Tenant Screening

A person’s access to safe and affordable housing is often impacted by tenant screening reports. On this page, learn about what is required of these companies and how housing choice may be impacted. If you encounter barriers due to tenant screening, please contact the FHCCI. You may also want to review our Education pages focused on Criminal History and Evictions for other tenant screening issues.

FHCCI Resources:

• FHCCI Brochure – Housing Rights for People Denied due to a Screening Report (English/Spanish)
• FHCCI Fact Sheet #16: Tenant Screening Protections: Evictions, Criminal History, Credit Checks, Etc.
  • English
  • Spanish
• FHCCI Report – The State of Fair Housing in Indiana Report: No Way Home: Tenant Screening Barriers to Housing

Government Guidance & Resources:

• Guidance on Application of the Fair Housing Act to the Screening of Applicants for Rental Housing, U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, April 29, 2024 (Rescinded November 25, 2025)
• No Good Cause for Discrimination: Some Evictions Are Never Allowed Fact Sheet, HUD
• CFPB Joins Federal and State Agencies in Coordinated Statements on Tech & Enforcement, March 26, 2024
• Tenant Background Checks and Your Rights, Federal Trade Commission, 2024
• U.S. Department of Justice Statement of Interest in Louis et al. v. SafeRent et al., January 9, 2023 (Rescinded September 16, 2025)
• Consumer Reporting of Rental Information, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, July 1, 2021
• Errors in your tenant screening report shouldn’t keep you from finding a place to call home, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, July 1, 2021

Cases of Interest:

• Connecticut Fair Housing Center, et al. v. CoreLogic Rental Property Solutions
• FTC v. RealPage

Reports of Interest:

• Broken Records Redux: How Errors by Criminal Background Check Companies Continue to Harm Consumers Seeking Jobs and Housing, National Consumer Law Center, December 2019