TENANT SCREENING ARTICLE INDEX FOR 2022 FROM THE BACKGROUND BUZZ |
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D.C. Council Approves Bill Giving Renters Solid Due Process in Eviction Process
March | Washington, D.C.: The D.C. Council has approved legislation that ensures permanent due process protections for District renters.
Housing Discrimination Trial Against Tenant-Screening Firm Begins in Connecticut
March | Connecticut: A tenant screening company is being sued for discrimination under the Fair Housing Act.
Miya’s Law Moves to the Governor’s Desk
March | Florida: “Miya’s Law,” which aims to improve tenant safety in apartment buildings, awaits the governor’s signature.
May | Massachusetts: Buildium, LLC, and Tenant Turner, Inc., have been ordered to pay a total of $100,000 to the Commonwealth and must adopt new fair housing compliant policies.
As Landlords Intensify Tenant Background Checks, Some Lawmakers Want New Limits on Screening
May | California: Lawmakers are seeking to ban landlords from screening tenants for credit scores, eviction records, applications for rent relief and failure to pay during the pandemic.
How to Best Screen Commercial Tenants
May | National: Office building landlords are seeking ways to fill empty space as employees work from home, but it doesn’t come without risks.
Tenant Screening with Criminal Background Checks: Predictions and Perceptions Are Not Casualty
May | National: Background checks continue to be a deterrent for those with criminal records who are seeking housing.
May | National: A partnership with letus and Trust Stamp will provide protection through biometric identity keys so renters and landlords can prevent synthetic identity fraud.
Massachusetts Attorney General Healey Settles with Discriminatory Housing Software Companies
May | Massachusetts: Two software companies have been accused of selling tenant-screening software for landlords that discriminated against certain prospective clients.
Screener Faces FHA Claims Over Tenant Scoring Algorithm
May | Massachusetts: A tenant screening company has been accused of racial discrimination in violation of the FHA.
First Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment for Tenant Screening Company in Class Action
June | Massachusetts: A decision has been made in McIntyre v. RentGrow, Inc., in favor of the defendant.
As Rent and Demand for Apartments Rise, So Does Fraud
August | National: A recent survey has revealed that 85 percent of property managers nationwide say they have been targeted by fraudsters.
Attorney General James Cracks Down on Tenant Blacklisting
August | New York: New York’s Attorney General is taking action to protect New York tenants by cracking down on “tenant blacklisting.”
NYC Real Estate Company Blacklisted Tenants, AG Says Amid Crackdown
August | New York: Clipper Equity, LLC, has been found to have illegally kept prospective tenants with past housing court records from renting at their properties.
California Senate Approves Bill Allowing Reusable Reports for Rental Applicants
August | California: A bill has been voted on that will allow renters to purchase their own reusable credit reports and submit them to multiple landlords.
Miya’s Law: Florida Landlords Must Conduct Specific Background Checks for Their Apartment Employees
August | Florida: Under a new law, landlords of non-transient and transient apartment buildings are required to perform background screenings on employees.
California Governor Gavin Newsom Signs Reusable Tenant Screening Bill
September | California: A new bill has been signed into law that standardizes reusable tenant screening reports, creating a path to lowering rental application costs.
September | Virginia: A property management company has reached a $9.73 million agreement, settling the claims that it violated the FCRA when reporting tenant background checks.
Third Circuit Decision Provides Post-Transunion Guidance on Informational Injuries and Ascertainably
September | Pennsylvania: A small subclass of consumers can proceed on their class action against RealPage based on the company’s failure to provide them with third-party information in credit reports.
New Smart Screening Tools Helps Homeowners and Tenants Change the Way They Rent
October | Canada: Rent Panda has launched a tenant screening product for the home and rental market that makes it more efficient to screen potential tenants.
Snappt Releases Top Twenty US Metropolitan Areas for Application Fraud
October | National: Snappt has released the “Treacherous Twenty,” a list of the top 20 cities for application fraud.
VeriFast and Rent Panda Launch Tenant Screening Product
October | National: Rent Panda uses VeriFast’s credit and digital ID checks to provide instant credit and background reports, income and expenses reports and ID verification.
JP Morgan Wants to Make Tenant Data Available to Every Landlord
November | National: JP Morgan’s new platform, “Story,” is aimed at modernizing rent payments.