If a rental application came back with a denial, a higher deposit, or a co-signer demand, there is a good chance the report behind the decision came from CIC — Contemporary Information Corp. It is a tenant screening company most renters have never heard of until it costs them an apartment. Its reports are consumer reports under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which means you have a right to see what it says about you, dispute what is wrong, and hold the company accountable when a bad report was avoidable.
What CIC is
Contemporary Information Corp., which does business as CIC, provides background screening for landlords and residential property management companies — that is how the CFPB’s consumer reporting company list categorizes it, under tenant screening. When a landlord or property manager orders a screening report on an applicant, CIC assembles it: housing court records, criminal records, and related data tied to your identity.
The Zillow connection
CIC’s reach is bigger than its name recognition because it screens for one of the largest rental platforms in the country. Zillow’s own help center states that the background reports on Zillow rental applications are conducted by CIC, searching nationwide housing court records, a national criminal record database, and the sex offender registry — and that the report should include convictions only, not arrests or non-convictions. If you applied for an apartment through Zillow, CIC’s data is what the landlord saw.
What is in a CIC report — and why eviction records are the danger zone
CIC’s signature data is housing court history. The CFPB listing notes it maintains a “personal unlawful detainer (eviction) report” on consumers. Eviction records are among the most error-prone data in consumer reporting: cases get filed and dismissed but reported as if they concluded against the tenant; sealed or expunged filings resurface; a case belonging to a different person with a similar name lands on your file; one filing appears multiple times. A criminal record match built on name and date of birth alone can put someone else’s conviction — or a dismissed charge or an expunged record — on your application.
Your rights when a CIC report costs you an apartment
If a landlord takes adverse action because of the report — denies you, requires a bigger deposit, prices you higher — you are entitled to a free copy of that report, and CIC also provides a free disclosure of your eviction report every 12 months on request, delivered within fifteen days. You can dispute anything inaccurate or incomplete, and CIC must conduct a reasonable, free investigation and correct what it cannot verify.
How to reach CIC
Per the CFPB’s company list: 888-316-4242, or CIC Consumer Relations, 3700 Crestwood Pkwy, #300, Duluth, GA 30096, with consumer services at cicreports.com.
When it becomes a legal claim
In the 12 months ending August 2026, consumers filed roughly 200 complaints against Contemporary Information Corp in the CFPB’s database — about 140 of them alleging incorrect information on a report. The FCRA requires screening companies to follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy, and to reinvestigate what you dispute. When a wrong eviction or criminal record costs you housing and the company failed those duties, the statute provides actual damages, statutory and punitive damages for willful violations, and attorney’s fees — which is why we handle these cases on contingency. Our tenant screening report errors page covers the broader practice, and our directory of tenant screening companies covers CIC’s competitors.
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Published by The Kim Law Firm, LLC — about attorney Richard Kim. Last updated August 2026.