TenantSafe report cost you an apartment?

Who TenantSafe is and who prepares your report

TenantSafe is a resident screening company based in Jackson, New Jersey. It sells an online screening platform to landlords and property managers that combines a credit report with FICO score, national criminal and sex offender searches, address history and eviction reports, along with automated recommendations based on the property’s criteria.

TenantSafe prepares its own reports. Its privacy policy says “ApplicantSafe/TenantSafe is a consumer reporting agency” and that consumers have the right under the FCRA to request their information and to dispute the accuracy or completeness of anything in their file. So for a TenantSafe report, TenantSafe is the company you dispute with and the company responsible for accuracy. The credit portion comes from a credit bureau, which TenantSafe does not name on its website; your report should identify it.

One more thing to check: TenantSafe’s website sends independent landlords to a SmartMove portal (tenantsafe.mysmartmove.com) as well as offering its own platform. SmartMove is TransUnion’s rental screening service. If your report says SmartMove or TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions, TransUnion prepared it, and you should follow our guide to TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions.

How TenantSafe searches eviction records

TenantSafe says its EvictionCheck product searches every state where the applicant has a prior address, not just the state where the applicant is applying, and that its eviction searches are not limited to information the applicant lists. It says the data may include defendants, plaintiffs, comments on the case, judgments, initial filings and dispossessory warrants.

Wide searches catch more records, including more records that belong to someone else. A common name, a shared address or an address history that includes someone else’s old address can lead to an eviction case being matched to the wrong person. The FCRA requires reasonable procedures to make sure each record really belongs to the applicant.

Errors that show up on tenant screening reports

• Wrong-person evictions. Cases from another state or another tenant with a similar name.
• Incomplete eviction records. A filing reported without the dismissal, settlement or judgment for the tenant.
• Wrong-person criminal or sex offender records. Matches based on name and limited identifiers.
• Duplicates. One case reported several times.
• 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 TenantSafe

1. Get the adverse action notice. A landlord that denies you or charges you more based on a report must name the screening company.
2. Request your file. Write to TenantSafe at P.O. Box 1195, Jackson, NJ 08527, or contact it at 800-498-3200 or [email protected], and ask for a copy of all information in your file and its sources.
3. Dispute in writing. List each wrong item, the case number or account, and why it is wrong. Ask TenantSafe to reinvestigate and to tell you where each record came from.
4. Attach proof. Dismissal or sealing orders, a judgment for you, a former landlord’s letter, your ID, and proof that a record belongs to someone else, such as a different birth date or address history. You can also fax documents to 800-596-5594.
5. If the report was a TransUnion SmartMove report, dispute with TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions, Attention: Consumer Dispute Team, P.O. Box 800, Woodlyn, PA 19094, or call 800-230-9376 (Option 4), as listed by the CFPB.
6. Dispute credit accounts with the bureau too. If a credit account is wrong, dispute it with the bureau that supplied it, such as Experian, Equifax or TransUnion.
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.

How to contact TenantSafe

• Phone: 800-498-3200
• Fax: 800-596-5594
• Email: [email protected]
• Mail: TenantSafe, P.O. Box 1195, Jackson, NJ 08527
• Street address listed by TenantSafe: 2050 West County Line Rd., Jackson, NJ 08527
• Privacy questions (Chief Privacy Officer): 732-942-1331, [email protected]

Your rights under the FCRA

• Accuracy (§ 1681e(b)). TenantSafe must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy, including how it matches eviction and criminal records to applicants.
• 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 takes adverse action based on a report must tell you which company supplied it and that you can get a free copy and dispute it.
• 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 have the right to see the information in your file and its sources.
• Reporting time limits (§ 1681c). Arrest records and most other adverse non-conviction information generally cannot be reported after seven years.

Can you sue TenantSafe?

Yes, when the facts support it. If TenantSafe reported a record that is not yours, left out a dismissal, or did not reasonably reinvestigate after you disputed, you may have an FCRA claim against it as the consumer reporting agency that prepared your report.

For a negligent violation, you may recover actual damages, such as lost housing, application fees, higher deposits or rent, moving and storage 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). We did not find a federal regulator order against TenantSafe.

The deadline is generally two years after you discover the violation and no more than five years after it occurred (15 U.S.C. § 1681p).

Get a free case review

If a TenantSafe report cost you an apartment, keep the denial, the notice, your file and your dispute, and request a free case review. FCRA Attorneys takes these cases on contingency, with no fee unless we win. 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 TenantSafe

Can I sue TenantSafe?

Yes, if the facts support it. TenantSafe's privacy policy says ApplicantSafe/TenantSafe is a consumer reporting agency. You may have a claim if it reported inaccurate information without reasonable procedures to assure accuracy, or failed to reasonably reinvestigate your dispute.

Who prepares a TenantSafe report?

TenantSafe does. It describes itself as a consumer reporting agency and sells its own screening platform with criminal, eviction, address history and credit reports. The credit report comes from a credit bureau. TenantSafe's website also links to a TransUnion SmartMove portal, so if your report is labeled SmartMove or TransUnion, dispute with TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions.

TenantSafe found an eviction in a state I didn't list. Is that allowed?

TenantSafe says its EvictionCheck searches every state where an applicant has a prior address and is not limited to the information the applicant lists. Searching more widely is not unlawful, but the company still must use reasonable procedures to make sure a record is really yours. A record matched to the wrong person can be disputed and may support a claim.

What does it cost to bring a case?

There is 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

• TenantSafe home page (screening products, EvictionCheck, contact information)
• TenantSafe Privacy Policy (ApplicantSafe/TenantSafe is a consumer reporting agency; consumer rights to file and dispute)
• TenantSafe: Human Trafficking Adverse Action instructions (mailing addresses, phone, fax, email)
• TenantSafe Terms and Conditions (New Jersey governing law; contact information)
• CFPB consumer reporting companies list: TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions, Inc. (TransUnion SmartMove)

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