Showing Posts In "Tenant Screening" Category

TurboTenant and Rent Butter Partner to Set a New Standard in Tenant Screening

TurboTenant has partnered with Rent Butter to enhance tenant screening for over 775,000 landlords. This integration offers near-instant credit, criminal, and eviction checks, streamlining the application process and reducing approval times. Rent Butter’s advanced fraud detection and predictive credit behavior tools aim to provide more accurate assessments, addressing limitations of traditional screening methods. The collaboration […]

Tenant Screening Inaccuracies and the People They Hurt

Tenant screening inaccuracies can significantly impact both landlords and tenants. A study by Rent Butter found that 1 in 7 traditional tenant background checks contains inaccuracies or missing data. In one instance, six registered sex offenders, 85 felony convictions, and 34 misdemeanors were not identified in 1,000 screenings. Such errors can lead to wrongful housing […]

Renter Protection Policies May Reduce Rental Housing Discrimination, Research Suggests

A study published in Contemporary Economic Policy examined the impact of Minneapolis’ renter protection policies, which limit landlords’ use of background checks, eviction history, and credit scores. The research found that while these policies reduced certain barriers to housing, they inadvertently increased discrimination against African American and Somali American men. Landlords, lacking detailed applicant information, […]

Pennsylvania May Become the Latest State That Automatically Seals Eviction Records. Here’s What to Know

Pennsylvania lawmakers are considering legislation to automatically seal certain eviction records, aiming to assist renters facing challenges due to past eviction filings. The proposed bill would shield cases where a judge ruled in favor of the tenant, and seal records of withdrawn cases or lockouts after seven years. Supporters argue this measure would help individuals, […]

A Slow but Steady Stream of States are Sealing or Expunging Eviction Records

North Dakota has enacted a bipartisan law allowing tenants to petition to seal eviction records after seven years, provided they have resolved any outstanding rent or damages and remained eviction-free during that period. The legislation, co-sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Ryan Braunberger and Republican state Sen. Jeff Barta, aims to help tenants rebuild stability by […]

Indy Resident, Housing Organization File Class Action Lawsuit Against Two Rental Companies for Discriminatory Policies

A class action lawsuit has been filed against two rental companies for their alleged discriminatory tenant screening policies. Two lawsuits were filed by Marckus Williams, an Indianapolis resident, and the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana (FHCCI) against Progress Residential and Tricon Residential, alleging the denial of housing to applicants with certain criminal or eviction […]

AI Tenant Tool SafeRent Settles $2.3M Housing Bias Lawsuit

SafeRent Solutions has settled a class action lawsuit filed in Massachusetts for $2.3 million. The lawsuit alleges that the tenant screening platform’s AI algorithm unfairly assigned lower scores to Black and Hispanic applicants, as well as individuals using housing vouchers. While the company has not admitted any wrongdoing, it has agreed to meet requirements to […]

CFPB, FTC Fine TransUnion $23M for Tenant Screening and Security Freeze Failures

TransUnion has been fined $23 million for tenant screening and security freeze failures. Specifically, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fined the credit-reporting agency $15 million because it did not take steps to ensure the rental background checks that landlords used to decide who gets housing were accurate and […]

Newsom Signs Legislation on ‘Crime Free Housing’ Policies

Legislation has been signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom that addresses “crime-free housing” policies that historically have required rental housing providers to evict tenants following arrests or to reject applicants with past convictions. Effective Jan 1., 2024, AB 1418 will prevent local governments from imposing penalties or requiring landlords to evict tenants based on calls to […]

New Report Examines the Harm of Tenant Screening on Renters

A new report from the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) shows that the automated screening of rental applicants disproportionately harms Black and Latino/Hispanic renters. “Digital Denials: How Abuse, Bias, and Lack of Transparency in Tenant Screening Harm Renters” takes a look at the barriers tenant screening creates for millions of renters.

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