Overview
TransUnion Reports can now be requested on any rental application, regardless of how you had set up the Rental Application settings. Tenant screenings will either be automatically requested or manually requested when reviewing the rental application.
The Steps
When a prospect submits a rental application where part of their fee paid for a TransUnion SmartMove report, you will have 30 days to request the report. These are not automatically downloaded for you so please download them as soon as you receive confirmation that an application was completed.
After you request the report, TransUnion sets a 60 days expiration date on them. We don’t want these reports to disappear before you have a chance to review and save them, so make sure you review them after requesting the report. You can always also download the report and upload them to the lease where they will last indefinitely.
If you didn't initially request tenant screenings
Find and click on the rental application you want to request a TransUnion report for using whichever method you prefer. (Review the methods in the Reviewing Submitted Rental Applications article.)
For example, you can go to Leasing and then go to Rental Applications to find and click on the rental application you need.
Once you’ve clicked on the rental application, click on the Request Reports button on the Overview page. Note that this button only appears if TransUnion Reports were not originally requested on the rental applications.
This will take you to the Reports tab. Alternatively, you can just go directly to the Reports tab.
If your rental application did not originally have Tenant Screening turned on, you can still request a report. You'll be given the option to select a payment method and pay for the report. You will be covering the cost for the report and it will either be charged to your credit card or your merchant account. The fee is based on your subscription tier.
After doing this you will see a message saying Reports Generation in Progress.
It can take up to 72 hours for the reports to generate from TransUnion. When they do, you will be able to review them on the same Reports tab. When the reports are available, you'll see the below screen.
There will be three reports:
CriminalReport: Lists items found on criminal records, most wanted databases, the National Sex Offender registry, and potential matches on the OFAC list, which is maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control to enforce trade sanctions.
Credit Report: Review TransUnion’s ResidentScore, which is not the same as a credit score. Instead, it is based on a credit report with differently weighted factors TransUnion has found to be 15% more effective at predicting evictions than a traditional credit score.
Eviction Report: Use TransUnion’s vast database to more accurately match your applicant to an eviction record (including court records), even with limited information.
Each will show the expiration date listed 60 days after the date they were generated. These reports are part of TransUnion's SmartCheck Plus package shown here. Make sure to download these reports for your records before they expire.
Click on each report to review it. If you want to save the reports, you can download a PDF by clicking on the PDF button in the upper right corner of the report.
Tip: You could then upload these reports to the Files tab of the rental application or prospect for easy data management. You could even send them to your prospect if they request it.
If you requested tenant screenings on the rental application
If you did request tenant screenings as part of the application process then the screening reports will be automatically requested as soon as the application has been filled out and submitted.
Find and click on the rental application you want to request a TransUnion report for using whichever method you prefer. (Review the methods in the Reviewing Submitted Rental Applications article.)
For example, you can go to Leasing and then go to Rental Applications to find and click on the rental application you need.
Once you’ve clicked on the rental application, click on the View Reports button on the Overview page.
You will be taken to the Reports tab. When the reports are available, you will see the below screen. It can take up to 72 hours for the reports to be generated from TransUnion.
There will be three reports:
CriminalReport: Lists items found on criminal records, most wanted databases, the National Sex Offender registry, and potential matches on the OFAC list, which is maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control to enforce trade sanctions.
Credit Report: Review TransUnion’s ResidentScore, which is not the same as a credit score. Instead, it is based on a credit report with differently weighted factors TransUnion has found to be 15% more effective at predicting evictions than a traditional credit score.
Eviction Report: Use TransUnion’s vast database to more accurately match your applicant to an eviction record (including court records), even with limited information.
Each will show the expiration date listed 60 days after the date they were generated. These reports are part of TransUnion's SmartCheck Plus package shown here. Make sure to download these reports for your records before they expire.
Click on each report to review it. If you want to save the reports, you can download a PDF by clicking on the PDF button in the upper right corner of the report.
Tip: You could then upload these reports to the Files tab of the rental application or prospect for easy data management. You could even send them to your prospect if they request it.
Now that you have the TransUnion SmartMove report, you are ready to make your decision!
Things to take into consideration
TransUnion (“TU”) is no longer providing local county or state criminal details in the following states:
As of November 29th, 2023, criminal records are available to return in:
Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida,
Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan,
Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West
Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Criminal records are not available to return in:
Alabama, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine,
Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire,
New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South
Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming.
For clarification purposes, TransUnion will still be providing Most Wanted, OFAC and Sex Offender results in all states/counties where such information is lawfully allowed to be considered.