How does ARCH work?

Can tenant screening software help end homelessness? Through Centralization, Screening, and Support we can reframe the traditional screening process and help renters find and maintain safe and secure housing.

  1. Centralization

    ARCH by HomeScreen acts as a centralized housing database for nonprofit housing liaisons. Without ARCH, nonprofits have to search multiple housing websites, fill out multiple applications, pay multiple application fees, and hope the landlord will accept their client’s application. With ARCH, our Landlords opt-in to the system because they understand our goal and want to help house people who are currently or at risk of homelessness. They can list their criteria right on the platform, along with their preferred contact information to answer additional questions. Once you submit one ARCH application, we can duplicate the application for multiple available properties without charging the applicant or agency an additional fee.

  2. Screening

    ARCH Landlords utilize HomeScreen’s tenant screening platform to perform a credit check, a national criminal background check, a national eviction search, and income verification. HomeScreen will send the Landlord a recommendation and each Landlord will use their own criteria for approving or denying the application. Before applying and paying the non-refundable application fee, we strongly recommend contacting the Landlord to verify the applicant could be approved.

    HomeScreen will recommend the applicant if the applicant has:

    • no violent felony convictions in the past 10 years

    • no negative rental references in the past five years; if they have been homeless or not on a lease for the past five years, this will not negatively affect our recommendation

    • and the gross household income is at least 3x the rent the applicant is required to pay; HomeScreen will factor in any vouchers or other rental assistance programs

    Pre-Screening

    Some applicants may not know if they will meet the Landlord’s screening criteria. ARCH users have the ability to run a Pre-Screening on the Applicant to obtain their national criminal background and national eviction reports before submitting the full application.

    Pre-Screening can also be used by nonprofit ARCH users for:

    • volunteer screening

    • new hire screening

    • securing employment or benefits

    Pre-Screening reports cost $25 per report.

  3. Support

    Once an ARCH applicant is approved, HomeScreen will begin our follow-up support with the Landlord, the nonprofit liaison, and the renter. We commit to helping keep all ARCH applicants stably housed for a year after they are approved to move in. We also commit to help all ARCH Landlords take an anti-eviction approach, and HomeScreen can elicit professional mediation services as issues arise. We are committed to making ARCH tenancies successful for all parties.