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Avail · Tenant screening

Avail screening report cost you a rental?

Avail is a Realtor.com rental platform that lets landlords screen applicants. Avail presents the credit, criminal and eviction reports landlords see as screening reports by TransUnion. 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 Avail is and who prepares its reports

Avail is an online platform for do-it-yourself landlords. Landlords use it to list rentals, take applications, screen applicants, sign leases and collect rent. Its terms of use identify the company as Rentalutions, Inc., a Delaware corporation doing business as Avail, and its website header calls it part of the Realtor.com network. Move, Inc., the News Corp subsidiary that operates Realtor.com, acquired Avail in December 2020. Avail’s contact page lists a mailing address in Austin, Texas.

Here is the part that matters for a dispute: Avail does not prepare the screening reports itself. TransUnion does. Avail’s tenant screening page says its screening is “powered by TransUnion” and lists the credit report, the nationwide criminal history report and the eviction checks under the heading “Screening Reports by” with the TransUnion logo, and it says the credit report is delivered directly from TransUnion. Avail’s terms say landlords may request consumer credit data from TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions, Inc., the tenant screening arm of the TransUnion credit bureau.

So if an Avail report said you had an eviction you never had, or a criminal case that belongs to someone else, the company that compiled that report and must reinvestigate it is TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions. We have a separate guide on TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions, and one on the TransUnion credit bureau for regular credit report errors.

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 separate evictions, left out dismissals, reported some dismissed cases as judgments, labeled a landlord’s claimed amount as a “judgment amount,” included sealed eviction records in 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 exactly the kinds of errors renters should look for on an Avail report.

Errors that show up on tenant screening reports

  • Incomplete eviction records. A filing reported as an eviction even though the case was dismissed, settled or decided for you.
  • Duplicates. One eviction case listed more than once, so a single dispute looks like a pattern.
  • Wrong-person records. Criminal or eviction cases of someone with a similar name or birth date.
  • Sealed records. Eviction cases a court sealed or a state restricts from reports.
  • Bad credit data. Collections or accounts that are not yours.
  • Obsolete records. Arrests and other non-conviction records older than seven years.

How to dispute Avail

  1. Confirm who ran the report. If a landlord turned you down, ask for the adverse action notice. It should name the screening company, which for Avail screening is TransUnion.
  2. Get your report. Ask the landlord for the copy it received, and request your file from TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions. The CFPB lists its phone number as 800-230-9376 (Option 4) and its website as MySmartMove.com.
  3. Dispute with TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions. The CFPB lists the dispute address as TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions, Attention: Consumer Dispute Team, P.O. Box 800, Woodlyn, PA 19094. Identify each wrong item and explain why it is wrong.
  4. Dispute credit account errors with the credit bureau too. A wrong account or collection should also be disputed with TransUnion’s credit bureau side, which handles your regular credit report.
  5. Attach proof. Dismissal or sealing orders, judgments in your favor, a payment ledger or former landlord’s letter, ID, and anything showing a record belongs to someone else.
  6. Tell Avail and the landlord. Avail does not decide the dispute, but you can let the landlord know you have disputed and ask it to hold the unit. Avail’s customer care team can be reached at the contact points below.
  7. Keep copies and track the deadline. A consumer reporting agency generally must finish its reinvestigation within 30 days of receiving your dispute (15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(1)).

How to contact Avail

  • Avail customer care: 312-292-9347, or the support request form linked from avail.com/contact.
  • Avail mailing address: 901 E. 6th St., Suite 500, Austin, Texas 78702.
  • Report disputes (TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions): 800-230-9376 (Option 4); Attention: Consumer Dispute Team, P.O. Box 800, Woodlyn, PA 19094; MySmartMove.com.

Your rights under the FCRA

  • Accuracy (§ 1681e(b)). The company preparing the report must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy, including complete case outcomes.
  • Reinvestigation (§ 1681i). Disputed information must be reasonably reinvestigated, free of charge, and corrected or deleted if it is inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable.
  • Adverse action notice (§ 1681m). A landlord that denies you or charges more based on a report must name the screening company and tell you about your right to a free copy and to dispute.
  • Free report after denial (§ 1681j(b)). You may get a free copy if you ask within 60 days after an adverse action notice.
  • File disclosure (§ 1681g). You can see the information in your file and where it came from.
  • Reporting time limits (§ 1681c). Arrest records and most other adverse non-conviction information generally cannot be reported after seven years.

Can you sue Avail?

Most FCRA claims over an Avail screening run against the company that prepared the report, TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions, because it is the consumer reporting agency 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.

If the FCRA was negligently violated, you may recover actual damages, such as a lost apartment, extra application fees and deposits, higher rent, moving and storage costs, and emotional distress, plus attorney’s fees and costs (15 U.S.C. § 1681o). If the violation was willful, you may recover actual damages or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, punitive damages, and fees and costs (§ 1681n).

A lawsuit generally must be filed within two years after you discover the violation and no more than five years after it occurred (§ 1681p). The main regulator action involving the reports Avail delivers is the 2023 FTC and CFPB settlement with TransUnion described above. We found no regulator action against Avail itself.

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

Get a free case review

If an Avail 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 Avail

Can I sue Avail?

It depends on who made the mistake. Avail's screening reports are prepared by TransUnion, and TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions, Inc. is a consumer reporting agency under the FCRA. If the report was inaccurate because of poor procedures, or the error was not fixed after you disputed it, you may have a claim against TransUnion. A lawyer can look at the report and the platform's role to decide who is responsible.

Who actually prepares an Avail screening report?

TransUnion. Avail's tenant screening page says its reports are powered by TransUnion, and Avail's terms of use say landlords may request consumer credit data from TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions, Inc. That is the company to dispute with.

Is Avail part of Realtor.com?

Yes. Move, Inc., the News Corp subsidiary that operates Realtor.com, acquired Avail in December 2020. Avail's website describes it as part of the Realtor.com network, and its terms identify the legal entity as Rentalutions, Inc., doing business as Avail.

Does fixing my TransUnion credit report fix my Avail report?

Not necessarily. TransUnion's rental screening reports are separate products that can include eviction and criminal records. Dispute with TransUnion's rental screening team directly, and dispute credit account errors with the credit bureau too.

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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