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If
you're a landlord, you may use Tenant
Credit 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 credit 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. RentLaw.com
has partnered with one of the largest services in the United
States - TransUnion Smartmove to provide Landlords the
capability to obtain tenant credit reports.
With
the RentLaw.mysmartmove
Screening Service, you can verify
tenant's credit references 24 hours/day 7 days a week all
online.
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Take advantage of our special RentLaw.com discount
and discover a smarter way to screen applicants—
right at your fingertips. Free to create a Landlord
account. |
Landlords
often use consumer reports to help them evaluate rental
applications.
Access
to the same advanced screening tools used by the larger
property management groups most likely hasn’t been an
option for you—until now.
Visit
RentLaw.MySmartMove.com
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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.
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What
is an Adverse Action? An adverse
action is any action by a landlord that is unfavorable to
the interests of a rental applicant. Read more about adverse
action and
how the landlord should respond and avoid or limit their
exposure to any claims. For both Landlords and Tenants.
For
More Information If you have
questions about the FCRA or would like a copy of the Act,
call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).
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