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Apartments.com · Tenant screening

Apartments.com screening cost you a rental?

Apartments.com lets landlords screen rental applicants through its Rental Manager. The credit report, ResidentScore and criminal background screening come from TransUnion, with criminal searches powered by Asurint. If those reports are wrong and nobody fixes them, the Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the right to dispute and, in the right case, to sue.

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Who Apartments.com is and who prepares its reports

Apartments.com is a rental listing site owned by CoStar Group, Inc. Its Rental Manager lets landlords list units, take applications and screen applicants for evictions, criminal history and credit risk.

The part that matters for a dispute: Apartments.com does not prepare the screening reports itself. Its tenant screening page says TransUnion provides the ResidentScore, a rating built from your credit report, and that each credit report shows total reported debt, payment history, and employment and address history. Its criminal background article says it uses TransUnion ShareAble for Rentals Criminal Background Screening powered by Asurint, in 38 states, and that applicants can dispute the data on their reports with that service.

So if an Apartments.com screening showed a criminal case that isn’t yours, or credit data that’s wrong, the companies that compiled the report are TransUnion’s rental screening business and, for criminal searches, Asurint. We have guides on TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions and the TransUnion credit bureau.

Why TransUnion’s rental screening record matters

In October 2023, the FTC and the CFPB announced a $15 million settlement with Trans Union LLC and TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions over tenant screening reports. The agencies alleged that the company reported one eviction case as several, left out dismissals, reported some dismissed cases as judgments, failed to keep sealed eviction records off its reports, and often did not tell renters which vendor supplied a criminal or eviction record. Those are allegations resolved by settlement, but they describe the kinds of errors renters should look for.

Errors that show up on rental screening reports

  • Wrong-person records. Criminal or eviction cases of someone with a similar name or birth date.
  • Incomplete case outcomes. A filing reported without the dismissal or the judgment in your favor.
  • Sealed and expunged records. Cases a court sealed or a state restricts from reports.
  • Bad credit data. Collections or accounts that aren’t yours, which can also pull down a ResidentScore.
  • Obsolete records. Arrests and other non-conviction records older than seven years (15 U.S.C. § 1681c).

How to dispute Apartments.com

  1. Confirm who ran the report. If a landlord turned you down, ask for the adverse action notice. It must name the screening company that supplied the report (15 U.S.C. § 1681m).
  2. Get your report. Ask the landlord for the copy it received, and request your file from TransUnion’s rental screening business. The CFPB lists its phone as 800-230-9376 (Option 4) and its website as MySmartMove.com.
  3. Dispute the criminal screening. Apartments.com says applicants can dispute criminal data with TransUnion ShareAble for Rentals Criminal Background Screening powered by Asurint. Identify each wrong record and explain why it isn’t yours or isn’t current.
  4. Dispute rental screening errors in writing. The CFPB lists TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions, Attention: Consumer Dispute Team, P.O. Box 800, Woodlyn, PA 19094.
  5. Dispute credit account errors with the credit bureau. Wrong accounts or collections should also be disputed with TransUnion’s credit bureau, which TransUnion lists at TransUnion Consumer Solutions, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016-2000, or 800-916-8800.
  6. Attach proof. Dismissal, sealing or expungement orders, judgments in your favor, ID, and anything showing a record belongs to someone else.
  7. Keep copies and track the deadline. A consumer reporting agency generally must finish its reinvestigation within 30 days (15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(1)).

How to contact Apartments.com

  • Rental Manager help: the Help Center linked from Apartments.com’s tenant screening page. Apartments.com doesn’t decide disputes, but you can tell the landlord you’ve disputed and ask it to hold the unit.
  • Rental screening and credit report disputes (TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions): 800-230-9376 (Option 4); Attention: Consumer Dispute Team, P.O. Box 800, Woodlyn, PA 19094; MySmartMove.com.
  • TransUnion credit bureau: TransUnion Consumer Solutions, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016-2000; 800-916-8800.

Can you sue Apartments.com?

Most FCRA claims over an Apartments.com screening run against the companies that prepared the report, because they are the consumer reporting agencies with the duties to report accurately (§ 1681e(b)) and to reinvestigate disputes (§ 1681i). Whether a claim also fits against the platform depends on what it did with your information, which a lawyer can sort out from the report and the application records.

  • What you may recover. If the FCRA was negligently violated, actual damages, such as a lost apartment, extra application fees and deposits, higher rent, moving costs and emotional distress, plus attorney’s fees and costs (§ 1681o). If the violation was willful, actual damages or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, punitive damages, and fees and costs (§ 1681n).
  • Deadline. Generally within two years after you discover the violation and no more than five years after it occurred (§ 1681p).

The regulator action described above was against TransUnion. We found no regulator action against Apartments.com itself.

FCRA Attorneys handles these cases on contingency. No fee unless we win.

Get a free case review

If an Apartments.com screening cost you a rental, save the denial, the adverse action notice, the report, and every dispute and response, and request a free case review. FCRA Attorneys has offices in Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta, and files FCRA cases in federal court nationwide, directly or with local counsel.

Questions about suing Apartments.com

Can I sue Apartments.com?

It depends on who made the mistake. Apartments.com says its screening reports come from TransUnion, and its criminal screening is TransUnion's ShareAble for Rentals product powered by Asurint. Those companies prepare the reports and are consumer reporting agencies under the FCRA. If a report was inaccurate because of poor procedures, or the error wasn't fixed after you disputed it, you may have a claim against them. A lawyer can look at the report and the platform's role to decide who is responsible.

Who prepares an Apartments.com screening report?

TransUnion. Apartments.com's tenant screening page says TransUnion provides the ResidentScore and credit report, and its criminal background article says it uses TransUnion ShareAble for Rentals Criminal Background Screening powered by Asurint, in 38 states.

Where do I dispute an Apartments.com background check?

Apartments.com says applicants can dispute data on their reports with TransUnion ShareAble for Rentals Criminal Background Screening powered by Asurint. Dispute credit account errors with TransUnion's credit bureau too.

Who owns Apartments.com?

CoStar Group, Inc. Apartments.com's pages carry a CoStar Group copyright.

What does it cost to bring a case?

No fee unless we win. FCRA Attorneys handles these cases on contingency, and the FCRA lets a successful consumer recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs from the company.

Related reading

Sources

Updated November 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.

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