When Vancouver-based Advent Real Estate Services started using Certn’s background screening for Canadian property management, they found that Certn’s services helped solve all kinds of practical business challenges — including ones they didn’t expect background screening could help solve. Certn helps Canadian property management companies like Advent conduct identity verification and perform credit checks on its tenants. Certn also helps conduct tenant intake questionnaires and reference checks and handles applicant and tenant data compliantly, a requirement Advent takes seriously.
What are some of the other ways Canadian property management companies can benefit from a background screening provider like Certn? Keep reading to find out more!
Certn Background Screening for Canadian Property Management
Certn is a Canadian company that specializes in providing advanced background screening solutions. Since 2016, we’ve served as a trusted partner to Canadian property management companies, offering reliable, compliant, and efficient background screening solutions that support informed decision making and enhance operational effectiveness.
Here’s how our background screening for Canadian property management can help:
- Comprehensive Tenant Screening: Our comprehensive online offering includes many of the background screening products that Canadian property management companies depend on to assess tenants’ backgrounds thoroughly. that cover various aspects of tenant screening. Certn’s services include credit checks, employment verification, rental history checks, and identity verification. By obtaining detailed information about potential tenants, property managers can make informed decisions about who to rent to, reducing the risk of problematic tenants.
- Fast and Efficient Background Screening: Certn leverages advanced technology and automation to deliver quick and efficient screening results. We’re here to help Canadian property management companies streamline their tenant selection process through our top-rated platform and make submitting screening requests and receiving detailed reports easy. Our shorter turnaround times (thanks to online and automated processes) helps you make faster decisions and fill vacancies promptly. Improving operational efficiency and maximizing revenue sounds good, right?
- Customizable Solutions: We offer customizable solutions tailored to the specific needs of your company, whether you run a family property management company or a large-scale operation, we can accommodate different requirements. We provide flexible packages and pricing options, allowing you to choose the screening services that best suit your needs and budget.
- Risk Assessment and Mitigation: By conducting thorough background checks on tenants and employees, you can mitigate various risks associated with renting and managing properties. Identifying potential red flags early on, such as past evictions or criminal convictions, can help prevent future issues and protect the interests of property owners and residents.
- Compliance Support: Certn understands the importance of compliance with Canadian laws and regulations governing the property management industry. We ensure that our screening processes align with the legal requirements to help you maintain compliance and avoid potential legal issues. This includes adhering to guidelines related to privacy, data protection, and discrimination laws. We’re here to help you.
- Data Security: We’re a technology company that uses automation to deliver our screening services. The Certn platform is designed to provide a seamless and secure experience for property managers, and even integrates with leading management platforms . We prioritize data security and employ industry-standard encryption methods to protect sensitive information. You’re among 20,000 other clients, including some of the world’s biggest brands and you can trust us to handle applicant data with confidentiality and professionalism.
- Employee Screening: Property management companies often employ staff to handle various tasks, such as maintenance, leasing, and administration. Certn’s employee screening services can help you ensure that your staff members are reliable, trustworthy, and qualified for their roles. This may include criminal background checks, employment verification, education verification, and professional credential checks.
In summary, Certn helps property managers by offering comprehensive background checks, streamlining the screening process, supporting risk management and helping to ensure compliance with regulations, and employee screening services. By leveraging Certn’s background screening for property management, Canadian property managers can make informed decisions, reduce risks, and improve the efficiency of their tenant selection process.
Tenant Screening: Faster and Easier
As a property manager you need to get the information you need quickly, and you need to be able to trust its accuracy. I get it.
With Certn’s background screening for Canadian property management, our online services are the key to speeding up the tenant verification process. Plus, it’s a better experience for everyone involved. As the Rent with Advent case study explores, Certn’s background screening experts are also here to advise you on which tools you’re legally permitted to use in Canada or other jurisdictions.
Tenant Background Screening in Canada
Tenant Credit Checks
Working in property management, you know that credit checks can help you determine if an applicant is likely to pay rent on time. Property managers can use financial background screening to evaluate the financial stability of potential tenants. This involves conducting credit checks to assess an applicant’s credit history, payment patterns, and outstanding debts. By identifying applicants with a poor credit history or excessive debt, you can make more informed decisions regarding lease agreements and reduce the likelihood of late or missed rental payments.
Credit checks are a standard part of a Canadian property manager’s screening process. We always start here when building custom programs for our property management clients.
Tenant Questionnaires
You probably have a version of a standard questionnaire that you send to people who are interested in one of your properties. Right?
These questionnaires help you gain valuable information, such as whether prospective tenants have pets or require parking. We know that managing all this paperwork, even if they’re digital PDFs through email, is a challenge. One of the benefits of using Certn is that our background screening API can integrate with your real estate and property management software, so managing the back and forth, and storing this personal information compliantly, can be even easier for you and your team.
Digital Reference Checks
You can further eliminate unnecessary back and forth and follow-up by sending out digital reference checks over the Certn platform. Digital reference checks can be ordered and quickly sent to prospective renters with the click of a button from Certn’s platform. You can leave the rest to us and our automated tasks and reminders, easy approvals, and real-time dashboards. Digital reference checks are a faster way to learn more about who you might be renting to, with 24/7 customer support from our team if anyone needs help along the way. Yes, this includes tenants. Our support team provides client and user support!
Identity Verification
If your business is global and you rent to people in different cities all over the world or you process applications from people who aren’t yet living in your city, then identity verification provides an extra layer of protection. Identity verification helps property managers prevent fraud by ensuring that the applicant’s identity is genuine and not misrepresented. By verifying an applicant’s identity documents, such as a government-issued ID or passport, property managers can confirm that the person applying for a rental property is who they claim to be. This reduces the risk of fraudulent applications and helps maintain the integrity of the tenant selection process.
Instant ID verification through Certn’s OneID, powered by Trustmatic, confirms that the person is who they claim to be and also ensures that any additional background checks are being performed on the correct, verified identity.
Public Records Checks
It’s harder to restore public trust than it is to lose it. Canadian property management companies can pair background checks with our Softcheck public records check service for added assurance when evaluating applications. This is another way to protect your reputation and brand image, while also protecting your other tenants.
Taken together, all this background screening for Canadian property management makes it easier for property managers to find the right tenants quickly without the hassle. Background screening can be done quickly, right from an applicant’s smartphone. With results ready in minutes, you’ll have easy access to important information faster. As a result, you can reduce your vacancy rates and avoid losing out on revenue.
Streamline with Background Screening API
Certn’s credit checks, reference checks, and identity verification make tenant screening faster and more efficient. However, it’s possible to streamline the tenant screening and rental process even more by initiating everything directly from your website instead of back and forth via email or through a rental office.
With Certn’s open background screening API, you can easily put application forms, questionnaires, and the background screening you require directly on your website.
Here’s what you’re looking at if you integrate Certn’s platform with your existing real estate or property management software:
- Prospective tenants navigate to your website and browse what units you have available
- Prospective tenants pick the unit and as part of your standard application process, fill in the tenant questionnaire, provide references you can contact as needed, and authorize the screening tools you want to use
- They submit their application and run the background screening without any follow-up from you
That’s it! You don’t have to do anything other than review the applications and background screening reports as they come in. The Certn way saves time and makes the process of finding tenants simple and painless.
Secure Rental Properties with Remote ID Verification
Managing several properties across the country or even in multiple countries also becomes easier with the help of the right background check provider. How so?
Fraud and identity theft are growing problems in Canada. Tenants can use falsified information to rent a property, sometimes leading to disastrous consequences, like this example in Toronto. While all property managers are vulnerable, property managers and real estate companies that can’t meet with potential tenants in person are more susceptible to this type of risk.
Identity verification helps to address this concern, making it easier to rent international properties or rent to international tenants who aren’t yet in your city. Another benefit is that it also provides property managers with a copy of the applicant’s ID, which they can then easily and securely store within their files. (It’s a “hack” that helps make it easier to obtain the information you need in a compliant and secure way. It’s also an approach that’s more secure than email and that’s easier for you to integrate into your files along with the other documents and information you collect.)
Background Screening for Canadian Property Management
In conclusion, Certn’s background screening services provide valuable support to Canadian property management companies like Advent Real Estate Services. By offering comprehensive background checks, fast and efficient online screening processes, risk assessment and compliance support, and customizable solutions that integrate directly with property management software, Certn helps Canadian property management companies make informed decisions, reduce risks, and improve the efficiency of their tenant selection process.
Additionally, Certn’s services such as credit checks, tenant questionnaires, digital reference checks, identity verification, and public records checks offer a range of tools to enhance tenant screening and ensure the reliability and trustworthiness of potential tenants. By leveraging Certn’s services, you can streamline your processes, protect your reputation, and create a safe and secure rental environment for your tenants.
Want to see what these background screening benefits look like in action? Book your demo now to learn more about how you can build a custom property manager screening program for your company and streamline your operations.
