Tenant Screening in Hollywood.

Four pillars carry every MoveSmart decision, and we verify each independently rather than relying on one score.

Credit: We pull a full credit report to review payment patterns, outstanding debt, collections, prior evictions where reported, and any housing-related judgments. We read the file as a behavior pattern, not a pass-fail number, which matters in a diverse market like Hollywood.

Income: We confirm that stable, documented income comfortably supports the rent. We use pay stubs, bank deposits, tax records, or platform statements depending on how the applicant earns, and we test consistency rather than a single strong month.

Employment: We contact the employer directly to confirm the role, status, and tenure. For self-employed Arts District applicants we substitute verified business and deposit records to reach the same confidence.

History: We contact current and prior landlords to confirm on-time payment, lease compliance, property care, and whether they would rent to the applicant again. Rental history often reveals what a credit score cannot, and it is the strongest predictor of how a tenancy will actually go.

Every MoveSmart decision is built to be compliant and defensible. Fair housing law prohibits treating applicants differently based on protected classes, including race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability. We protect against that by screening everyone against the same written criteria, in the same order, using the same thresholds. The standard never changes by neighbourhood or by who is applying.

We document why each decision was made, which gives you a clear record if an applicant ever questions an outcome. When a report contains adverse information that affects approval, we handle the required disclosures correctly, so the process holds up.

The lease that follows screening is governed by Florida Statutes Chapter 83 Part II, the Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. We screen with that framework in mind so the approved applicant signs a clean, enforceable agreement, with deposits, terms, and disclosures aligned to state law. Screening and the lease are not separate steps to us; a strong approval only matters if it produces a tenancy Florida law will actually back.

Hollywood draws students, young professionals, and renters relocating from outside the United States, and many strong applicants simply lack a deep domestic credit file. A thin or absent file is not an automatic decline. It is a signal to verify differently.

For a thin domestic file, we lean harder on the evidence credit cannot show: documented income, direct employment verification, bank deposit history, and prior landlord references. A young applicant with no late payments and a verified guarantor can be a far safer bet than a thick file full of recent collections.

For an international applicant with no United States credit history, we never penalize the absence itself. Instead we verify what exists: foreign banking records, proof of funds, employment or enrollment letters, and overseas rental references where available. A qualified co-signer or additional deposit, applied consistently and within fair-housing limits, can bridge a genuine gap.

The principle stays the same for everyone. We are measuring the applicant's actual ability and willingness to pay, using whatever verifiable evidence reflects how they truly earn and have lived as a renter.

You do not get a raw data dump. You get a clear, organized screening report and a recommendation you can act on.

The report summarizes each applicant against the four pillars: a credit overview with the patterns that matter, verified income and how it compares to the rent, confirmed employment status and tenure, and direct landlord references with their feedback. We highlight strengths, flag concerns in plain language, and explain how the applicant measured against your written criteria.

Alongside the data we include our recommendation: approve, approve with a condition such as a guarantor or adjusted deposit, or decline, each with the reasoning documented. That documentation is what makes your decision defensible later.

The final call is always yours. We do the verification, the analysis, and the legwork, then hand you a finalist you can approve with confidence. Once you approve, we move quickly to a signed, Chapter 83 Part II compliant lease. If a placed tenant does not work out within the first six months, our replacement guarantee means we screen and place a new one without a second success fee.

Screening is included in how MoveSmart places tenants, not billed as a separate line item to you. Our model is straightforward and risk-shifted in your favor.

You pay nothing upfront. We absorb the work of marketing the unit, fielding applicants, running verification, and decisioning. Our success fee equals one month of rent and is earned only when a qualified tenant signs a lease. If we do not place a renter, you owe nothing, which is why we will never push a weak applicant just to close.

Every placement includes our 6-month replacement guarantee. If a tenant we screened and placed leaves or fails inside the first six months, we re-screen and re-place at no additional success fee. That guarantee only works because our screening is thorough on the front end, so the incentive to verify properly is built into the business.

This covers leasing and tenant placement only. MoveSmart does not collect rent, handle maintenance, or manage the property after the lease signs. We find and screen the right Hollywood tenant, deliver a clean signed lease, and hand the relationship back to you.