For landlords
Screen tenants free. Never see a fake pay stub again.
CertRent is the free toolkit for NYC's small landlords: request verified applications (bank-confirmed income, real ID, checkable references), create compliant NY leases, manage your buildings, and stay on the right side of the law — all free.
Free forever for landlords. No card required. English & Español.
Everything you need to rent — in one free place
Verified applications
Invite any applicant to send one verified profile: bank-confirmed income and rent history, government-ID identity, and references checked against NYC ownership records. No more fabricated pay stubs or fake landlords.
No fake applicantsFree screening
Request and review applicants at no cost — no $40 screening fee, no per-applicant charges. You only see people who chose to verify.
Save on every applicantMy Buildings
Add and verify the buildings you own or manage (by name match or bank). See each building's open violations at a glance, and request applications per unit.
Your verified portfolioVerified-Owner badge
Get a badge to paste on your StreetEasy / Zillow / Facebook listings. Renters click it and confirm you're the real owner — so they trust you and you rent faster.
Beat rental scamsFree NY leases + e-sign
Create a compliant New York lease with every required rider and sign it online (ESIGN/UETA) — in English or Spanish, whichever your tenant reads.
Signed tonightFree document library + e-sign
18 ready-to-use letters, notices, checklists and agreements — fill one in and send it for real e-signature, free with your account. Every signer gets a signed copy by email.
No DocuSign feeStay compliant
A rent-increase calculator, correct notice periods (30/60/90 days), and Good Cause guidance keep you out of trouble as NYC law keeps changing.
Never trip NY lawPlus: offer tenants free credit-building rent reporting to attract and keep great renters (launching soon).
Verified facts beat a stack of screenshots.
Today you get pay stubs, bank statements, and references that are easy to fake and slow to check. A CertRent profile is different — the facts are confirmed at the source:
Income
Confirmed directly from the bank — not a screenshot.
Identity
Government ID + liveness check, not a name typed in a form.
References
Prior-landlord references checked against NYC ownership records.
Up and running in minutes
Create a free account
No card, no fee. Sign up as a landlord.
Add your buildings
We verify you against NYC ownership records (or your rent account).
Request applications
Send a link — applicants share a verified profile back to you.
Sign the lease
Generate a compliant NY lease and e-sign, in your tenant's language.
Already have an applicant in mind? Request their verified application →
Frequently asked questions
Is there free tenant screening in NYC?
Yes. CertRent lets NYC landlords view verified renter profiles at no cost. Applicants build a free profile with bank-verified income, rent history, ID, and ownership-verified references, then share a link. You review it free — no subscription or per-application charge at launch.
How do I verify a tenant's income for a rental?
With CertRent, income is confirmed through the applicant's linked bank data rather than uploaded documents you have to trust. You see verified deposits and rent-payment history in the profile, so you're not relying on a PDF pay stub that could be edited or fabricated.
How can I spot fake pay stubs from applicants?
Watch for round numbers, mismatched YTD totals, misaligned fonts, and employers that don't verify. The reliable fix is to skip documents entirely: CertRent shows bank-verified income directly, so there's no pay stub to fake and nothing you have to manually authenticate.
Can I screen tenants for free without charging applicants?
Yes. CertRent is free for both sides — landlords view profiles at no cost and renters build them free. Remember NY Real Property Law §238-a caps any tenant application fee at $20 and requires you deduct the cost of a background or credit check, so free screening keeps you compliant.
How does CertRent verify a rental application in NYC?
Each profile is built from source data: income and rent history are bank-verified, identity is confirmed, and landlord references are ownership-verified against public records so a friend can't pose as a prior landlord. You get a consistent, checkable application instead of loose documents.
What do I actually see in a CertRent renter profile?
You see bank-verified income, verified on-time rent payment history, confirmed identity, and references tied to verified property owners. It's a standardized profile you can review in minutes, giving you a clearer, harder-to-fake picture than a stack of uploaded paperwork.
For larger portfolios
Screen from your own system with the CertRent Open API
If you manage enough units that opening a link per applicant is the slow part, connect CertRent directly to the leasing software you already use. Enrol an applicant, ask for their consent, and read a verified screening decision — without anyone logging into anything.
Enrolling is free
You pay only when you read a verified profile, once per applicant per month. Inviting applicants, sending reminders and receiving events cost nothing.
The applicant stays in control
Nothing is readable until the renter approves your specific request, and every approval produces a consent receipt you can both point to later.
NYC rules, in the response
Ask the API what binds on a given application — the $20 fee cap, the FARE Act, source-of-income protection, fair-chance timing — and file your adverse-action record through it.
One verified profile. Every application.
Free to start. Build your profile in minutes and share it with any New York landlord.