A new report from the National Consumer Law Center explains that the screening process is riddled with errors and bias that disproportionately harms Black and Latino/Hispanic renters.
Landlords in the United States almost always engage in some form of screening of rental applicants. This screening often involves reports or scores purchased from specialized tenant screening consumer reporting agencies (CRAs). The reports typically combine information about eviction filings, criminal records, and credit history. Often the reports include a score or recommendation based on these records, and in some cases, this score or recommendation is the only information conveyed to the landlord.
The National Consumer Law Center, on behalf of its low-income clients, joined the Center for Survivor Agency and Justice in submitting comments to the CFPB and FTC on tenant screening practices that specifically harm survivors of intimate partner violence.
Landlords in the United States almost always engage in some form of screening for rental applicants. Each of the components of tenant screening reports is highly problematic and also creates a disparate impact on Black and Latino renters. The manner in which the components are combined to generate scores or recommendations, and then used by landlords, is also harmful to renters.
Credit reports and scores, tenant and employment screening reports, and other background checks all impact fundamental necessities in a consumer’s life: the ability to rent an apartment or buy a home, obtain insurance, find a job, open or keep a bank account, and obtain fairly priced credit. Yet each one of these categories of “consumer…