Approve the Right Residents with Confidence
Run applicant-authorized credit, criminal, and eviction reports through an FCRA-compliant workflow, then make consistent decisions with built-in criteria. Screen better, faster, and with less legal exposure.
On the roadmap. This is what we are building. It is not available in Villagely yet — everything below describes where the product is headed, not what ships today.
Complete, Applicant-Authorized Reports
Pull the data that actually predicts a successful tenancy. Applicants authorize and pay during the application, so you never front the cost.
A soft-pull credit report with score, tradelines, and outstanding debt — delivered in minutes without affecting the applicant’s credit.
Multi-jurisdiction criminal records and sex-offender registry checks, filtered to comply with fair-housing guidance on how records may be used.
Search civil eviction records across the country to surface prior filings and judgments before they become your problem.
Why this one is not built yet
Pulling credit data means a reseller agreement with a bureau, an on-site inspection, and then being a consumer reporting agency yourself with everything the Fair Credit Reporting Act attaches to that. It is a regulated business, not a feature, and doing it badly exposes you rather than us.
FCRA-Compliant Decisioning Built In
Apply the same standards to every applicant and document every decision, so your process holds up under scrutiny.
Set income-to-rent ratios, minimum credit scores, and disqualifying flags once. The system scores each applicant against your rules automatically.
When you decline an applicant, the platform generates and sends the compliant adverse-action notice the FCRA requires, with the reason and reporting agency.
Verify identity and confirm stated income with linked bank data and uploaded documents, reducing fraud and bad-faith applications.
The rest of it.
Applicant Pays
Screening fees are collected from the applicant at submission, so quality screening costs you nothing.
Recommendation Engine
Each report includes a clear accept / conditional / decline recommendation based on your criteria, to keep decisions consistent.
Rental & Employment History
Capture prior addresses, landlord references, and employment so you have the full picture in one application.
Roommate & Co-Signer Screening
Screen every adult on the lease and add guarantors when an applicant falls just short of your income threshold.
Secure Document Storage
Reports and IDs are encrypted and retained per your policy, with access limited to authorized staff.
Fast Turnaround
Most full screening packages return in minutes, so you can fill vacancies before another property does.
Before you ask us.
- Why is this not built yet?
- Because pulling credit data means signing a reseller agreement with a bureau, passing an on-site inspection, and then being a consumer reporting agency yourself with everything the Fair Credit Reporting Act attaches to that. It is not a feature, it is a regulated business, and doing it badly exposes you rather than us.
- So how will it work when it does arrive?
- Through a screening partner rather than built here. The applicant authorises and pays for their own report during the application, the result comes back into the decision you are already making, and the partner remains the reporting agency.
- What can I actually do today?
- Take applications online with income and employment details, request documents and chase references automatically, and record a credit score you obtained yourself. What is missing is Villagely pulling the report for you — not the workflow around it.
- If I decline somebody on a report I pulled myself, what do I owe them?
- In the United States, notice — that they were declined because of it and which agency supplied it. Villagely already generates that adverse action notice with the bureau’s details on it, and refuses to generate one if those details are missing. That part is here today.
- When will it ship?
- When a partner approves us, which is their timetable rather than ours. This page will stop saying “soon” on the day it works, and not before.
Screen smarter and protect your portfolio
This one is still being built. Tell us it matters to you and we will keep you posted — and factor what you need into how we build it.