If you’ve ever had a legal dispute with a landlord that ended up in court, it might be a good idea to acquaint yourself with renter blacklists.
What is a Renters or Tenants Blacklist?
There isn’t just one almighty tenants blacklist; there are several renters blacklists out there. These lists are created by companies who allow landlords access to their databases for a fee to research prospective tenants. The companies gather information from court records or criminal record databases and compile the information to create a list of risky prospective tenants.
Your trip to housing court may have been legitimate and you may have been on the side of the law, but not all details from your trip to court will be listed by your name. For example, say you withheld rent from a landlord for not making a major repair in your apartment like cleaning up excessive mold due to water damage or fixing a gushing leak in the ceiling, and you documented your attempts to contact the landlord and have the repairs fixed. The landlord tries to evict you for not paying rent, but you go to court with your evidence of negligence and win the case. The renters blacklist may only document that you were taken to court for an eviction and not give any other details.
Unlawful and Unregulated
Not all renters blacklist companies are regulated. One renters blacklist website has recently come under fire for providing information to landlords that isn’t always reliable. This website allows non-members to post anything about any tenant on the website without a review or screening process. The website also will not give copies of reports to tenants or allow tenants to dispute claims on the website. This is unfair and considered illegal by Tenants Together according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Legitimate tenant screening companies will allow tenants to contest claims, and most of these companies are working harder to provide more detailed listings. Companies like First Advantage SafeRent allow tenants to apply for a free copy of their file.
The best thing you can do to avoid getting on the blacklist is to stay out of court. If your landlord isn’t living up to the agreements in the lease, do not withhold rent. It’s not the most sound advice. Talk to your landlord about the issues you are having with his non compliance and document your correspondence with him. If he continues to refuse to fulfill the lease agreement, then contact your local housing authority. They will be able to help you.
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