Editor’s Note — Updated July 2026: HUD has withdrawn several earlier fair housing guidance documents, including its 2016 guidance on using criminal records in housing decisions. The March 2024 tenant-background-check resource discussed below was not listed in HUD’s July 2026 withdrawal notice. However, the resource references some materials that HUD has since withdrawn. Housing providers should review current federal, state, and local requirements before changing screening policies.
Tenant background checks are common during the rental application process. However, applicants and housing providers may not fully understand the rules that apply.
In March 2024, staff from HUD, the Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Department of Justice jointly developed a tenant-screening resource. It explains background reports, adverse-action notices, report errors, discrimination protections, and available assistance.
Although the document remains useful, HUD has since withdrawn some separate fair housing guidance referenced within it. Therefore, owners, agents, and applicants should confirm that linked materials remain current.
Transcript
Key Aspects of Tenant Background Check
Tenant-screening reports may include credit history, rental history, housing-court records, criminal records, employment information, income history, and payment records.
Applicants should provide accurate identifying information. This may include their complete name, date of birth, Social Security number, and prior addresses. Accurate information can reduce the risk of records belonging to another person appearing in the report.
Most HUD-subsidized properties cannot charge application or background-check fees. This generally includes public housing, project-based Section 8, Section 202, and Section 811 housing. However, different rules may apply to private rentals and properties accepting Housing Choice Vouchers.
Owners and agents should verify the fee requirements that apply to their specific program.
If an Applicant Faces a Negative Decision
A landlord may use a screening report to reject an application, require a co-signer, increase a security deposit, or impose other conditions.
When a landlord makes a negative decision based on a consumer report, the Fair Credit Reporting Act generally requires an adverse-action notice.
The notice must identify the screening company and explain the applicant’s right to:
- Obtain a free copy of the report within 60 days.
- Dispute inaccurate or incomplete information.
- Receive the screening company’s contact information.
Applicants may find incorrect, duplicate, outdated, sealed, or incomplete information in screening reports. Screening companies generally must investigate a dispute within 30 days and provide the results in writing.
Owners and agents should ensure that adverse-action procedures follow current federal requirements and any additional state or local rules.
Fair Housing and Tenant Screening
The Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, and familial status.
Housing providers should apply screening standards consistently. They should not treat applicants differently because of a protected characteristic.
Additionally, a facially neutral screening policy may create fair housing concerns when it unnecessarily excludes members of a protected group. However, HUD has withdrawn its separate 2016 criminal-record guidance. Therefore, housing providers should not cite that document as HUD’s current authoritative interpretation.
The withdrawal does not repeal the Fair Housing Act. Owners and agents should continue reviewing screening standards for consistency, legitimate business purpose, and compliance with current law.
The Fair Housing Act may also require reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities. Section 504 may create additional obligations for federally assisted housing. The Americans with Disabilities Act may apply in specific settings, including certain public accommodations and government programs. These laws have different scopes, so the article should not suggest that the ADA governs every landlord’s screening process.
What Owners and Agents Should Review
Owners and agents should review their tenant-screening procedures with the appropriate compliance or legal professionals.
Key review areas include:
- Written screening criteria.
- Application and screening fees.
- Criminal-record policies.
- Eviction and housing-court records.
- Adverse-action notices.
- Reasonable-accommodation procedures.
- Screening-company contracts.
- Applicant dispute procedures.
- State and local tenant-screening laws.
- References to withdrawn HUD guidance.
Housing providers should also confirm that screening vendors use accurate information and follow the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Downloadable HUD Resource
This March 2024 resource was not identified in HUD’s July 2026 withdrawal notice. However, it contains links to separate HUD guidance that has since been withdrawn. You should review current official sources before relying on linked materials.
