If an apartment application came back denied, or approved only with a co-signer or a larger deposit, the background check behind it may have come from CIC, Contemporary Information Corp., a tenant screening company. CIC’s reports are consumer reports under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and when one is wrong, federal law gives you the right to see it, dispute it and, in some cases, sue over it.
What CIC is and who owns it
The CFPB lists Contemporary Information Corp. (CIC) in the tenant screening category of its consumer reporting companies list and says it “provides background screening services for landlords and residential real estate management companies.” CIC’s privacy policy says that, as a consumer reporting agency, it is regulated by the FTC and the CFPB. The FTC says tenant background check reports are consumer reports under the FCRA.
CIC is based in Georgia; its consumer relations office is at 3700 Crestwood Pkwy in Duluth. In March 2026, CIC and the background screening company Asurint announced that A&M Capital Partners (AMCP), which acquired Asurint in December 2025, had acquired CIC.
What is on a CIC background check, and the Zillow connection
CIC describes its data as criminal public records and housing court records, including eviction and judgment information. The CFPB’s listing says CIC maintains a personal unlawful detainer (eviction) report on consumers.
Zillow’s help center says the background check on a Zillow rental application is provided by CIC and the credit report by Experian. Zillow says the background check covers nationwide housing court records, a national criminal search and the sex offender registry, and that the criminal background report only includes convictions; arrests and non-convictions will not appear. One application can carry two reports from two companies; the Zillow tenant screening page covers both.
The CFPB found that “risk scores or pass or fail recommendations that exclude the underlying information can conceal data errors,” so a landlord may never see the record behind a result.
Where tenant screening reports go wrong
An accurate record that is yours can lawfully stay: the FCRA requires deletion only of information that is inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable. These errors are not your doing, and the FTC and CFPB have each described them:
- A dismissed eviction case shown as an eviction. The FTC warns that records may say you were evicted after the court dismissed the case, and the CFPB found that eviction records “may only reflect the initial filing and not any ultimate disposition.” See a dismissed eviction still on a rental background check.
- Someone else’s record. The FTC tells renters to check that no court record belongs to someone with a similar name, birth date or address. The CFPB found that partial-name matching can attach court records to people with similar names. See someone else’s record on your background check.
- A sealed or expunged record. The FTC says sealed or expunged records should not show up in any report. See an expunged record still on a background check.
- The same case listed twice. The CFPB found that a transferred case can be reported as two evictions, and both agencies flag duplicate entries for one event.
- A record past its reporting period. Civil suits and judgments, including eviction cases, and records of arrest generally cannot be reported more than seven years from the date of entry (15 U.S.C. § 1681c(a)(2)); convictions have no time limit (§ 1681c(a)(5)). If a dismissed charge appears on a report that should list only convictions, compare it with the court record.
How to get your CIC report
Every consumer reporting agency must, on request, disclose all the information in your file and the sources of that information (15 U.S.C. § 1681g(a)). If a landlord turned you down or attached conditions because of the report, the notice it sends must give the agency’s name, address and phone number, and you are entitled to a free copy if you ask within 60 days (§§ 1681j(b), 1681m(a)).
Separately, CIC and the CFPB both say CIC provides a free copy of your eviction report once every 12 months on request. The federal free annual report rule is written for the nationwide credit bureaus and for nationwide specialty agencies, a category that includes agencies compiling residential or tenant history on a nationwide basis (§§ 1681j(a)(1), 1681a(x)); the 60-day right after a denial covers every agency.
CIC lists its consumer assistance page, the phone number 888-316-4242, and CIC Consumer Relations, 3700 Crestwood Pkwy, #300, Duluth, GA 30096, for requests and disputes; the CFPB’s listing gives the same phone number and address. If your notice gives different contact details, use the notice.
How to dispute a CIC entry
Dispute directly with the company that prepared the report, in writing; if you call, the FTC says to follow up in writing. Describe each error and attach copies of your proof, such as the dismissal or expungement order. If the case comes to litigation, your copies are the record.
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681i, CIC must conduct a reasonable reinvestigation free of charge, generally within 30 days (45 in some cases, and some states set shorter deadlines), notify whoever supplied the disputed item within five business days, delete or modify anything inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable, and send you the results in writing. If the entry stays, you can add a brief statement of dispute.
For a court record, the reinvestigation is CIC’s own duty. For a credit account on the Experian report that came with a Zillow application, dispute with Experian; the creditor that reported the account must also investigate once the dispute is forwarded to it (§ 1681s-2(b)). The FTC also suggests telling the landlord about the dispute.
The adverse action notice a landlord owes you
If a landlord takes adverse action based in whole or in part on the report, it owes you notice (15 U.S.C. § 1681m(a)). The FTC’s guidance for landlords lists denying the application, requiring a co-signer on the lease, requiring a deposit that would not be required of another applicant, and charging higher rent than for another applicant.
The notice must name the reporting agency with its address and phone number, state that the agency did not make the decision and cannot give the reasons, give any credit score used, and tell you that you can get a free copy within 60 days and dispute anything inaccurate or incomplete. Keep the notice.
When a CIC error becomes a legal claim
If you lost an apartment or paid a larger deposit over a record that was not yours, not accurate, or not reportable, and a proper dispute did not fix it, the FCRA may give you a claim:
- Accuracy (15 U.S.C. § 1681e(b)). CIC must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the report.
- Reinvestigation (15 U.S.C. § 1681i). CIC must actually reinvestigate a dispute, not simply repeat what it already has.
- Reporting periods (15 U.S.C. § 1681c). Most adverse items cannot be reported once they are more than seven years old.
- The creditor’s investigation (15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(b)). A creditor must investigate a dispute the agency forwards to it.
For a negligent violation, the FCRA provides actual damages, such as costs you paid, plus attorney’s fees (§ 1681o). For a willful violation, it provides actual damages or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, punitive damages as the court allows, and attorney’s fees (§ 1681n). Suit must be filed by the earlier of two years after you discover the violation or five years after it occurs (§ 1681p).
I handle these cases on contingency. Cases I have filed over tenant screening reports, including eviction records that belonged to someone else, are on the cases I have filed. CIC sits alongside ResidentVerify, National Tenant Network and the rest of the tenant screening companies directory; the tenant screening report errors page covers who is answerable.
Have your CIC report reviewed
Send me your CIC report, the denial or conditional-approval notice the landlord sent, and whatever CIC sent back after your dispute, and I will tell you whether I see a claim. The FCRA attorney page covers how these cases work. Contact the firm to have your report reviewed.
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This page is about consumer report accuracy. The Kim Law Firm is not affiliated with Contemporary Information Corp. (CIC), its owner A&M Capital Partners, Asurint, Zillow, Experian, or any landlord or property manager named on this page, and this page is not a complaint about any of them. It describes how eviction, criminal and credit entries can appear on a tenant screening report and the rights consumers have when an entry is wrong.