TL;DR: SayRhino, OneAppGuarantee, and LibertyRent serve different functions, and conflating them costs Texas renters with eviction history real money. SayRhino replaces security deposits with insurance but does not override eviction screening denials. OneAppGuarantee acts as a corporate co-signer at participating properties. LibertyRent provides rent loss protection initiated by the property, not the renter. The service that gets a renter approved is the one the matched community accepts for that specific eviction profile.
Renters with eviction history in Texas lose $250–$450 in non-refundable application fees before landing an approval. Some of that money disappears because they applied at communities that were never going to approve the profile. But a chunk of it disappears for a different reason: the renter signed up for the wrong third-party service before applying.
SayRhino, OneAppGuarantee, and LibertyRent show up on every “how to rent with an eviction” search. Social media posts lump them together. Apartment locator TikToks name-drop all three like they’re interchangeable. They aren’t. One replaces security deposits. One acts as a corporate co-signer. One is initiated by the property manager, not the renter. Picking the wrong one doesn’t just waste the service fee. It wastes the application fee at the community that didn’t accept it.
StopTXEviction.org has placed hundreds of renters with eviction records into apartments across Texas and works directly with third-party guarantee services as part of the screening and placement process. Operated by Apartment Access Group, brokered by Spirit Real Estate Group, LLC (TX Broker License #562021), the service tracks which communities accept which guarantee mechanisms and under what conditions. That operational data is what this article draws from.
Here’s what each service actually does at the screening level, what it costs, and why the comparison matters less than most renters think.
Find Out Which Communities Match Your Eviction Profile
What These Three Services Actually Do
The names sound similar. The marketing blurs together. But these three companies operate in fundamentally different parts of the rental process.
SayRhino — Deposit Replacement Insurance
Rhino replaces the traditional security deposit with a monthly insurance premium. Instead of paying $1,200–$1,800 upfront as a security deposit, the renter pays roughly $10–$30 per month for an insurance policy that covers the landlord if the renter causes damage or leaves unpaid rent at move-out.
That’s it. That’s what Rhino does.
It does not interact with the screening process. It does not override a denial for eviction history. It does not act as a co-signer or guarantor on the lease. If a renter with an eviction on their screening report applies at a community that uses Rhino for deposit replacement, the application still runs through the same automated screening software — LexisNexis, RealPage, CoreLogic — and if the eviction triggers a deny recommendation, the application is declined. Rhino’s deposit insurance doesn’t enter the equation until after the renter has already been approved through screening.
For renters without screening barriers, Rhino reduces move-in costs. For renters with eviction history, it doesn’t solve the problem they actually have.
OneAppGuarantee — Corporate Co-Signer / Lease Guarantee
OneApp functions as a corporate co-signer. When a renter applies at a participating property and doesn’t meet the community’s screening criteria because of an eviction, low credit, insufficient income, or a combination, OneApp steps in and guarantees the lease. If the renter defaults, OneApp covers up to 3 months of lost rent plus legal costs and damages.
The renter pays a one-time co-signing fee. The amount varies based on the renter’s profile, the community, and the specific lease terms.
Two things to understand about OneApp: it addresses the screening barrier, not just the deposit. And it only works at participating properties. A renter can’t sign up for OneApp and bring the guarantee to any apartment community in Texas. The community has to already be in OneApp’s network.
LibertyRent — Property-Initiated Rent Loss Protection
LibertyRent operates differently from both Rhino and OneApp. The property refers the renter to LibertyRent — the renter doesn’t initiate the process independently. When a renter applies at a community and gets flagged during screening, the property can refer the application to LibertyRent for a guarantee decision. If LibertyRent approves the renter, it guarantees rent payments for the property for up to 6 months (or until the unit is re-rented, whichever comes first) if the tenant defaults.
The renter pays approximately one month’s rent as the guarantee fee, plus a separate application fee (around $35 as of March 2026).
The critical distinction: LibertyRent is a tool the property uses, not one the renter shops for. A renter can’t go to LibertyRent’s website, get approved, and then present that approval to a community. The community has to be the one that initiates the referral.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | SayRhino | OneAppGuarantee | LibertyRent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Function | Replaces security deposit with insurance | Acts as corporate co-signer on lease | Provides rent loss protection for property |
| Who Initiates | Renter or property | Renter applies at participating property | Property refers renter to LibertyRent |
| Addresses Eviction Screening Denial | No | Yes, at participating properties | Yes, at participating properties |
| Renter Cost | ~$10–$30/month ongoing | One-time co-signing fee (varies) | ~One month’s rent + ~$35 app fee |
| What It Covers | Damage/unpaid rent claims post-move-in | Up to 3 months lost rent + legal + damages | Rent loss up to 6 months or until unit re-rented |
| Renter Can Bring to Any Community | Depends on community participation | No — participating properties only | No — property must initiate referral |
For renters trying to understand how eviction records appear on screening reports in the first place, When Does an Eviction Go on Your Record? breaks down the timeline and database mechanics.
Why the Distinction Matters for Renters with Eviction History
Here’s the sequence that plays out at roughly 85–90% of apartment communities in Texas: the renter submits an application. The leasing office runs it through automated screening software. That software pulls from databases like LexisNexis and cross-references credit, criminal history, and rental history. If an eviction filing or judgment appears inside the lookback window, the system returns a deny recommendation. The leasing agent processes the denial. No human reviewed the file. No “case-by-case” evaluation happened.
A deposit replacement product doesn’t touch that sequence. Rhino’s insurance kicks in after approval and move-in — it covers the back end. The screening denial happens on the front end, and no deposit insurance product changes that outcome.
A lease guarantee (OneApp) or rent loss protection (LibertyRent) does address the front end. The guarantee tells the community: if this renter defaults, the financial loss is covered. That removes the community’s risk objection to approving a renter with eviction history. The screening flag still exists on the report, but the guarantee offsets the financial exposure the flag represents.
Approximately 95% of renters with evictions, broken leases, or property debt on their screening report need a third-party guarantee to secure approval. That’s the operational reality across Texas metros, not a sales figure.
A renter with a dismissed eviction from 2022 and 590 credit found Rhino online and signed up for deposit insurance before applying at a Class A community. The application ran through automated screening, the eviction filing was flagged, and the application was declined. Rhino’s deposit product had nothing to do with the screening decision. The renter lost a $75 application fee and still had the same eviction on the same screening report.
The deposit insurance wasn’t the wrong product in general. It was the wrong product for the problem the renter actually had.
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, renters who are denied because of information in a screening report have the right to request a free copy of that report and dispute inaccurate information. That’s worth knowing, but it doesn’t change the screening outcome for accurate eviction records.
Cost Comparison — What Texas Renters Actually Pay
Dollar amounts matter more than marketing language. Here’s what each service costs in the context of a $1,400/month apartment — the approximate midpoint for Class B properties in major Texas metros as of March 2026.
Cost Breakdown by Service
| Cost Element | SayRhino | OneAppGuarantee | LibertyRent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guarantee/Insurance Fee | ~$10–$30/month (ongoing for lease term) | One-time fee (typically a percentage of annual rent; varies by profile) | ~$1,400 (approximately one month’s rent) |
| Application Fee to Community | $50–$75 per person | $50–$75 per person | $50–$75 per person |
| Service Application Fee | None reported | None reported | ~$35 |
| Security Deposit | Replaced by Rhino premium | Set by community (may be reduced with guarantee) | Set by community |
| Fee Applies Toward Rent or Deposit | No — insurance premium | No — co-signing fee | No — guarantee fee |
None of these fees are refundable. None apply toward rent or security deposit. Each one is a separate cost on top of the standard move-in expenses.
For context, the total move-in cost for a renter with eviction history at a $1,400/month apartment typically runs $4,400–$4,650 when a third-party guarantee is required. That includes first month’s rent ($1,400), security deposit (often one month’s rent at $1,400 for this profile), the guarantee fee (~$1,400), and administrative fees ($150–$300). The guarantee fee is one line item in a larger financial picture, not the whole number.
One thing renters miss in cost comparisons: Rhino’s monthly premium runs for the entire lease term. On a 12-month lease at $25/month, that’s $300 in total premium payments. But Rhino isn’t solving the screening problem. The guarantee services (OneApp, LibertyRent, or the bonding service StopTXEviction.org works with) cost more upfront but address the actual barrier to approval.
Costs listed here are approximate as of March 2026 and vary by applicant profile, community policies, and service terms. Verify directly with the service provider before making financial decisions.
The Part Most Comparison Articles Skip — Community Acceptance
Every comparison article about guarantee services treats the decision like the renter gets to choose. Pick the cheapest one. Pick the one with the best reviews. Pick the one your friend used.
That’s not how it works.
Each apartment community determines which third-party services it accepts. A community that works with OneApp may not work with LibertyRent. A community that uses LibertyRent may not participate in OneApp’s network. Some communities work with a different bonding service entirely, one that isn’t named SayRhino, OneApp, or LibertyRent. The renter’s preference doesn’t factor into the equation. The community’s contractual relationships do.
This creates a problem for renters who shop for a guarantee company before identifying which communities will approve their profile. They research services, compare fees, maybe even start an application with one, and then discover that the community they want to live in doesn’t accept that service. Or they discover that the service they chose has its own underwriting criteria that declines their specific eviction profile. Either way, more time and money spent without a lease to show for it.
The screening process flips this sequence. Instead of starting with the guarantee service and searching for a community that accepts it, the process starts with the renter’s full profile: credit range, eviction type and age, property debt amount, income, target area, budget, and timeline. That profile gets matched against community-specific screening criteria, including which bonding or guarantee mechanism each community accepts and under what conditions.
A renter with an eviction judgment from 2021, $1,800 in property debt, and 540 credit filled out the screening form at StopTXEviction.org. The profile was matched to three Class B communities that accept the third-party bonding service the locating team works with. The renter toured all three, applied at the preferred community listing Spirit Real Estate as the apartment locator on the application, received the screening email from the community, and completed the bonding payment within 72 hours. Total move-in cost on a $1,350/month apartment came to approximately $4,500. The renter didn’t comparison-shop guarantee companies. The screening match determined which service applied.
That’s the part the comparison articles leave out. The guarantee service is a tool inside a larger process, not the starting point.
For renters who want to find out which communities match their eviction profile and which guarantee mechanism applies, calling 1-877-595-8745 or filling out the screening form is the step that actually moves things forward.
When a Third-Party Guarantee Isn’t Needed
Not every renter with screening issues requires the guarantee. A small number of communities can approve without it when all three of these conditions are met:
- Property debt is under $1,000
- Credit score is above 600
- Income meets 3x the monthly rent
When these criteria align, some communities will handle the approval in-house, with no guarantee fee, no bonding company, and no additional cost beyond the standard deposit and move-in expenses.
This is the exception, not the standard path. It’s property-specific, and there’s no public list of which communities offer this flexibility. The only way to identify whether in-house approval is possible for a given profile is through the screening process, the same process that determines whether OneApp, LibertyRent, or another bonding service is the right mechanism at the matched community.
When it applies, it’s the best financial outcome. No guarantee fee saves the renter roughly one month’s rent in upfront costs.
Honest Limitations — What No Guarantee Service Can Fix
The guarantee addresses the financial risk a community takes when approving a renter with eviction history. It doesn’t address everything.
Criminal background screening is separate. No third-party guarantee (not OneApp, not LibertyRent, not any bonding service) overrides a community’s criminal background requirements. Renters with felony or misdemeanor history must meet each community’s criminal screening criteria independently. The guarantee covers eviction, broken lease, and property debt barriers. Nothing else.
The guarantee company has its own underwriting. Getting referred to a guarantee service is not the same as being approved by that service. OneApp evaluates the renter’s profile against its own criteria. LibertyRent does the same. A renter with multiple eviction judgments, property debt above $2,000, and credit below 500 may not qualify through either service, even if the community accepts the service in principle. The bonding service StopTXEviction.org works with has its own eligibility thresholds as well.
Multiple evictions compress options significantly. Two or more eviction judgments within 5 years narrows the community list to a handful per metro. The guarantee is mandatory at all of them, and not all communities that accept the guarantee will accept multiple evictions. This profile requires precise community matching, not a guarantee service comparison.
Recent judgments with high property debt face the narrowest path. An eviction judgment from the past 12 months combined with property debt above $2,000 and credit below 550 limits options to roughly 5–10 communities in most Texas metros. The guarantee is required at every one. Budgeting for the full move-in cost ($4,400–$5,000+) is essential.
Paying off property debt doesn’t immediately clear the screening flag. Resolving property debt improves the credit picture and shows good faith. But LexisNexis and other rental history databases may still show the debt existed for months after settlement. The screening flag doesn’t vanish the day the balance hits zero. How Long After an Eviction Can I Rent Again? covers the timeline for how screening records age and when more options open up.
These aren’t reasons to give up on the search. They’re reasons to get screened before spending money on applications. Knowing the realistic scope of options for a specific profile prevents wasted fees and wasted time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does SayRhino help with eviction screening denials?
No. SayRhino replaces the traditional security deposit with a monthly insurance premium. It reduces upfront move-in costs by eliminating the cash deposit requirement. It does not interact with the screening process, does not act as a co-signer or guarantor, and does not override a screening denial triggered by eviction history. If a renter’s application is declined because automated screening flagged an eviction, Rhino’s deposit insurance doesn’t change that outcome. Rhino is a deposit product, not a screening solution.
Can a renter choose which guarantee service to use?
Not in any practical sense. The apartment community determines which third-party services it accepts. A renter can research OneApp, LibertyRent, or any other guarantee company, but the service that matters is the one the target community works with. The renter’s preference doesn’t override the community’s contractual relationships. This is why screening the renter’s profile against community-specific policies comes first. The screening match identifies which communities fit the profile and which guarantee mechanism applies at each one.
How much does a third-party guarantee cost for a renter with an eviction?
The fee typically runs approximately one month’s rent, paid as a one-time charge. On a $1,400/month apartment, expect roughly $1,400 for the guarantee. Some services structure it differently: OneApp charges a co-signing fee that varies by profile, while LibertyRent charges approximately one month’s rent plus a ~$35 application fee. The guarantee fee is separate from the security deposit, first month’s rent, and administrative fees. Total move-in costs for a renter with eviction history at a $1,400/month apartment typically run $4,400–$4,650 when the guarantee is required.
Does OneAppGuarantee work at every apartment community in Texas?
No. OneApp operates through a network of participating properties. The community has to already be enrolled with OneApp for the guarantee to apply. A renter can’t independently get approved through OneApp and then present that approval to a community outside OneApp’s network. The same limitation applies to LibertyRent: the property initiates the referral, and the community has to already work with LibertyRent’s program.
What’s the difference between a deposit replacement and a lease guarantee?
A deposit replacement (like Rhino) eliminates the upfront cash security deposit by replacing it with a monthly insurance premium. The landlord files a claim through the insurance if the renter causes damage or leaves unpaid rent. A lease guarantee (like OneApp or LibertyRent) addresses the screening barrier itself: the guarantee company co-signs the lease and covers the community’s financial risk if the renter defaults during the lease term. The deposit replacement affects move-in costs. The lease guarantee affects whether the renter gets approved in the first place.
Does paying off property debt eliminate the need for a third-party guarantee?
Not immediately. Resolving property debt is the right long-term move — it improves credit and demonstrates accountability. But rental history databases like LexisNexis may still show the debt record for months after the balance is settled. The screening flag doesn’t disappear the day payment clears. For renters who need housing now, the third-party guarantee remains the primary approval mechanism at most communities, even after property debt has been resolved. Over time, as the record ages and credit recovers, more communities become accessible without the guarantee.
Can a renter with multiple evictions get approved through these services?
It depends on the specifics. Two or more eviction judgments within 5 years narrows the available community list significantly, to a handful per metro in most Texas markets. The third-party guarantee is mandatory at all of them. And not every guarantee service accepts multiple evictions in its own underwriting. The bonding service StopTXEviction.org works with has placed renters with multiple evictions, but the community options are limited and the screening match is critical. Renters in this situation should fill out the screening form or call 1-877-595-8745 so the profile can be matched to the specific communities that accept this history.
How does StopTXEviction.org’s screening process determine which service is needed?
The screening form captures the renter’s full profile: credit range, eviction type (filing vs. judgment), age of the eviction, outstanding property debt, income, target area, budget, and move-in timeline. That profile is matched against community-specific screening criteria that StopTXEviction.org tracks across its network of 1,000+ Texas communities. The match identifies which communities are most likely to approve the profile, whether the third-party guarantee is required or in-house approval is possible, and which specific guarantee mechanism applies at each community. The renter doesn’t need to comparison-shop guarantee companies. The screening determines the pathway. For more on how renting with an eviction works in practice, How to Rent an Apartment in Texas with an Eviction walks through the full process.
The First Step Isn’t Picking a Guarantee Company
The comparison between SayRhino, OneAppGuarantee, and LibertyRent is a useful exercise for understanding what exists in the market. But it’s not the decision that gets a renter with eviction history into an apartment.
The decision that matters is which community to apply to, and that decision depends on the renter’s specific screening profile. Eviction type. Age. Property debt. Credit. Income. Target area. Those variables determine the community list. The community list determines which guarantee mechanism applies.
Start with the screening, not the service comparison. The intake form captures what’s needed. StopTXEviction.org responds within 24 hours with matched communities and clear information on costs, timeline, and the approval pathway for that specific profile.
Screening criteria are set by individual apartment communities and are subject to change without notice. The information provided reflects documented policies as of March 2026 but does not guarantee approval. Final approval decisions rest with property management companies. StopTXEviction.org does not guarantee approval.
Third-party guarantee services referenced in this article (SayRhino, OneAppGuarantee, LibertyRent) are independent companies not affiliated with StopTXEviction.org. Fees, eligibility criteria, and coverage terms are set by each guarantee provider and are subject to change. StopTXEviction.org does not receive any portion of third-party guarantee fees.