Tenant Screening Center report cost you a rental?

Who Tenant Screening Center is and who prepares its reports

Tenant Screening Center, Inc. (TSC, or TSCI) is a tenant screening company based in Santa Rosa, California. It says it was established in 1985 and serves more than 35,000 property managers, landlords and other clients throughout the United States. It sells screening packages that can include a credit report, rental history and eviction searches, criminal checks, and employment and landlord verifications, and it says the service is paid for by applicants. Through its RentalConnect service, applicants can buy reports and authorize landlords to view them for a limited time.

Many rental platforms only pass along reports prepared by someone else. TSC is different: it prepares the reports itself. Its privacy practices say TSCI “compiles investigative consumer reports” about individuals, maintains reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy, and conducts reinvestigations of the accuracy and completeness of information at the individual’s request. That makes TSC the company to dispute with and, if it fails, the company you may be able to sue.

For the credit portion, TSC draws on a credit bureau’s database. TSC’s website does not name the bureau, and it says TSC “is not responsible for errors in the credit database.” If a credit account on a TSC report is wrong, look on the report for the bureau that supplied it and dispute with that bureau too. Our guides cover Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

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.
• Wrong-person records. Criminal or eviction cases of someone with a similar name or birth date.
• Duplicates. One case listed more than once.
• Credit errors. Accounts that are not yours, wrong balances, or debts still shown as owing after payoff, settlement or bankruptcy discharge.
• Obsolete records. Arrests and other non-conviction records older than seven years.

TSC’s own FAQ acknowledges that the accuracy of criminal database searches “depends on the source.” The FCRA puts the duty on TSC to use reasonable procedures anyway.

How to dispute Tenant Screening Center

1. Get the adverse action notice. A landlord that denies you based on a report must name the screening company. Confirm it was Tenant Screening Center.
2. Get your report. TSC’s RentalConnect terms say a report subject may request a consumer file disclosure at no charge within 60 days of ordering. Ask the landlord for the copy it received, too.
3. Dispute with TSC in writing. TSC’s terms say it is the report subject’s responsibility to contact TSC to dispute information. Write to Tenant Screening Center, Inc., 6570 Oakmont Drive, Suite 100-A, Santa Rosa, CA 95409-5970, or use its fax (1-800-799-8861) or email ([email protected]), and call 1-800-523-2381 to confirm receipt. Identify each wrong item and explain why it is wrong.
4. Dispute credit errors with the bureau too. If a credit account is wrong, dispute it with the credit bureau that supplied the data. The creditor that reported it must investigate when the bureau forwards your dispute (§ 1681s-2(b)).
5. Attach proof. Dismissal or sealing orders, judgments in your favor, payoff or settlement letters, ID, and anything showing a record belongs to someone else. Send copies, not originals.
6. Tell the landlord. Let the landlord know you have disputed and ask it to hold the unit.
7. 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)). Keep copies of everything you send and receive.

How to contact Tenant Screening Center

• Mail: Tenant Screening Center, Inc., 6570 Oakmont Drive, Suite 100-A, Santa Rosa, CA 95409-5970.
• Phone: 1-800-523-2381 (Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific).
• Fax: 1-800-799-8861.
• Email: [email protected].
• Online: tsci.com/contact-tsci. TSC says visits are by appointment only.

Your rights under the FCRA

• Accuracy (§ 1681e(b)). TSC must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of what it reports.
• 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 company that supplied it 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.

TSC’s terms also reference California’s Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act, including an applicant’s option to receive a free copy of the report. If you live in California or applied for housing there, a lawyer can tell you whether state law adds rights.

Can you sue Tenant Screening Center?

Yes, if the facts support it. Because TSC compiles the reports, it carries the FCRA’s duties to use reasonable procedures to assure accuracy (§ 1681e(b)) and to reasonably reinvestigate disputes (§ 1681i). If it reported a wrong eviction, a criminal record belonging to someone else, or credit data it had reason to doubt, and then failed to fix the error after you disputed, you may have a claim. A credit bureau or creditor that supplied bad data may share responsibility.

If the FCRA was negligently violated, you may recover actual damages, such as lost housing, extra fees and deposits, higher rent, moving 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).

TSC’s terms and conditions include an arbitration provision with a class-action waiver. A lawyer can review whether it applies to your situation. We found no regulator action or court ruling against Tenant Screening Center.

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

Get a free case review

If a Tenant Screening Center report cost you a rental, keep the denial, the adverse action notice, the report, and your disputes and responses, 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 Tenant Screening Center (TSC)

Can I sue Tenant Screening Center?

Yes, if the facts support it. TSC says it compiles investigative consumer reports about individuals and conducts reinvestigations when people dispute, which is what consumer reporting agencies do under the FCRA. You may have a claim if TSC reported inaccurate information without reasonable procedures to assure accuracy, or failed to reasonably reinvestigate your dispute.

Who prepares a TSC report?

TSC itself. Its privacy practices say TSCI compiles investigative consumer reports, maintains procedures to assure accuracy and conducts reinvestigations at the individual's request. Its credit reports draw on a national credit bureau's database, which TSC does not name on its website, so check the report for the bureau that supplied the credit data.

How do I get my TSC report?

TSC's terms for its RentalConnect service say a report subject may request a consumer file disclosure at no charge within 60 days of ordering, and that the report subject is responsible for contacting TSC to dispute information. You can also ask the landlord for the copy it received and request your free copy after any denial.

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

• 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

• Tenant Screening Center, Inc.: home page (screening packages for landlords; serving clients since 1985; phone and hours)
• Tenant Screening Center: About TSC (established in 1985; over 35,000 clients)
• Tenant Screening Center: Contact page (6570 Oakmont Drive Suite 100-A, Santa Rosa, CA 95409-5970; phone, fax and email)
• Tenant Screening Center: Terms and conditions and privacy practices (TSC RentalConnect disputes and free file disclosure; TSCI compiles investigative consumer reports and conducts reinvestigations)
• Tenant Screening Center: FAQs (supports the dispute process so applicants can correct inaccurate data)

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