Tenant Screening in Miami and Broward Counties
When tenant screening in Miami, Broward and other Florida counties, community associations and condominium associations can comply with regulations under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by following these 3 steps.
Step 1: Before you Order a Tenant Screening Report
- Provide the Applicant A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
- Have the applicant sign the Disclosure and Authorization Form.
Step 2: Pre – Adverse Action Notice
Before you reject a sales or rental application based on information in a consumer report, you must give the applicant:
- a notice that includes a copy of the consumer report you relied on to make your decision; and
- a copy of A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act
Giving the person the notice in advance gives the person the opportunity to review the report and tell you if it is correct.
Step 3: After you take an Adverse Action
If you take an Adverse Action based on information in a consumer report, you must give the applicant a notice of that fact, in writing or electronically.
An Adverse Action Notice provides people notice of their rights to see the information and to correct inaccurate information. The notice must include:
- the name, address, and phone number of the consumer reporting company that supplied the report;
- a statement that the company that supplied the report did not make the decision to take the unfavorable action and can’t give specific reasons for it; and
- a notice of the person’s right to dispute the accuracy or completeness of any information the consumer reporting company furnished, and to get an additional free report from the company if the person asks for it within 60 days.
- If the Applicant replies to your Adverse Action Notice and disputes the accuracy of the report, the report must be investigated with their reasons (i.e. Identity Theft, Incorrect Data, etc).
Question: Does the FCRA require that the property management company, community association or landlord provide an explanation to the applicant about which part of a consumer report influenced the adverse decision? No. They are not required to provide a more detailed rationale for the decision to the applicant and should not share such rationale with the consumer reporting agency.