Etihad Credit Bureau (ECB) has officially launched its Tenant Screening service, giving landlords the option to check a prospective tenant’s credit score before signing on the dotted line. First announced back in May, this service is now fully up and running through the ECB app, and it’s changing how rental decisions get made across the country. Keep reading to find out what this means for new renters in the UAE.
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So, What Exactly Is This Service?
In simple terms, landlords can now request to see a prospective tenant’s credit score before deciding whether to hand over the keys. The best part? It’s completely consent-based. Nothing gets shared unless the tenant gives the green light through their verified UAE PASS account. This keeps the entire process digital, secure, and firmly in the tenant’s control. As ECB puts it, tenants provide their consent through UAE PASS, and that approval is a non-negotiable step in every single screening request.
How Does It Actually Work?
The whole process happens right within the ECB mobile app, so there’s no paperwork or back-and-forth involved. A landlord simply selects the Tenant Screening feature, pops in the prospective tenant’s Emirates ID details, and completes the payment. From there, a secure consent request gets sent straight to the tenant through UAE PASS.
Once the tenant approves the request, the credit score shows up directly in the landlord’s app, ready for them to review before making their final call on the lease. As for payment, the service keeps things convenient by supporting digital options like Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Tenant Consent Is Always Required
Here’s the part that matters most. No landlord can access anyone’s credit score without their say-so. Once a screening request goes out, the tenant gets a secure notification through UAE PASS and can choose to approve or reject it. If they say yes, the landlord gets the credit score. If they say no, or simply don’t respond before the request expires, nothing gets shared at all. And the landlord’s payment is automatically refunded.
One more thing worth noting. Tenants need a fully verified UAE PASS profile before any of this can even begin. So there’s an added layer of security built into the system from the start, for everyone involved.
What Will Landlords Actually See?
With this service, landlords get access to a prospective tenant’s credit score before finalising a tenancy agreement. Giving them one more tool to weigh alongside the usual checks like income and references. It’s also worth clarifying that this service shares a tenant’s credit score specifically, not their entire credit report. So landlords aren’t getting an all-access pass to someone’s full financial history, just a helpful snapshot of their score.
