Illinois Tenant Background Check

What Background Checks Cover

Most background checks provide property owners with significant information on a potential tenant. This information is crucial when deciding whether or not to lease your rental to the applicant.

Here are a few major items a background check will cover:

Criminal History

A background check can help determine whether an applicant has a criminal record and, if so, to what extent. You’ll learn if there are any misdemeanor and felony convictions or active warrants. Remember that while a background check might uncover arrests, landlords may only consider convictions.

Just because an applicant has a criminal record shouldn’t eliminate their chance to rent the unit. Instead, it’s important to consider the circumstances involved. While you might decide to move on from someone with a violent criminal record or a history of vandalism, you might be willing to overlook someone with minor traffic offenses or anything that happened many years ago.

Credit History

Background checks will also expose an applicant’s credit history. This will provide you with insight into their credit score, the various lines of credit they have open, and any previous inquiries. In short, credit information will help give you a clear picture of the applicant’s financial health. Understanding these metrics will help you assess their ability to make rent payments on time each month.

Eviction History

Another crucial piece of information you’ll learn from a background check is whether or not the applicant has a history of eviction. TurboTenant checks over 27 million eviction records covering all 50 states and Washington, DC. Eviction records reveal the following items:

• Failure to pay rent
• Judgments for Rent, Possession, and Money
• Unlawful Detainers
• Writs and Warrants of Eviction

Rental History

Understanding an applicant’s rental history provides insight into their past rental experiences. By contacting previous landlords, you can assess their reliability in paying rent on time and how they maintained the property.

Income Verification/Fraud Detection

Verifying an applicant’s income is essential to determining whether they can afford the monthly rent. And no landlord wants to become a victim of fraud.  TurboTenant’s Pro tier provides industry-leading income verification and fraud detection through Snappt, the leader in income and fraud analysis.

Federal Tenant Background Check Laws

Federal, state, and local laws regulate background checks in Illinois. While landlords can perform background checks whenever necessary, they can’t violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) or the Fair Housing Act (FHA).

Fair Credit Reporting Act

The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires landlords to gain consent from an applicant before they run a background or credit check. Once the check is completed, if the landlord decides to deny the application based on the findings, they must explain the reasoning for the denial. Also, landlords must provide the name and contact information for the reporting agency used.

Fair Housing Act

Through the Fair Housing Act, landlords cannot deny a rental application based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or familial status.

HUD Guidelines 

Many formerly incarcerated individuals face housing challenges due to their criminal records, which are not considered a protected class under the Fair Housing Act. HUD has provided guidelines to help avoid a blanket ban for anyone with a criminal record. Instead, landlords must consider applicants on a case-by-case basis to understand the facts before making a decision.

Illinois Laws

In addition to awareness of current federal laws regarding Illinois tenant background checks, you must also understand Illinois laws. Here are some things to consider:

Just Housing Amendment

In 2019, Cook County enacted the Just Housing Amendment to create a more level playing field for Illinois residents with criminal records. This amendment prohibits landlords from rejecting housing applications based on juvenile or adult arrest records. It mandates that landlords thoroughly assess an applicant’s criminal history before deciding to deny housing.

This amendment breaks the screening process into two different parts.

• Prequalification: The first step involves checking the applicant’s employment, income, credit history, payment delinquencies, bankruptcies, and more. If the applicant passes the first step, they will move on to the next step.
• Criminal Background Check: When completing a tenant background check, landlords can only consider criminal history from the past 3 years. Landlords cannot use any arrests or convictions over 3 years old to deny an application. If a conviction has occurred within the last 3 years, the landlord must assess the circumstances individually.

Illinois Human Rights Act

The Illinois Human Rights Act extends the Fair Housing Act to prohibit housing discrimination based on ancestry, age, military status, pregnancy, or order of protection status.

Fair Tenant Screening Act

Illinois enacted the Fair Tenant Screening Act in January 2025. This law provides housing applicants with specific protections during the screening process, including limits on the fees landlords can charge for screening and applications. Additionally, it requires landlords to provide applicants with copies of any information used during the decision-making process.

Tenant Credit Report Law

The Tenant Credit Report Law was implemented in January 2025. This law allows applicants to provide landlords with a reusable credit report from a consumer credit bureau for tenant screening purposes. The only stipulation is that the tenant must have generated the report from a reputable screening service within the last 30 days.

Red Flags to Watch Out For

When conducting a background check, you must be aware of any red flags and ensure you proceed within the law.

Late payments or collections: A landlord must have tenants who make timely payments. This means you’re not spending time tracking down past-due rent. If an applicant has a history of missed payments or collections, it’s a sign of what might happen in the future.

History of evictions: If an applicant has a history of eviction, it should be a red flag that they might be a problem. However, following all applicable laws before denying an application due to a past eviction is important.

Unverifiable income: Verifying income sources allows landlords to feel confident that potential tenants can pay monthly rent. If an applicant can’t provide income sources, this should be a red flag. However, source of income is a protected class in Illinois under the Illinois Human Rights Act which means landlords cannot discriminate based on source of income which includes Section 8 vouchers.

Inconsistent rental history: If an applicant has an inconsistent rental history, it may indicate that they have previously broken leases or haven’t completely fulfilled their agreements with previous landlords.

Criminal charges: While a criminal past shouldn’t disqualify an applicant from consideration, it is also illegal. However, if a potential tenant has a criminal record, assess it on a case-by-case basis to ensure no potential risk to the property or neighbors.

How To Legally Run a Background Check

Are you ready to run a background check on applicants? Here are some steps you’ll want to follow:

1. Get written permission: In Illinois, you must get written permission from the applicant to pull their credit and criminal history before starting a tenant background check.
2. User verified tenant background check service: Selecting a tenant background check service enables you to examine each applicant thoroughly. TurboTenant’s free tenant background check service allows you to review credit scores, criminal records, past collection history, and prior evictions (where permitted by law).
3. Verify identity and SSN: Before running a background check, you’ll want to verify the applicant’s identity. To do this, you can request a copy of their driver’s license and social security number.
4. Review reports: Once you’ve run the background check, you must review the information. While you’ll want to consider everything provided, you must follow all applicable state and federal laws. Start by looking at the credit report. Do they have a history of on-time payments? Do they have a significant number of open lines of credit?
5. Check for evictions or criminal History: Once you’ve assessed their creditworthiness, investigate any past evictions or criminal histories. Remember to consider the circumstances behind an eviction or arrest.
6. Evaluate based on consistent criteria: As you begin assessing applicants, consistently apply your criteria to each applicant equally, considering credit score, income, and rental history. This will ensure you’re fair and legally compliant.
7. Send an Adverse Action Notice if Rejecting: If you deny an application based on the background check, make sure you send an adverse action notice as soon as you make your decision. This notice must include the reason for denial and the background service used to gather information.
8. Use TurboTenant to streamline the process: Using a service like TurboTenant will help take the stress out of the entire process. Not only is the background check free for landlords, but you will have access to all the information needed, including credit history, open lines of credit, past collections, previous evictions, and criminal history.