Established in 1986 and headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, Contemporary Information Corp is a long-standing provider of housing court case data, criminal record information, and tenant screening services for organizations operating in regulated environments. The company supports clients across multiple industries, including rental housing, insurance, and real estate, through direct-to-end user services, reseller relationships, and API-based data delivery. Drawing on decades of experience with tenant screening workflows, credit reporting, and compliance obligations, the organization applies best practices designed to align with Fair Credit Reporting Act requirements. Its services are structured to help housing providers evaluate risk, interpret rental history, and identify factors that may affect tenancy outcomes. Through professional affiliations and a focus on data quality and regulatory standards, the company maintains an objective, process-driven approach that directly relates to evaluating potential renters in multifamily and rental housing contexts.
A Few Tips for Evaluating Potential Renters
Property owners must consider several factors when evaluating a potential tenant. Renting a property to an unreliable tenant can lead to a variety of issues, from property damage to delayed payments. In extreme cases, property owners may need to evict tenants, an expensive and time-consuming legal process. Multifamily property owners can take several steps to evaluate a potential tenant before agreeing to a contract.
Tenant screening is a critical step in the tenant evaluation process. Landlords and property owners can use tenant screening reports to obtain vital information about prospective tenants. Comprehensive tenant screening reports often include credit reports, employment verification, and an overall risk score determined by criteria set by the property owner.
Tenant screening reports also provide information regarding a tenant’s criminal history, including their appearance on sex offender registries or the national terrorist watchlist. Furthermore, a comprehensive report typically details an individual’s rental history, including any eviction actions or related lawsuits. Past evictions should represent a major red flag, as renters with previous evictions are three times more likely to experience additional eviction-related events compared to non-evicted tenants.
Landlords and property owners should strongly consider using a professional services provider for tenant screening. Do-it-yourself screening efforts can lead to many issues, including false positives and reports containing inaccurate or outdated data. Furthermore, tenant screening processes must comply with industry standards and laws, such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act regulations issued by the Federal Trade Commission. Accidentally violating these standards can create massive headaches for multifamily property owners.
Working with a housing and criminal records company is just the first step in evaluating a potential renter. Data suggests that property owners file about 2.7 million eviction cases each year, accounting for roughly seven percent of all filled units. This means that any property owner with 10 or more units can expect to go through a lengthy, costly eviction process each year; the average eviction costs owners about $10,000.
Landlords and property owners can reduce the risk of renting to an unqualified tenant by going beyond a standard credit report. One study found that 90 percent of landlords believe they have a thorough understanding of what a renter’s credit score indicates. Still, in reality, credit scores are often better predictors of a person’s ability to afford home or car loans. Multifamily industry operators should strongly consider pairing general credit reports with credit screening services that emphasize tenant-related outcomes, which highlight late payments, insufficient funds, and evictions.
After conducting standard screening processes, rental property owners should interview potential tenants, including at least one face-to-face meeting. During these meetings, landlords and property owners should watch out for warning signs, such as a tenant requesting that owners bypass traditional standard screening steps. This may seem obvious, but property owners may sometimes find themselves swayed by convincing tenants with enough money to sign a lease and move in immediately. Worthy renters can always wait a few days to undergo traditional screening processes.
Similarly, potential renters may insist on providing their own credit reports. If owners accept these reports, they must ensure that the information is timely and accurate. A tenant who fabricates or otherwise manipulates a property owner’s personal credit report can create many problems over the duration of a lease.
Finally, even if a renter has no eviction history, property owners should ask several questions regarding potential tenants who frequently move. In some cases, renters may have a job or lifestyle that results in frequent moves, but in others, this behavior may mask repeated conflicts with landlords or an inability to pay rent on time. Similarly, frequent job changes or long employment gaps may indicate an unreliable tenant.
About Contemporary Information Corp
Contemporary Information Corp is a Duluth, Georgia-based provider of housing court case data, criminal records, and tenant screening services. Serving resellers, direct-to-end users, and consumers, the company supports tenant screening processes through transactional services, API-based data delivery, and credit report access. Its operations emphasize data quality, regulatory compliance, and adherence to Fair Credit Reporting Act requirements. The organization maintains active affiliations with industry associations and applies structured practices to support informed rental and screening decisions.
