Tenant Screening in New York

FCRA-compliant tenant screening for landlords in New York — serving New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers, Syracuse and every other New York market. Reports start at $24.99 with no subscription. New York-specific reporting-law overlays are applied automatically before the landlord sees any record.

What landlords in New York can include in a screening report

• Credit report and score — TransUnion VantageScore plus tradeline detail.
• Criminal background — nationwide criminal record search with New York-specific look-back limits applied.
• Housing records — sealed, dismissed, and time-barred housing-court records filtered before they reach you.
• Income verification — optional payroll + bank-link verification via Pinwheel.
• AI landlord reference call — optional AI agent calls the applicant’s prior landlord and produces a structured summary.

Housing records reporting in New York

New York Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 prohibits the use of certain housing records in tenant screening; sealed and pre-judgment cases are excluded.

Statutory citation: NY Real Property Law § 227-f

How reporting limits interact with what you may lawfully consider is covered in what landlords can screen for and the investigative consumer report explainer.

Criminal-record reporting in New York

Federal FCRA 7-year limit applies. NYC has additional Fair Chance Housing protections.

Fair housing in New York

The NY State Human Rights Law applies in addition to the federal Fair Housing Act. Source of income is a protected class statewide in New York — landlords may not refuse to consider an applicant solely because they intend to pay with a housing-choice voucher or similar lawful source.

Notable New York considerations

Source of income is a protected class statewide. NYC has rent-stabilization and additional source-of-income protections.

What New York law limits when you screen and rent

These are the statutory limits most likely to affect a New York landlord at the application stage, compiled from state statutes and reviewed August 2026. Where a limit could not be tied to a specific statute it is left out rather than estimated. Statutes change and local ordinances often add limits your state does not — this is a starting point for your own check, not legal advice, and not a substitute for counsel licensed in New York.

Rental application / screening fee

New York bars fees to process or review a rental application and limits background- and credit-check charges to the actual cost or $20, whichever is less. Citation: N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 238-a(1)

Security deposit limit

New York caps the security deposit, together with any advance rent, at one month's rent. Citation: N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)(a)

Criminal history (fair-chance housing)

New York has no statewide fair-chance housing law reaching conviction records; New York City separately makes criminal screening wait until after a conditional offer. Citation: N.Y. Exec. Law § 296(16) (reaches only sealed and non-conviction records, not a statewide fair-chance housing law)

Local ordinances frequently add limits your state statute does not — check your city and county before you set an application fee or a deposit.

How RentalApplication.ai works for New York landlords

1. You start a screening at rentalapplication.ai/apply. Enter the applicant’s name and email; pick the reports you want.
2. The applicant gets an email with a secure link, completes the application, and authorizes the screening (FCRA § 1681b(b)(2)).
3. The applicant pays at the moment of submission (or you can land-lord-pay).
4. Reports are delivered to you in minutes (credit) to a few hours (housing/criminal). State-law overlays are applied before the landlord sees any record.
5. If you decline based on the report, we generate the FCRA § 1681m adverse-action notice for you.

This page is an informational summary, not legal advice. State and local landlord-tenant law changes frequently — verify against current statute and local counsel before relying on this content. RentalApplication.ai is a reseller of consumer reports under FCRA § 1681a(u) and does not make tenancy decisions. The landlord (the “end user”) is the party who decides whether to approve or deny an application.