CFPB Issues Reports on Problems with Tenant Background Checks

On November 15, 2022, the CFPB issued two reports regarding research into how errors in background checks contribute to higher costs and create barriers for tenants to access quality rental housing.  These reports, the Bureau’s Tenant Background Checks Market Report and Consumer Snapshot on Tenant Background Checks are the compilation of more than 24,000 renter complaints submitted to the Bureau.

The agency asserts in both reports that property owners have been denying applicants rental housing because the background check reports they have used contain misleading negative information, such as outdated credit information or inaccurate or misleading details about arrests, criminal records, and eviction records.  The Bureau conducted the research finalized in these reports as follow-up to its advisory opinion regarding false identifications in background screening. See WBK’s article on this advisory opinion.