The Justice Department announced today that a federal court has entered a stipulated order resolving a case against consumer reporting company, RentGrow Inc., in a case investigated and referred to the Department by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The order imposes a $2.25 million civil penalty judgment and injunction against RentGrow to resolve allegations that it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the FTC Act in connection with background reports it furnishes to assist landlords and property managers in screening tenants for rental housing.
“Tenant screening reports can significantly affect the outcome of a housing application. Consumers deserve to know that the information contained in those reports is accurate, that the reporting is transparent, and that they have a meaningful opportunity to address information that may affect them,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department is committed to ensuring that companies that collect and provide consumer information follow the law and maintain practices that support fair and informed housing decisions.”
In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the government alleged that RentGrow failed to maintain reasonable procedures to ensure maximum possible accuracy of the information in its tenant screening reports, failed to disclose to consumers upon request the information contained in those consumers’ reports and the sources of that information, and failed to comply with required procedures when a consumer disputed the accuracy of a report, in violation of FCRA. The government further alleged that RentGrow violated the FTC Act’s prohibition on deceptive business practices by misrepresenting to tenant applicants that upon successful dispute of their report, corrections to or removals of inaccurate information were reported to landlords and property managers.
The stipulated order resolving those allegations requires RentGrow to pay a $2.25 million civil penalty and imposes an injunction against it prohibiting the alleged misconduct and requiring related compliance reporting, monitoring, and recordkeeping.
The United States is represented in this action by Assistant Director Zachary A. Dietert and Trial Attorney Jordan A. Ryan from the Enforcement Section of the Civil Division’s Enforcement and Affirmative Litigation Branch. Whitney Moore, Jamie Hine, and Kamay Lafalaise represent the FTC.