SingleKey’s Tenant Report enables landlords to conduct credit checks on potential tenants and gain insight into their background, including their rental history. It’s a powerful tool for screening applicants, providing a wealth of financial and background information.
However, as a renter, you may be wondering if SingleKey conducts hard or soft credit checks. Or more specifically, will a SingleKey credit check affect your credit score? Hard credit checks can lower your credit score, especially if you incur too many over a short period. If you’re looking for a property to rent, this is a valid concern as your search may result in multiple landlords pulling your credit report.
In this article, we’ll break down how SingleKey performs rental credit checks and their impact on your credit score.
Does SingleKey run a soft or hard credit check?
SingleKey runs only soft credit checks on potential tenants, so they won’t have any negative impact on your credit score. Soft checks are performed for all rental credit inquiries regardless whether a renter or landlord requests them. There is no limit to how many rental credit checks can be performed—all count as soft checks, rather than hard checks.
But what’s the difference between a hard and soft check? And why does it matter for you as a renter?
A hard check is when a lender reviews your credit report to decide whether to approve you for a loan, such as a mortgage or credit card. It provides extensive details about your borrowing history, and each one stays on your credit report for several years, available for everyone to see who pulls your report. Most notably, hard checks temporarily lower your credit score.
In contrast, a soft credit check occurs when someone examines your credit report to pre-qualify you for a product or service; it’s not part of the official application process. Soft checks present less information about your credit history than a hard check. And while they appear on your credit report, they’re only visible to you. Unlike hard inquiries, soft checks don’t harm your credit score.
Do other tenant screening providers, such as Zillow, do hard credit checks? Yes, since there’s a growing trend for rental credit inquiries to count as soft checks. For example, as of November 2024, Canada’s top credit bureaus classify rental credit inquiries as soft checks. Similarly, most landlords in the U.S. conduct soft credit checks as part of their tenant screening process.
That being said, this may not always be the case, so always do thorough research when applying to rentals to see how each tenant screening service operates on the credit check side. With SingleKey, you never have to worry about credit inquiries dinging your credit score when applying for a rental.
How does SingleKey run a credit check on renters?
SingleKey runs a credit check on renters through its Tenant Report. This screening tool provides landlords with vital information about a potential tenant’s financial and rental history, helping them decide if the tenant is a good fit for their lease.
The document includes a comprehensive credit report, which shows the tenant’s credit score, payment history, outstanding debts, and other relevant financial details. SingleKey obtains this information from Equifax and TransUnion. Here’s what the credit report section of the Tenant Report looks like.
So what can you expect when SingleKey runs a credit report on you? Here’s how the process works:
Step 1: Receive a notification from the landlord
When the landlord orders a Tenant Report, they’ll invite you to provide a few basic details about yourself, which are necessary for SingleKey to pull your credit report. You’ll receive the invite via email.
Step 2: Provide key personal information
This step is done entirely online after accepting the landlord’s invitation. In the form provided, you must enter your full name, date of birth, and current address (providing your SIN or SSN is optional). You’ll also need to give your consent for SingleKey to perform the credit check, as anyone wishing to view your credit report legally must have your permission.
Once you supply this information, it stays in your SingleKey account, which you can use in the future if you decide to create a Universal Rental Application.
Note: The landlord may complete this step if you’ve already provided them with the required information beforehand.
Step 3: SingleKey’s runs the credit check
Next, SingleKey will use the personal details you’ve provided to perform the credit check on you. The process takes five minutes or less to complete. When ready, the landlord will receive a notification that the Tenant Report is available for viewing in their SingleKey account.
While geared toward landlords and property managers, you can also order SingleKeys’ Tenant Report to run your own credit check. Alternatively, you can obtain a credit report by starting a Universal Rental Application. This digital tenant profile contains your credit report, background check, and other key data. You can share it with as many landlords as you like, skipping the need to fill out multiple rental applications. And because the information in your profile comes from SingleKey, a trusted third-party provider, you’ll have instant credibility among landlords.
Why do landlords conduct credit checks on renters?
Landlords perform credit checks on potential tenants to assess their financial reliability. More specifically, they’re using the information to determine if the applicant can pay rent on time. Late or missed rent payments pose a significant risk to landlords, resulting in lost income that leaves them unable to cover their expenses and turn a healthy profit. As a result, they want to minimize the risk of signing a lease with a tenant who pays late, or worse, stops paying altogether.
That’s why it’s vital to let landlords review your credit report—it builds trust and confidence in you as a tenant. If they see you’re capable of paying rent on time, you’re more likely to get approved for a lease. Refusing to consent to a credit inquiry is a major red flag for landlords.
But what if your credit score isn’t in the best shape? The good news is that most landlords don’t base their decision on whether to accept you as a tenant solely on your credit score. Instead, they’ll consider your monthly income, your current employment, how often you move, and other factors. Remember: having a poor credit score doesn’t mean you’re a bad tenant—and any experienced landlord will understand this.
Our final thoughts
Most landlords will pull your credit report before considering you for tenancy to learn if you can handle the monthly rent. Luckily, SingleKey runs soft credit checks on renters, which means your credit score won’t be affected. These soft inquiries will remain on your credit report for one or two years. But only you will be able to see them, not lenders, employers, or landlords.
Although each SingleKey credit inquiry counts as a soft check, there’s no need to run one each time you apply for a rental property. And you can avoid manually filling out multiple rental applications, too. Learn how to skip these steps by creating a verified tenant profile using SingleKey’s Universal Rental Application.