant’s credit score.
E-Renter’s reports are accurate, despite not providing a full credit report.
