Landlords deny they engage in blacklisting, but the practice has been under scrutiny in New Jersey. U.S. Sen. Cory Booker announced federal legislation that would reform the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to make tenant-rating agencies more accountable and give tenants additional protections. Just one of several measures being pursued, Booker’s legislation would prohibit consumer-reporting agencies from providing information on evictions or other housing court issues; prevent the agencies from reporting on issues that are more than three years old; require agencies to try to verify the accuracy of information; make a consumer’s report available to them for free once a year; and have the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (FCPB) to report to Congress on tenant-rating agencies.
