Background Criminal Checks to rent an apartment?
Posted on | June 2, 2010 | 1 Comment
I’ve applied to rent an apartment in TX and they are waiting for my criminal background check from CA(where i’m from originally) How far back do they check and how in depth will they go. I have a felony on my record that occurred 14 years ago. Will this blow my chances on getting my apartment. Any info or answers would be appreciated
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One Response to “Background Criminal Checks to rent an apartment?”
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June 2nd, 2010 @ 11:10 am
Your landlord will be worried about drug related or violent crimes, even if they are misdemeanors. He will also be worried about a history of failure to make payments on rent or credit.
Your felony is forever, unless you get it expunged. However, your landlord should not be concerned about it unless it falls into one of the categories discussed above.
A tenant background check is strictly governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which is a nationwide law.
The Act’s primary protection requires that CRAs follow "reasonable procedures" to protect the confidentiality, accuracy, and relevance of credit information.
The FCRA requires landlords who deny a lease based on information in the applicant’s consumer report to provide the applicant with an "adverse action notice." Landlords who fail to provide required disclosure notices face legal consequences since the FCRA allows individuals to sue landlords for damages in federal court. The law also allows individuals to seek punitive damages for deliberate violations of the FCRA. In addition, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and other federal and state agencies may sue landlords for non-compliance.
In addition, your background check in California is governed by the Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act, which covers:
(http://www.privacy.ca.gov/code/icraa.htm...
Consumer Information Sheets
Financial Privacy
Health Privacy
Identity Theft
Online Privacy
Privacy Laws
Privacy Legislation
Good luck on your apartment