Using Consumer Reports:

What Landlords Need to Know

If you're a landlord, you may use consumer reports to evaluate rental applications - as long as you follow the provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The FCRA is designed to protect the privacy of consumer report information and to guarantee that the information supplied by consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) is as accurate as possible. The FCRA requires landlords who deny a lease based on information in the applicant's consumer report to provide the applicant with an "adverse action notice."

What is a Consumer Report?

A consumer report contains information about a person's credit characteristics, character, general reputation, and lifestyle. A report also may include information about someone's rental history, such as information from previous landlords or from public records like housing court or eviction files. To be covered by the FCRA, a report must be prepared by a CRA - a business that assembles such reports for other businesses. The most common type of CRA is the credit bureau.

Landlords often use consumer reports to help them evaluate rental applications. These reports include:

• A credit report from a credit bureau, such as Trans Union, Experian, and Equifax or an affiliate company;
• A report from a tenant-screening service that describes the applicant's rental history based on reports from previous landlords or housing court records;
• A report from a tenant-screening service that describes the applicant's rental history, and also includes a credit report the service got from a credit bureau;
• A report from a tenant-screening service that is limited to a credit report the service got from a credit bureau;
• A report from a reference-checking service that contacts previous landlords or other parties listed on the rental application on behalf of the rental property owner.

Landlords often ask applicants to give personal, employment and previous landlord references on their rental applications. Whether verifying such references is covered by the FCRA depends on who does the verification. A reference verified by the landlord's employee is not covered by the Act; a reference verified by an agency hired by the landlord to do the verification is covered.

What is an Adverse Action?

An adverse action is any action by a landlord that is unfavorable to the interests of a rental applicant. Common adverse actions by landlords include:

• Denying the application
• Requiring a co-signer on the lease
• Requiring a deposit that would not be required for another applicant
• Requiring a larger deposit than might be required for another applicant
• Raising the rent to a higher amount than for another applicant

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