1–20 unit landlords
Tenant screening costs on DIY landlord software — who pays, what’s in the bundle
For a 1–20 unit DIY landlord, screening is usually not on the subscription invoice. Applicants (or you, if you flip the setting) pay a one-time fee per adult for credit, criminal, and eviction reports. The dollar amount, what sits inside the bundle, and whether income verification is included or an add-on all differ across RentRedi, TurboTenant, and Avail.
What this page is (and is not)
- Is: a side-by-side of published screening fees, default payer, and report contents for the three DIY tools we cover most — plus worked math for one and two adult applicants.
- Is not: fair-housing or FCRA legal advice, a ranking, or a promise that TransUnion / local fee caps never change.
- Uncertainty rule: plan labels drift (TurboTenant “Pro” vs “Premium”), Avail notes location-based TransUnion pricing, and some cities/states cap what you may charge applicants. Confirm in your live invite flow.
Fee + bundle snapshot (verify on vendor pages)
| RentRedi | TurboTenant | Avail | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard bundle price | ~$39.99 tenant-paid (TransUnion) | ~$55 on Free; ~$45 on paid plans that advertise lower screening (help/pricing labels: Pro / Premium — match the live table) | ~$55 full bundle (credit + criminal + eviction); individual reports ~$30 each |
| What’s in the standard bundle | Full credit (ResidentScore®), nationwide eviction, criminal (state/national databases) | Credit check, criminal background, eviction history (soft pull — vendor states it does not impact score) | TransUnion credit, criminal/background, eviction; can request reports à la carte |
| Income / assets | Optional Plaid income & assets → ~$49.99 total (+$10) | Called out as a paid-plan capability (employer/income verification on higher tiers) — not the same as the $55/$45 report fee; verify on pricing | Application collects self-reported income/docs; bank-verified income is not part of the $55 TransUnion bundle on the articles we checked |
| Who pays by default | Applicant; landlord can cover in auto-screening / unit settings | Applicant; landlord can choose “I will pay” when requesting (timing limits once the renter starts) | Applicant; landlord can pay per invite; each adult still needs their own reports |
| Application vs screening | Application + screening flow in-app; each adult needs their own RentRedi account/application | Application fee typically includes the screening report at the prices above | Basic application is free; screening reports are separate paid TransUnion pulls |
Sources (Sep 2026): RentRedi Help “How Tenant Screening Works” / Auto-Tenant Screening + pricing FAQ ($39.99 / $49.99); TurboTenant Help on applications vs screening reports ($55; ~$45 on Pro) + landlord-can-pay article; Avail Support “How To Calculate Application Fees” / screening guides ($55 bundle, $30 individual). Re-open those URLs before you publish a number on a listing.
Worked example: one vacancy, one or two adults
Assume you require the full credit + criminal + eviction package for every adult on the lease, applicant pays, and you do not add RentRedi’s Plaid income option.
| Scenario | RentRedi | TurboTenant (Free) | Avail (full bundle) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 adult applicant | ~$39.99 | ~$55 | ~$55 |
| 2 adults (couple / roommates) | ~$79.98 | ~$110 | ~$110 |
| + RentRedi Plaid income | ~$49.99 each (~$99.98 for two) | n/a at this price row | n/a at this price row |
| If you cover fees (landlord-pay) | Same dollars, charged to your payment method | Same dollars; use “I will pay” before the renter starts paying | Same dollars per adult on the invite |
At small-portfolio turnover (say 3–6 screens per year across a few doors), applicant-paid screening is usually cheaper than a year of subscription — but landlord-paid screening in a fee-capped city, or screening every adult in a 4-bedroom house-share, can add up faster than people expect.
Portfolio view: annual screening spend if you cover it
Rough model only: assume you personally absorb one full-bundle screen per unit per year (turnovers vary wildly). Use Free-tier / default bundle prices.
| Units | Screens / year (1× each) | RentRedi @ $39.99 | TurboTenant @ $55 | Avail @ $55 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3 | ~$120 | ~$165 | ~$165 |
| 8 | 8 | ~$320 | ~$440 | ~$440 |
| 15 | 15 | ~$600 | ~$825 | ~$825 |
Double those columns if every turnover is a two-adult household and you still cover fees. Most DIY landlords leave the default applicant-pays setting on unless local rules or marketing strategy say otherwise.
What “in the bundle” means in practice
- Credit: All three lean on TransUnion (RentRedi and Avail emphasize ResidentScore / TransUnion credit; TurboTenant documents a soft pull). Soft vs hard inquiry language belongs in the vendor’s FCRA flow — don’t invent it in your listing copy.
- Criminal + eviction: Marketed as nationwide / multi-state databases. Coverage depth and state-by-state gaps still exist; treat “nationwide” as marketing, then read the actual report.
- Income: Self-reported income on the application ≠ bank-verified income. RentRedi’s Plaid add-on is the clearest published upsell among these three; TurboTenant puts deeper verification on paid tiers; Avail’s $55 TransUnion bundle is credit/criminal/eviction, not Plaid.
- Portable reports: Some markets require you to accept an applicant’s portable screening report. That can make “our platform fee” irrelevant — check local rules before you reject someone for not paying your link.
How this stacks with subscription + payment fees
- RentRedi (~$144/yr flat on annual): lowest published standard screen among the three (~$39.99), optional +$10 income, landlord can cover. Screening is available on the paid plan path — confirm Grow/Standard labeling on the live pricing page.
- TurboTenant free-first: screening works on Free; applicants pay more (~$55) unless you’re on a paid plan that drops the fee (~$45). Landlord can pay, with timing caveats once the renter starts.
- Avail Unlimited / Plus: free Unlimited still gets full TransUnion screening; the $55 is per report package, not the $9/unit Plus subscription. Plus does not “include free screening” in the articles we checked — it changes other product features (e.g. ACH waiver on rent).
Stack with subscription break-even and payment fees: software first, rent-collection fees second, screening volume third.
Policy choices that matter more than the brand
- Fee caps & portable reports: NY, Seattle, and other jurisdictions limit what you may charge (or require portable reports). Platform defaults do not override local law.
- Who pays: Applicant-pay is the DIY default. Landlord-pay can raise application volume in a soft market — budget it like marketing, not “free software.”
- Every adult: Couples and roommates multiply cost. Decide upfront whether every 18+ household member must screen.
- Adverse action: If you deny based on a consumer report, FCRA adverse-action steps apply. The tools help you pull data; compliance is still on you.
- Don’t shop on sticker alone: $39.99 vs $55 matters less than whether income verification, criminal coverage for your state, and the invite UX reduce ghosted applications.
15-minute screening audit
- Open an application invite in each finalist tool (or the help article) and screenshot the fee + who-pays control.
- List what you require: credit only vs full bundle vs income verification.
- Price one vacancy for 1 adult and for 2 adults at applicant-pay and landlord-pay.
- Check your city/state fee cap and portable-report rules before you put a number on Zillow.
- Write the adverse-action / criteria sheet you will actually use — then pick the tool that matches that process.
Related
- Roommate & co-tenant changes — re-screening an incoming roommate mid-lease (RR Screen Tenant, TT Invite to Apply, Avail application)
- Renewals & lease extensions — notice windows, e-sign renewals vs new lease, rent bumps, free vs paid gates
- Applications & lead pipeline — inquiry → showings → application → screening handoff, free vs paid gates
- Tenant payment fees (ACH, card, cash) — what rent collection costs beyond the subscription
- Per-unit vs flat-rate break-even — subscription math at 3 / 8 / 15 units
- RentRedi vs TurboTenant vs Avail — full criteria table
- Best PMS for 1–5 units — shortlist before you price screening
- Switch checklist — export apps / screening history notes before you migrate
- Where DIY tools list vacancies — Zillow, Apartments.com, Realtor.com syndication + paid boosts
- Late fees & autopay — grace periods, auto fees, who controls tenant autopay
- Maintenance & work orders — tenant submit, photos, vendor / work-order paths
- Lease & e-sign — state forms, wet vs e-sign, free vs paid gaps
- Accounting & Schedule E — expense categories, CSV/PDF exports, free vs paid books depth
- Owner statements & 1099 — investor packets, vendor totals for 1099-NEC prep, free vs paid gaps
- Rent roll & occupancy — what each exports (CSV/PDF/email), free vs paid gates, cutover handoff
- Co-signers & guarantors: screening a guarantor, who pays, credit-only options
- Subleases & lease assignments: who pays to screen a subtenant or assignee, and Colorado fee cautions
- Small Portfolio Desk home
Educational product research only — not legal, fair-housing, or FCRA advice. Screening fees, plan names, TransUnion location pricing, and who-can-pay rules change. Verify current figures in each vendor’s help center and your live invite flow before you advertise a fee or deny an applicant.