A class action complaint filed Monday in a Pennsylvania federal court illustrates how inaccurate tenant screening reports can harm consumers who apply to rent apartments. It’s also a reminder that we should periodically c heck our credit reports and dispute any errors they contain.

The lead plaintiff in the case applied to rent an apartment at a complex in Philadelphia. As part of the application review process, the landlord obtained a tenant screening report from TransUnion Resident Screening Solutions, Inc. (TURSS). TURSS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of TransUnion, LLC, which, along with Equifax and Experian, is one of the three nationwide consumer reporting agencies.

According to the plaintiff, the landlord denied her application because the tenant screening report it obtained from TURSS contained inaccurate information relating to prior eviction cases against the plaintiff. The plaintiff is now suing TURSS and its parent company, TransUnion.

Consumer reporting agencies like TransUnion create credit reports on consumers by aggregating information obtained from several sources, including public records. Specialty consumer reporting agencies  like TURSS compile and maintain files on certain types of information; specifically, consumer tenant histories, medical records and payments, employment histories, insurance claims and check-writing histories. It’s common for landlords to obtain tenant screening reports when reviewing rental applications.

According to the complaint, TURSS buys information on prior eviction cases from private vendors, instead of getting the information directly from court records. Landlords are understandably concerned that prospective tenants don’t have a history of not paying rent. That’s why they get tenant screening reports. On the other hand, tenants should be concerned that the information in those reports is accurate.

Here, the plaintiff claims that the information TURSS sells to landlords is often inaccurate or incomplete because because it’s not up-to-date. Eviction complaints filed against tenants are sometimes dismissed, withdrawn or result in judgments in favor of the tenant. But according to the plaintiff, TURSS makes no attempt to update the information it buys even though the records needed to do so are publicly available  online. Therefore, the tenant screening reports prepared by TURSS are often inaccurate and misleading because they don’t describe how eviction cases were ultimately resolved.

The complaint alleges that TURSS violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by failing to “follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum accuracy of eviction information
contained in tenant screening reports” concerning plaintiff and the other class members.

The plaintiff also claims she requested a copy of her credit report from TransUnion after her rental application was denied. But when she received the report, it did not include the same eviction information that was included in the report obtained by the landlord from TURSS. If true, this would be a separate violation of the FCRA.

To be clear, the facts described in the complaint are only allegations at this point. If the case isn’t settled, the plaintiff will need to prove those allegations to prevail.

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