A Social Security Number is required. TransUnion cannot complete the background check without one — an ITIN will not work.
This covers what happens once a tenant applies. To switch screening on in the first place — adding the listing, the Set Up Listing task, the application requirements and the fee you charge — see How to Set up Your Lease Listing.
How does the tenant complete the screening?
Identity verification is handled by TransUnion, not by Jointly. If an applicant's identity cannot be verified, they have to resolve it with TransUnion — see Fraud Alerts & Freezes on Tenant Screening Reports.
Once the screening task is assigned to them, the tenant opens the task and accepts the terms of service by clicking Mark as Ready.
They confirm their information and click Save.
They click Begin Verification. A verification code is sent to the mobile number entered on the confirmation screen.
That number has to match in three places — what the tenant enters here, what is on the application, and what you have for them on the deal's Participants page.
After verification, they enter their card details to pay the application fee.
What does it cost, and when is the tenant charged?
The screening fee is a minimum of $50, and covers the credit, criminal background and eviction reports. The application fee is set on the listing and can be higher. Anything above the screening fee is the balance, and a convenience fee is deducted from it before it is paid out.
The balance is paid out to whoever is chosen on the listing, under If there is a balance (Application Fee greater than Screening Fee), who should receive it? — the listing broker, the listing agent, or the landlord. If you are part of a team, the team settings set the default, through the question Who should receive Screening Report residuals by default? See Set up Receiving Account.
The tenant does not have to be the one who pays. Under Who should pay for the application fee? you can select Listing Agent/Landlord instead — in which case only the screening fee is charged.
When the tenant is charged is your choice, set on the listing under When should the tenant be charged?:
After reviewing application, or
When tenant completes the application.
Either way the tenant authorises the payment when they complete the application.
When the task shows ready to process, you still have to process it. Processing is the point at which the tenant is charged, if they have not been already, and the point at which you get the report. If an application is never processed, the tenant is not charged and no report is produced.
Who can see the report?
You decide, when you set up the listing. Under Application Requirements there is a question — Who should get access to these reports? — with a checkbox for each person on the deal: you as listing agent, each landlord, and your listing TC.
Tick everyone who will need to see the reports, before you process the application. Under the agreement with TransUnion, the people allowed to view a report have to be named before the report is generated — so once it exists, nobody can be added. A landlord you forgot to tick cannot be given access afterwards.
How do I change who has access?
You can change the list until the report is generated — including after the listing is live, and after tenants have applied.
Open the deal and click the gear icon at the top of the navigation bar.
In the Options window, select Edit Application Requirements and click CONFIRM.
Tick or untick people under Who should get access to these reports? and click SAVE.
My landlord cannot see the screening report
Check whether they were ticked under Who should get access to these reports? If the report has not been generated yet, tick them using the steps above and they will have access when it is produced.
If the report has already been generated, they cannot be added to it. The viewers were fixed when the report was produced, and that is a requirement of the agreement with TransUnion, not a Jointly setting.
What notifications go out?
Once the tenant completes the screening and enters their payment information, the task is completed and the agent and the TC (if there is one) get an email for each tenant who completed it.
The landlord does not get a notification.
So once you have processed the report, send the landlord a login link yourself: click the envelope icon next to the application participants tab.
The landlord can then view the report on the Application Documents page.
The report is not ready after processing
Most reports are generated instantly. Some take up to three business days when there is a potential matching record that TransUnion needs to verify further.
I cannot process or open the report
You have seven days to process a report. After that you have to reassign the task to the tenant — and the tenant is not charged for the expired report.
A processed report is good for 30 days. After 30 days it can no longer be opened.
Can a screening report be reused for another property?
Not inside Jointly. The tenant can download their report and give it to the other property directly, if that landlord will accept it.
Who adds the screening?
The screening task lives on the landlord / listing side of the deal. Only listing agents can add and assign it — a tenant's agent cannot.
One lease application supports up to four tenants. To screen a fifth, create a separate application.