Published 2026-09-29 · 10 min read

TenantTracks Review 2026: Tenant Screening Built by Landlords, for Landlords

TenantTracks won't show up in many "best tenant screening" roundups. It doesn't spend big on ads, it doesn't bundle rent collection or accounting, and it has spent most of its life as a regional name — built by a Connecticut landlord in 2010 and best known in New England. But for independent landlords who care most about one thing — a screening report that doesn't miss anything — it's worth a hard look. Here's an honest review of what TenantTracks is, what it costs, and how it stacks up against the bigger names.

Our take: the short version

TenantTracks is a boutique tenant screening service founded by landlord Bob De Cosmo (Waterbury, Connecticut) and run as a family business. Instead of selling you modular add-ons, it sells one comprehensive package: a TransUnion credit report with Vantage Score, national criminal and sex-offender search, a terrorist watch-list check, a national eviction report, its own internal eviction database for MA/CT/RI/NH cases, a landlord-provided "Tenant Reporting" database, and an alias-name people search. All soft inquiries — no impact on the applicant's credit score.

Pricing is straightforward: $28.50 per report on the Optimum-10 plan (geared toward frequent screeners, with a $35 annual compliance fee), or $39.00 per report on Open Access (no extra fees, the tenant can pay). Pricing is from TenantTracks' own site as of September 2026 and can change.

The honest bottom line: TenantTracks is strongest for landlords in New England, where its regional eviction database is a genuine edge, and for anyone who wants maximum report depth without assembling a menu of add-ons. Its weaknesses are national brand recognition, a small company footprint, and account quirks (site inspection requirements, no copying reports) that larger competitors don't impose.

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What TenantTracks actually is

TenantTracks (tenanttracks.com) is a tenant screening company that was founded in 2010 to solve, in its words, the industry's "critical issues: inaccurate reports and missing eviction data." It's designed specifically for landlords, property managers, and realtors — not for full property management. There's no rent collection, no listings syndication, no accounting. It does one job: tenant screening reports.

Two things make it unusual in the screening market. First, it's a small, family-run operation with a stated emphasis on customer service and landlord advocacy — the company says every report supports its advocacy work for property-owner rights. Second, it builds its eviction data from multiple independent database providers plus its own internally compiled eviction records (particularly for Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire cases), rather than relying on a single white-label data feed.

The 7-report package: what's included

Both TenantTracks account types deliver the same report contents. Every screening is a bundle of seven components:

1. TransUnion credit report with a summary box and a Vantage Score. Note that this is a Vantage Score, not a FICO score — the two usually track close to each other, but if your written screening criteria reference a specific FICO minimum, be aware of the difference.

2. National criminal report including a sex-offender search.

3. Terrorist watch-list search.

4. National eviction report.

5. TenantTracks internal eviction database covering MA, CT, RI, and NH cases — this is the piece national competitors often can't match in New England, where local court records are hard for out-of-state companies to collect reliably.

6. TenantTracks Tenant Reporting Feature — a landlord-provided database where participating landlords report negative rental payment experiences: late payments after the grace period, partial payments, notices of lease violations, no-rent-payment situations, and even "cash for keys" payoffs. This kind of behavior data (a tenant who paid to leave without an eviction on record) is invisible to standard court-record searches.

7. People search with alias-name matching and previous address history. Alias matching matters more than most landlords realize: applicants change names through marriage and divorce, and a report that only searches one name can miss eviction records filed under another.

One important anti-discrimination design point: TenantTracks doesn't let customers pick and choose which components to run. Everyone gets the same comprehensive package, which supports a consistent, uniform screening process for every applicant — a meaningful protection if you ever face a Fair Housing consistency question. For more on consistent screening policies, see our adverse action notice guide.

All TenantTracks background checks are soft inquiries, so running a report does not affect the applicant's credit score. Reports are stored in your secure account for 60 days, after which they go to cold storage (a $7.50 fee applies to un-archive an older report).

Pricing: two account types

TenantTracks offers two ways to screen, at different prices:

Optimum-10 — $28.50 per report

• Best for landlords who screen frequently.
• Requires a simple virtual office site inspection (at no cost) and a $35 annual compliance fee — waived on renewal if you run at least 50 reports per year.
• You enter the tenant's information; you can run reports on applicants even without a Social Security number.
• Reports belong to you as the end user and cannot be copied or emailed to third parties (they may be viewed by parties involved in the transaction). Reports must be safeguarded under FCRA rules.

Open Access — $39.00 per report

• Best for occasional screeners who want zero setup hassle.
• No additional costs or requirements beyond accepting TransUnion's terms and conditions online; no proof of "permissible purpose" required.
• The landlord or the tenant can pay (you can pass the cost to the applicant where local law allows).
• Requires the applicant's SSN or Taxpayer ID, and the tenant receives an email to enter their own information.
• No restrictions on sharing reports with tenants and clients.

As a cost-per-screen, $28.50 is competitive with the full packages at larger services. See our tenant screening cost guide for how screening costs typically break down.

Compliance helpers landlords should know about

Two features are genuinely useful for small landlords who don't have compliance departments:

• Automated adverse-action letters. If you deny an applicant, TenantTracks' system auto-fills the denial (adverse action) letter with the applicant's details — you just print and mail it or hand it over. FCRA requires this letter whenever a denial is based on report contents, and having it built in removes a common compliance failure point.
• Uniform-package design. Because every report includes all seven components, you automatically screen every applicant the same way. TenantTracks also encourages running a report on every applicant over 18, which is consistent with best practices.

TenantTracks vs. RentPrep

RentPrep (now delivered through Stessa) is the closest "high-touch" competitor. Its current pricing, per its own site: $29 for the Credit Report Only package, $29 for the Full Background Check Only package (landlord-pay only), and $49 for the Complete package, with add-ons like income verification ($10–$15) and judgment/lien search extra.

Here's how they differ in practice:

• Report depth vs. modularity. TenantTracks gives you everything in one bundle — eviction, criminal, credit, watch-list, alias search, and the landlord-reported payment database. RentPrep sells a modular menu: the basic package is thinner, and you assemble depth with add-ons. If you want maximum coverage with zero decision-making, TenantTracks' single package is simpler. If you want to pay less for a lighter screen, RentPrep's tiers give you that option.
• Eviction data. TenantTracks' calling card is its own eviction records for New England courts plus its landlord-reported "Tenant Reporting" database (late payments, cash-for-keys) — data RentPrep's national-database approach doesn't replicate. Outside New England, this advantage narrows.
• Turnaround. TenantTracks reports run instantly once the applicant's information is in. RentPrep's differentiator historically has been its in-house FCRA-certified screener review — human eyes on the report — which adds accuracy but can slow delivery relative to automated reports.
• Regional strength. TenantTracks is built around New England landlords; RentPrep serves nationally through the Stessa ecosystem.

Verdict: for a New England landlord who wants the deepest eviction coverage in one shot, TenantTracks has the edge. For a landlord who wants to keep per-screen costs low with a modular menu, or who's already in the Stessa ecosystem, RentPrep is the easier fit. For the full field, see our best tenant screening services for 2026.

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TenantTracks vs. TransUnion SmartMove

TransUnion SmartMove is the bureau-direct heavyweight — the screening product built by TransUnion itself. Its SmartCheck tiers run $25 (Basic: ResidentScore + criminal only), $40 (Plus: adds credit report + eviction report), and $49 (Premium: adds income insights + identity check), per a September 2026 comparison of the published tiers.

Comparison points:

• Who pays / ease of setup. Both offer landlord-pay or applicant-pay. SmartMove's signup is frictionless — no site inspection, no compliance fee. TenantTracks' Optimum-10 requires the virtual site inspection and annual compliance fee; Open Access avoids both but costs $39/report.
• Score type. SmartMove delivers TransUnion's ResidentScore (a rental-specific score); TenantTracks delivers the Vantage Score with the full TransUnion credit report. Both are credible; neither is a FICO score.
• Eviction coverage. SmartMove's eviction report draws from TransUnion's large national database (27 million records per SmartMove's marketing). TenantTracks adds its own New England court records and the landlord-reported payment database on top of a national eviction report. For New England properties, TenantTracks' supplemental data is the differentiator; nationally, SmartMove's bureau-direct database is the safer pick.
• Brand and support. SmartMove is a bureau product with institutional scale. TenantTracks is a small family company whose pitch is responsive, landlord-to-landlord customer service. Which you prefer depends on whether you want a call center or a direct line.

For a side-by-side of the two biggest names, see our RentPrep vs. SmartMove comparison.

Pros and cons

What we like

• Exceptional eviction depth for New England. The internal MA/CT/RI/NH eviction database plus alias-name matching is the single strongest reason to choose TenantTracks.
• The Tenant Reporting Feature. Landlord-reported payment behavior (late/partial payments, cash-for-keys) surfaces risks that court records never show. This is genuinely distinctive.
• One comprehensive package. No picking components, no add-on math, and the uniform design supports FCRA/Fair Housing consistency.
• Soft inquiries only. Screening never dings the applicant's credit.
• Competitive price point. $28.50/report on Optimum-10 undercuts many full packages; $39 on Open Access is in line with the market.
• Compliance built in. Automated adverse-action letters remove a real legal headache for DIY landlords.
• Family-run, landlord-built support. Long-time users in New England report fast, personal customer service — you call a small team, not a queue.

What gives us pause

• Regional identity. The eviction-data edge is concentrated in New England. Outside MA/CT/RI/NH, the report is a strong national package, but the headline differentiator fades.
• Optimum-10 friction. The virtual site inspection and $35 annual compliance fee are unusual requirements compared with self-serve competitors like SmartMove. Reasonable for frequent screeners, annoying for everyone else.
• No copying Optimum-10 reports. The restriction on faxing/emailing reports to third parties is a real workflow constraint for agents who share reports with owner-clients (Open Access removes it).
• Small company, limited reviews. TenantTracks has far fewer independent reviews than RentPrep or SmartMove, so you're relying more on the company's own claims. We verified pricing and report contents against tenanttracks.com directly — but third-party validation of the marketing claims (e.g., exclusive access to all 15 Connecticut courthouses) is thin.
• Vantage Score, not FICO. Minor, but know the difference if your screening criteria name a FICO threshold.
• Screening-only. No listings, leases, rent collection, or applicant management platform — you'll pair it with something else (or do it manually).

Who TenantTracks is best for

• New England landlords and small property managers who want the most complete eviction picture available in MA, CT, RI, and NH.
• Frequent screeners who can take the Optimum-10 plan and get comprehensive reports at $28.50 each.
• DIY landlords who want one decision (run the report) instead of configuring packages and add-ons.
• Landlords worried about compliance, who'll use the built-in adverse-action letter workflow.

Who should skip it

• Landlords outside New England who just need a solid national screen — SmartMove or RentPrep deliver that with less setup friction and bigger support operations.
• Landlords who want an all-in-one platform (listings + screening + rent collection) — look at Avail, TurboTenant, or Innago instead. Our Avail vs. RentPrep breakdown covers one common pairing.
• Agents who routinely forward reports to owner-clients — the Optimum-10 no-copying rule will frustrate you; use Open Access or a competitor.

The bottom line

TenantTracks is a niche product that knows exactly what it is: the deepest tenant screening report a New England landlord can buy, assembled by landlords who screen tenants themselves. The $28.50 Optimum-10 price is genuinely competitive for what's included, and the landlord-reported payment database is data you simply can't get from the big national services. The tradeoffs are real — a regional focus, small-company scale, and account quirks — but if you rent in New England and take screening seriously, it deserves to be on your shortlist alongside RentPrep and SmartMove.

If you sign up through our link, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

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Pricing and features verified against tenanttracks.com and the cited comparison sources as of September 2026. Screening prices and plan terms change — confirm on the provider's site before purchasing. Tenant screening reports are governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA); this article is not legal advice.