AppFolio screening report cost you an apartment?

Who AppFolio is and who relies on its reports

AppFolio, Inc. is a publicly traded property management software company based in Santa Barbara, California. Along with its software, it offers property managers a resident screening program called FolioScreen. The CFPB lists AppFolio as a consumer reporting company that provides tenant screening services to property management companies and landlords.

According to AppFolio’s consumer page, a screening report can include credit information and a credit score, rental history, and public landlord-tenant and criminal records, depending on the plan the property manager chose. AppFolio says its credit and rental history data come from Experian and Experian RentBureau, and its criminal and landlord-tenant data come from state and county courts. You may also see AppFolio’s name as an inquiry on your credit report after you apply.

AppFolio says it does not make leasing decisions, but many property managers decide on the report alone. One wrong eviction or someone else’s criminal case can end an application.

The FTC’s $4.25 million case against AppFolio

On December 8, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission announced that AppFolio agreed to pay a $4.25 million civil penalty to settle charges that it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The Department of Justice filed the complaint and a stipulated order on the FTC’s behalf in federal court in Washington, D.C.

The FTC alleged that, until at least April 2019, AppFolio:

• did not have reasonable procedures to check the accuracy of criminal and eviction records it bought from a third-party vendor;
• included eviction records and non-conviction criminal records that were more than seven years old; and
• kept its procedures in place despite numerous consumer complaints, even though some applicants may have been denied housing because of inaccurate reports.

The order bars AppFolio from reporting non-conviction criminal records and eviction records older than seven years and requires it to maintain reasonable procedures to assure the maximum possible accuracy of its reports. These were allegations resolved by settlement, not findings after a trial, but they describe the kinds of errors renters should look for.

Errors that show up on AppFolio screening reports

• Wrong-person records. Eviction or criminal cases of someone with a similar name or birth date.
• Missing outcomes. An eviction filing shown without the dismissal, settlement or judgment for the tenant.
• Obsolete records. Eviction cases and non-conviction criminal records older than seven years.
• Duplicates. One court case reported as several.
• Bad credit or rental data. Collections, accounts or rent-payment history that are not yours or are wrong.

How to dispute AppFolio

1. Confirm AppFolio screened you. The landlord’s adverse action notice should name the screening company. If it is unclear, ask the property manager.
2. Request your file. Use AppFolio’s online consumer form at screenings.appfolio.com/consumer/inquiries/new, call (866) 359-3630, or write to Screening Consumer Relations, 70 Castilian Drive, Goleta, CA 93117. AppFolio says it sends the report after it verifies your identity and suggests including a copy of a government ID and your full name, current address, date of birth, phone number and email.
3. Ask for the full disclosure. AppFolio’s page offers a consumer disclosure of all the information it holds about you under FCRA § 609 (15 U.S.C. § 1681g). Ask for it, not just the landlord’s copy.
4. File the dispute. Use the same online form, phone line, fax or mailing address and identify each item that is wrong and why. AppFolio says it will investigate, update or remove information it finds incorrect, and notify you and the property manager of the results.
5. Attach proof. Dismissal or sealing orders, judgments for you, a payment ledger, a former landlord’s letter, ID, and proof that a record belongs to someone else.
6. Dispute credit data with the source too. AppFolio’s page points consumers to Experian’s dispute site for credit-file errors. If a rent-payment item is wrong, dispute it with Experian RentBureau as well.
7. Keep copies and dates. Save the denial, the notice, your file, what you sent and every response. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(1), a reinvestigation generally must be completed within 30 days.

How to contact AppFolio

• Online request and dispute form: screenings.appfolio.com/consumer/inquiries/new (from AppFolio’s consumer page)
• Phone: (866) 359-3630
• Secure fax: (866) 496-8077
• Mail: AppFolio Screening Consumer Relations, 70 Castilian Drive, Goleta, CA 93117
• Email: [email protected] (AppFolio asks consumers not to email a Social Security number or a background report, because email is not secure)

AppFolio says it cannot place a security freeze. For a freeze on your credit files, contact Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

Your rights under the FCRA

• Accuracy (15 U.S.C. § 1681e(b)). AppFolio must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy, including complete case outcomes and correct identity matching.
• Reinvestigation (§ 1681i). Disputed items must be reasonably reinvestigated free of charge and corrected or deleted if they are inaccurate, incomplete or cannot be verified.
• File disclosure (§ 1681g). You can get the information in your file and its sources.
• Time limits (§ 1681c). Civil suits and judgments, including eviction cases, and most other adverse information other than criminal convictions generally cannot be reported after seven years.
• Adverse action notice (§ 1681m). A landlord that denies you based on a report must name the screening company and tell you about your right to a free copy and to dispute.

Can you sue AppFolio?

Yes, when the facts support a claim. You may have an FCRA case against AppFolio if it:

• reported a record that is not yours, incomplete, or misleading without reasonable procedures to assure accuracy (§ 1681e(b));
• reported eviction or non-conviction criminal records past the seven-year limit (§ 1681c); or
• failed to conduct a reasonable reinvestigation after your dispute, or verified an error without really checking (§ 1681i).

For a negligent violation, you may recover actual damages, such as lost housing, application fees, higher rent or deposits, moving and temporary housing costs, and emotional distress, plus attorney’s fees and costs (15 U.S.C. § 1681o). For a willful violation, you may recover actual damages or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, punitive damages, and fees and costs (§ 1681n).

An FCRA lawsuit generally must be filed within two years after you discover the violation and no later than five years after it occurred (§ 1681p). Every case depends on its own facts and documents.

Get a free case review

If an AppFolio screening report cost you a home, save the denial, the adverse action notice, your file and your dispute, and request a free case review. FCRA Attorneys has offices in Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta, files FCRA cases in federal court nationwide, directly or with local counsel, and charges no fee unless we win.

Questions about suing AppFolio

Can I sue AppFolio?

You may be able to. AppFolio sells resident screening reports to property managers, which makes it a consumer reporting agency under the FCRA. If it reported inaccurate information without reasonable procedures to assure accuracy, reported records that are too old, or failed to reasonably reinvestigate your dispute, you may have a claim.

Did AppFolio decide to deny my application?

AppFolio says it does not make rental decisions and that the property manager makes all leasing decisions. But AppFolio is responsible for the accuracy of the screening report it sells, and the property manager must tell you which company supplied the report if it denies you based on it.

Where does AppFolio get its information?

AppFolio's consumer page says credit and rental history come from Experian and Experian RentBureau, and that criminal and landlord-tenant records come from state and county courts. If a credit or rent-payment item is wrong, dispute it with AppFolio and with the source as well.

What does it cost to bring a case?

Nothing up front. FCRA Attorneys handles these cases on contingency, so there is no fee unless we win, and the FCRA lets a successful consumer recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs from the company.

Related reading

• How to Dispute a Tenant Screening Report: Evictions, Sealed Records and Wrong-Person Errors
• Denied an Apartment Because of a Background Check: What to Do in the First Week
• Criminal Record Apartment Rights: What Landlords Can and Cannot Do

Sources

• CFPB consumer reporting companies list: AppFolio, Inc. (tenant screening; free report; contact details)
• AppFolio official screening consumer page (FolioScreen; report requests, disputes, data sources, contact channels)
• FTC press release, December 8, 2020: AppFolio, Inc. to pay $4.25 million over tenant screening report accuracy (D.D.C.)
• SEC EDGAR company filings: AppFolio, Inc. (business address, Santa Barbara, CA)

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