If an apartment application through a property’s online portal came back “approved with conditions” or “denied,” the screening behind it may have been ResidentVerify, the applicant-screening product Entrata sells to property managers. ResidentVerify describes itself as a credit reporting agency, its report about you is governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and when that report is wrong, federal law gives you the right to see it, dispute it and, in some cases, sue over it.
What ResidentVerify is and who runs it
Entrata, Inc., based in Lehi, Utah, markets the product as “ResidentVerify by Entrata,” publishes its legal notices on Entrata’s legal site, and forwards residentverify.com to its product page. Entrata says the product builds screening into the rental application, covers identity, income and credit, and lets the property set the parameters for when applicants are approved, approved with conditions, or denied.
ResidentVerify’s own legal page says that “as a Credit Reporting Agency” it complies with the FCRA’s human trafficking provisions. Regulators treat the industry the same way: the FTC says companies that provide background reports to landlords are consumer reporting agencies, and the CFPB applies that definition to background screening companies.
What is on a tenant screening report and how landlords use it
The CFPB, in its 2022 study of 17 tenant screening companies, describes a standard report as one that might include identity verification, credit history, criminal background records and eviction history. The FTC lists credit accounts and debts, criminal court records, eviction records, rental payment history, and civil lawsuits or bankruptcies.
ResidentVerify’s published criminal-record criteria say convictions are reported for an unlimited period, which the FCRA allows, and that arrest-only records and most other non-convictions are not reported.
Many screening products, ResidentVerify among them, give the landlord a result rather than a file. The CFPB found that “risk scores or pass or fail recommendations that exclude the underlying information can conceal data errors.” A landlord who sees only the result may never see the record that produced it.
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 background check.
- Someone else’s record. The FTC tells renters to check that no 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. ResidentVerify’s published criteria say criminal records are matched on name (“exact, derivative, partial”) and date of birth (“exact or partial”). See someone else’s record on your background check; it is the same failure behind a mixed credit file.
- 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. Eviction cases, civil judgments and arrests generally cannot be reported more than seven years from the date of entry (15 U.S.C. § 1681c(a)(2)).
How to get your ResidentVerify 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)). The FTC gives renters the same instruction.
ResidentVerify’s legal pages list a consumer requests email, consumerrequests@residentverify.com, a toll-free line, 866-698-0661, and a mailing address: Attn: ResidentVerify Support, 4205 Chapel Ridge Rd, Lehi, UT 84043. If your notice gives different contact details, use the notice.
The federal free-annual-report rule covers only the nationwide bureaus and nationwide specialty agencies (§§ 1681j(a)(1)(A), 1681a(x)); the 60-day right covers every agency. When the report arrives, compare every name, birth date and case number with your own.
How to dispute a ResidentVerify 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 order, the sealing or expungement order, or identification showing a different birth date. If the case comes to litigation, your copies are the record.
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681i, ResidentVerify 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 ResidentVerify’s own duty. For a credit account, the creditor that reported it must also investigate once the agency forwards your dispute, and modify, delete or block what is inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable (§ 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, requiring a deposit not required of another applicant, and charging higher rent. An “approved with conditions” result can fall on that list when the condition is a co-signer or a larger deposit.
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; it names the company you dispute with.
When a ResidentVerify 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)). ResidentVerify must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the report.
- Reinvestigation (15 U.S.C. § 1681i). ResidentVerify 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. ResidentVerify sits alongside CIC, National Tenant Network, Zillow’s tenant screening and the rest of the tenant screening directory; the tenant screening report errors page covers who is answerable.
Have your ResidentVerify report reviewed
Send me your ResidentVerify report, the denial or conditional-approval notice the property sent, and whatever ResidentVerify 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 ResidentVerify, Entrata, Inc., 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.