Tenant Screening
The tenant you place is the single biggest factor in whether a rental is profitable or a headache.
A bad tenant costs far more than a vacancy
Missed rent, property damage, and a slow eviction process all start the same way: a tenant who shouldn't have been approved. Screening properly up front is the cheapest risk management available to a rental owner — it just has to actually be done consistently, every time, for every applicant.
The Sun Stone process
What's included
- ✓Credit history review
- ✓Criminal history review within legal limits
- ✓Income verification (typically 2.5–3x rent; for housing subsidies, the income standard is based on the tenant-paid portion as required by California law)
- ✓Rental history and eviction record check
- ✓Direct phone verification with current and past landlords
- ✓Employment verification
What makes us different
- ✓We call landlords directly — not just an automated report
- ✓A written screening framework applied consistently, with legally required adjustments for issues such as housing subsidies, disability accommodations, and criminal-history rules — helping reduce fair-housing risk while evaluating applicants lawfully
- ✓Section 8 / housing voucher applicants evaluated under the same lawful screening process, with income standards based on the tenant-paid rent portion where California law requires it
California compliance
California protects source of income, including Section 8 and other housing vouchers. Consistency matters, but lawful screening also requires adjustments in some situations — for example, an income multiple for a voucher holder must be calculated using the portion of rent the tenant is responsible for, not the full contract rent. Criminal-history screening and disability-related accommodation requests also have separate legal limits.
See our full Owner Resources page for more →
Official resources: California Civil Rights Department housing guidance · Housing-provider resources.
Tenant Screening FAQ
What criteria do you use?
A written framework covering credit, income, rental history, landlord references, and legally permitted background information. We apply it consistently while making the adjustments the law requires — including subsidy-related income calculations, disability accommodations, and limits on criminal-history screening.
Can I set my own criteria?
We can discuss property-specific requirements, but Sun Stone uses lawful written screening standards and will not adopt criteria that conflict with federal, California, or local requirements.
Do you screen Section 8 / voucher holders?
Yes. California protects source of income, including housing vouchers. We use the same lawful screening process, but when an income multiple is used for a subsidized applicant, it is based on the portion of rent the applicant is responsible for paying rather than the full contract rent.
How long does screening take?
Typically 24–48 hours once we have a complete application and the landlord references respond.
Ready to hand off tenant screening?
Get a free, no-obligation rental analysis and we'll walk you through exactly how this works for your property.