With CL Advantage, you must first have the applicant's consent in writing to request a credit report. You must also obtain a copy of the applicant's ID to help verify identity.

Also, at a minimum, you will want the applicant's name, social security number, current address, and date of birth ? the more identifying information you provide, the more accurate the report will be.

With CL Simple, we recommend that your applicant completes a rental application, so that you have their consent in writing, and you can compare their information from the rental application to your CL Simple report. Other than that, all you need is your applicant's email address.

The CL Advantage account offers flexibility in data and pricing with a timely turnaround. In addition, you can access your reports via fax, phone or email.

The CL Simple account offers a full credit report, nationwide background history and a rental recommendation, upon authorization of your applicant.

Click here for more information, and to get started with either account today!

Yes. Always. The credit reports we provide with both CL Simple and CL Advantage are complete credit reports. We do not sell reports that are merely a summary, an evaluation, a score, a check, or a recommendation. With CreditLink, you always get a complete credit report.

By obtaining a credit report, you can make an informed decision based on facts rather than speculation. On a credit report you can see the payment history and outstanding balances on all of your applicant's closed and open accounts, and any public records, such as evictions, other civil judgments, or tax liens. A credit report will also verify your applicant's identity by comparing the identity data given to you by the applicant (name, date of birth, social security number, employer, alias identification, and addresses) with what is on file with the credit bureau. Additionally, the FICO or other Credit Risk Score gives you a picture of how, compared to other consumers, the applicant has handled recent credit transactions.

While a credit report will give you a good look at your prospective tenant's financial history, it says little about their background. A criminal background report provides the information necessary to assess whether or not the prospective tenant will be a safe addition to your rental community. Some rental subsidy programs may require you to screen for criminal history, as they prohibit landlords from renting to a tenant who has been arrested for controlled substance or sex crimes.

It is required by Federal and many State Fair Housing laws that any screening criteria should be applied consistently to all applicants. This means you should screen all of your applicants using the same methods and standards.

California, Civil Code section 1950.6 limits the fee that owners can charge a prospective tenant to cover the costs of screenings. The fee cannot be more than the actual out-of-pocket costs of gathering information on the applicant. In 2017, the California Apartment Association calculated that the maximum fee a landlord may charge an applicant is $47.72. The fees in your state may differ. Please check with your attorney regarding local laws and regulations.

Effective June 1, 2005, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) calls for the proper disposal of information in consumer reports and records to protect against 'unauthorized access to or use of the information.'

You may destroy the documents however you see fit, as long as they have been rendered unreadable and cannot be reconstructed (e.g. shredder, fireplace, shredding service).

Some jurisdictions require that you keep the records on file for a period of time. If you are a CreditLink client, your service agreement dictates that you must keep the records on file for a minimum of five years. For more information, check with your legal counsel.

According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you are required to notify a denied applicant in writing. You will need to send or give each applicant a Notice of Adverse Action and to keep a copy in your file to document your compliance with the law. You can use our form or any other recommended by your attorney, but compliance with Federal and other jurisdictional requirements is your responsibility. This is extremely important for full compliance with Fair Housing laws.

A denied applicant may, within 60 days of the date of the report, request a copy of the credit report. The information needed for an applicant to request a report should be provided on the Notice of Adverse Action.

California, pursuant to California Civil Code 1950.6(f), if the applicant has paid a screening fee and requested it, you must provide a copy of the credit report. Other jurisdictions may have different requirements. For more information, check with your legal counsel.

FICO score is a projection based on the previous six months of activity. If there has been no activity, there is nothing to base this projection on, and there will be no FICO score. If your applicant insists that they should have a FICO score, check to see if they have recently opened any new lines of credit. If the lines of credit are less than six months old, this can also result in no FICO score. In addition, some companies do not report credit activity to the credit bureaus, and therefore may not show up on a credit report.

You can choose to rent to an applicant on terms that are different than your normal terms (for example, charging a higher security deposit or rent, or offering a shorter rental term) as long as you provide a Risk Based Pricing Notice . You can use our form, or any other recommended by your attorney, but compliance with Federal and other jurisdictional requirements is your responsibility.

A credit freeze allows an individual to control how the credit bureaus sell their data. The freeze locks the data at the bureau until permission is given for release. The applicant will need to call TransUnion (or the third party service they used to have the freeze placed) and ask for the freeze to be temporarily lifted, or for a temporary password. If the freeze is lifted, you can immediately submit your credit request as usual. If they obtain a password, call us with the password and we will be able to get the report for you.

If you already requested the credit history and you were unable to retrieve their report due to a security freeze, please do not resubmit your request or your account will be charged for a second report. Call our office at (800) 446-1421 and let a representative know that you will need the report reprocessed.

With CL Simple , the security freeze will not be an issue since the applicant is authorizing the release of their credit history.

Reports will be viewable from your Account Home page once you log in.

For CL Advantage users, you may view the report by clicking the report link under the request. This will bring the report up as a pdf which can be saved or printed.

For CL Simple clients, you may view the report by clicking the ?view? link next to the request. This will take you to the Report Summary where you can view the credit report, background report, and recommendation.

To open a CL Advantage account you must first comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act requirements, including the need for documentation and an on-site inspection at your principle place of business. The credentialing process generally takes just minutes. Once you are a CL Advantage client, you can request a screening and receive the results in a matter of minutes.

This is the place where the records and files pertaining to your rentals are kept. This can be either an office building or a home office. If you have a home office, please use your home address as your principal place of business when you complete our forms.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the requirements of the credit bureaus, an on-site inspection is necessary for you to have access to credit reports. The objective is to ensure that the sensitive information is obtained for a legitimate purpose and is properly safeguarded. This is not a company policy, but rather a necessary compliance measure dictated by the credit bureaus.

The on-site inspection is to assure that your records are stored in a safe location with adequate security. We will also check to see that you have an appropriate way of disposing of records, such as a shredder or shredding service. Essentially, we need to be sure that the reports you receive can only be accessed by you or someone authorized by you.

You can pay with a credit card or a check. You are billed at the end of every month if you have a balance due, and you can get the bill by mail, or you can go paperless and we will send you an email when your bill is ready to be viewed online. You can also set up your account to auto-pay by credit card on the same day each month. Per your Service Agreement, there is a fee for late payments.

CL Simple is an online tenant screening solution that allows you to immediately screen applicants. It sends an electronic request to your applicant's email address asking them to release their credit and criminal information to you. Once they have authorized the release, you will receive a Full Credit Report with Tenant Risk Score, Eviction records for money judgments, Nationwide Criminal Background report, and tailored Rental Recommendation.

With CL Simple you receive:

• Full Credit Report with Tenant Risk Score
• Evictions resulting in Money Judgments
• National Criminal Background including:
  • Statewide search of 46 available states
  • America?s Most Wanted
  • FBI?s Most Wanted
  • National Sex Offender Public Registry
  • U.S. Marshals Drug Enforcement Administration
  • Any criminal record ranging from a traffic ticket to felony charges
  • U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
  • U.S. Secret Service
  • U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
  • U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)
• 24/7 access to all of your reports and data

Yes! To screen multiple applicants for the same property simply add each applicant's email address before submitting the request.

Once your applicant has authorized the screening, you will receive the results instantaneously. The timing is dependent on your applicant.

If your tenant does not have a computer, they can access our site from any computer that has an Internet connection, such as one at a library, or yours.

Although CL Simple is solely an online product, and it is necessary for your applicant to have an email address, it can be a brand new address. If your applicant does not already have an email address, we recommend that they create an email account with a trusted email service provider such as Gmail.com. Once the address is created, you can use it to initiate the screening, and they can immediately log in at our website to authenticate themselves with the credit bureau.

If you have additional questions regarding the email address requirement, please contact a Customer Service Representative at 1-800-446-1421.

You cannot screen multiple people using the same email address, as each applicant must create an account with the credit bureau that is uniquely linked to them through their email address.

You can edit an applicant's email address so long as you have not received the report. From your Account Home page, click on the "Edit" link for the application, and then on the blue "Edit" button next to the incorrect email address. Type the correct email address in the new field. Since this is not treated as a new request, there is no additional charge.

Refunds will not be granted for canceled applications.

We recommend collecting the fee from each applicant before requesting a screening in order to ensure coverage for all reports.

If your applicant has not received an email from CL Simple within a reasonable amount of time (delays in email can be caused by several anti-spam techniques or by other technical reasons), review your application and verify the applicant's email address. If the address is correct, have the applicant go directly to http://creditlink.com/applicants.html for instructions on creating an applicant account with the credit bureau.

Yes! The applicant will have to authenticate themselves with the credit bureau directly. They can contact TransUnion's Smartmove support at 866-775-0961. The applicant may have to provide documents for verification.

If the applicant does not have a SSN, the report cannot be completed. CL Simple only has the ability to process an applicant who has a valid U.S. Social Security number.

If you have lost your password, please contact a Customer Service Representative at (800) 446-1421.

For questions regarding your bill, please contact a Customer Service Representative at (800) 446-1421.

If you have purchased a CL Advantage product, your report should be returned to you within a matter of minutes. If you have faxed in your request, there may be a short delay. Please contact a Customer Service Representative for assistance at (800) 446-1421 if you have not received your report within an hour. Reports can also be obtained from the Account Home page. You may view the report by clicking the report link under the request. This will bring the report up as a pdf which can be saved or printed.

If you have purchased a CL Simple product, your report will be ready as soon as your applicant has completed the authentication process. If your applicant has already done so, and the report is still not available at your account, please contact a Customer Service Representative for assistance at 1-800-446-1421.