According to U.S. Census data, more than one third of U.S. households rent their home — that’s more renters than at any point in the last 50 years. Every year, millions of people go through the process of looking for and renting a home. The application process can be expensive and not so transparent, and often requires prospective tenants to undergo a background screening process. Tenant screening reports often include criminal and eviction records, and some tenant screening companies provide recommendations to landlords about whether to accept a prospective tenant’s application.
Tenant screening practices also impact some groups more than others. According to Pew Research Center, Black, Hispanic, or young people are more likely to rent rather than own, and so tenant screening practices are more likely to impact these populations.
The Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau want to better understand how these issues are playing out across the rental housing industry. To learn more, the FTC and CFPB have put out a Request for Information to get comments from tenants, prospective tenants, tenants’ rights and housing advocacy groups, property managers, landlords, tenant screening companies, and others about their experiences.
To file a comment, submit it online at ftc.gov/tenantscreening. Your comment will be public, so don’t include any confidential or sensitive information. Your comment must be submitted by May 30, 2023.
