Verifast Terms & Conditions

Audience: the rental APPLICANT (and any co-applicant, occupant, or guarantor who uses the Verifast application flow). This document is written for you, the applicant. It is separate from the agreement Verifast has with the property owner/manager (our "Client"), and separate from the credit/criminal screening authorization you sign at the screening step. 

Companion documents: the Verifast Privacy Policy, at https://verifast.com/privacy-policy (biometric handling is described in its Section 6); the tenant-screening authorization & disclosure shown at the screening step (FCRA).

1. Who Verifast is, and who we work for

Verifast, Inc. ("Verifast", "we", "us") operates an identity, income, and background screening platform used to evaluate rental applications. We are engaged by property owners, property managers, and their authorized representatives (each, a "Housing Provider" or "Client") to collect, verify, and screen your information on their behalf. We act as a consumer reporting agency in providing these services.

Information you provide to us, and the results we generate from it, are collected for and shared with the Housing Provider to which you applied, so that the Housing Provider can evaluate your tenancy application. We are not the party that decides your application except where a Housing Provider has specifically engaged us to make or recommend a decision on its behalf; in all cases the Housing Provider is responsible for its own leasing decision. 

This Section is the core relationship: you are giving your information to a screening company that works for the Housing Provider and shares your information and screening results with that Housing Provider. If you do not want your information collected and shared for that purpose, do not proceed.

2. What we collect (summary)

The categories below are summarized here and described in full, with recipients and retention, in our Privacy Policy. Depending on the Housing Provider's configuration, we may collect:

• Identity information and government-issued ID, including a photo of your ID and a selfie/face image used for identity verification (see Section 5).

• Financial and bank account information, including account details and up to two years of transaction history, when you connect a bank account for income verification (see Section 4).

• Income and employment information (from payroll connection and/or documents you upload).

• Consumer report information, including credit and criminal/eviction records, obtained from consumer-reporting sources when the Housing Provider's screening includes them.

• Documents you upload (for example pay stubs, bank statements, offer letters, benefit letters).

• Contact and application details, and technical information about your device and session.

3. Your authorization and consent

By using the Verifast application flow and accepting these Terms, you authorize Verifast to collect, verify, process, and share with the Housing Provider (and its authorized representatives) the information described in Section 2 and in our Privacy Policy, for the purpose of evaluating your tenancy application.

Your authorization for Verifast to obtain consumer reports about you (credit, criminal, eviction) is captured separately, in the tenant-screening authorization and disclosure presented at the screening step, which includes the notices required by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and applicable state law. 

4. Connecting a bank account

If income verification is required, you may connect a bank account through a third-party data provider (for example MX or Plaid). You log in with your bank through that provider; Verifast never receives your online banking username or password. The connection retrieves account-owner and transaction information (up to two years of history) used to verify your income. The connection is read-only — we cannot move money or make changes to your account. The connection may remain active while your verification is completed, and the retrieved information may refresh during that time; it is not used after your verification is finalized, and the connection is removed shortly afterward.  You may decline to connect a bank and instead upload bank statements or other documents.

5. Identity and biometric verification

Identity verification is performed through a third-party provider (Persona). This step captures a photo of your government ID and one or more selfie/face images, which are used to confirm your identity and to compare your face to your ID. Verifast receives and stores these images and the results of that comparison. What we collect, why, how long we keep it, and how to contact us about it are described in our Privacy Policy (Section 6). Biometric verification is part of the identity step: by continuing through that step you consent to it. If you do not wish to provide a face image, do not proceed past that step — you will not be able to complete verification through Verifast, and you should contact your Housing Provider directly about alternative application options they may offer under their own policies.

Social Security number verification. If you provide a Social Security number (SSN), Verifast verifies it against U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) records through our service provider SentiLink, using the SSA's electronic Consent Based SSN Verification (eCBSV) service. This confirms only whether the name, SSN, and date of birth you provide match SSA's records — SSA shares no other information from its records. You give your consent for this check at the screening step. 

6. Your responsibilities

You must be at least 18 years old (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction) to use the Verifast application flow. 

You represent that the information you provide is true, accurate, and your own, and that you are authorized to provide any information you submit. Providing false information may result in denial of your application. If you invite a co-applicant, occupant, or guarantor, you represent that you are authorized to provide their contact information for the purpose of inviting them to apply; each person you invite completes their own application and provides and consents to their own information. 

7. Privacy, data sharing, and retention

Our collection, use, sharing, and retention of your information is described in the Privacy Policy (https://verifast.com/privacy-policy), which is incorporated into these Terms. In summary: your information and screening results are shared with the Housing Provider you applied to and with the service providers that help us deliver the screening; we retain information for the periods described in the Privacy Policy. 

8. Electronic records and communications

You consent to receive these Terms, the Privacy Policy, screening disclosures, and related notices electronically, and you agree that electronic records and signatures have the same effect as paper. Your consent applies to the records related to your rental application through Verifast. You may request a paper copy of any record we provide electronically, at no charge, by contacting us at our support address (Section 13); and you may withdraw your consent to electronic records by the same contact, in which case you may be unable to continue the application through Verifast (withdrawal does not affect records already provided). To access these records you need a device with a current web browser, an internet connection, and the ability to view PDF files; if our hardware or software requirements change in a way that creates a material risk you cannot access your records, we will notify you and you may withdraw consent without charge. Keep your email address up to date with us via the same support contact (Section 13).  We may contact you by email or text message about your application; message and data rates may apply, and you can opt out of text messages at any time by contacting us (Section 13). 

9. Third-party services

The application flow uses third-party providers (for example bank-data providers, the identity- verification provider, consumer-reporting sources, and communications providers). Your use of those providers within the flow may also be subject to their own terms and privacy notices. The providers we use and what they receive are listed in the Privacy Policy.

10. Disclaimers and limitation of liability

The screening service is provided "as is." We work to make verification results accurate, but we do not guarantee that any verification, data source, or report is error-free, and we are not responsible for the Housing Provider's leasing decision. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Verifast's total liability to you arising out of these Terms or the service is limited to the greater of (a) US$100 or (b) the total amounts (if any) you paid Verifast in the twelve months before the event giving rise to the claim, and neither party is liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages, so some or all of the above limitations may not apply to you. Nothing in this Section limits rights you have under the Fair Credit Reporting Act or other laws that cannot be waived, including your right to dispute inaccurate information in your file. 

11. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms. If we make a material change, we will present the updated Terms and, where required, ask you to accept them before you continue. 

12. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. This does not take away the protection of any mandatory consumer-protection law of the place where you live, and it does not require you to bring a claim in a court that your home jurisdiction's law does not allow.

13. How to contact us; your consumer-report rights

Questions: Verifast, Inc., 1 Bridge Street East, Suite 400, Belleville, Ontario K8N 5N9, Canada; support@verifast.com. Because Verifast acts as a consumer reporting agency, you have rights regarding the information in your file, including the right to obtain a copy of your file and to dispute inaccurate information. To request your file or dispute information, contact us at the address or email above.  How to exercise these rights is described in the Privacy Policy and in the FCRA screening disclosure.

14. General

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and the screening authorization/disclosure, are the entire agreement between you and Verifast regarding the application flow. If any provision is held unenforceable, the remaining provisions stay in effect (severability). Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of it (no waiver). You may not assign these Terms; we may assign them to an affiliate or successor, including in connection with a corporate transaction (assignment).