TransUnion rental screening report cost you a home?

Who TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions is

TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions, Inc. (often called TURSS) is the tenant screening subsidiary of Trans Union LLC, one of the three nationwide credit bureaus. The CFPB lists it as doing business as TransUnion SmartMove and describes its products as tenant screening reports, estimated income insights, resident risk scores and leasing recommendations for landlords.

This page is about rental screening. If your problem is with your regular TransUnion credit report, see our TransUnion credit bureau page.

A rental screening report can combine credit information with eviction and criminal records. A landlord may never look past the score or recommendation. If an old eviction case shows up three times, or a dismissed case looks like a judgment, the report can sink an application before anyone reads the details.

The $15 million FTC and CFPB settlement

In October 2023, the FTC and the CFPB announced a settlement requiring Trans Union LLC and TURSS to pay $15 million: $11 million in consumer redress and a $4 million civil penalty. The court entered the order on October 18, 2023, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.

The agencies alleged that TURSS:

• did not have reasonable procedures to prevent multiple entries for the same eviction case, and until April 2021 often reported developments in one eviction proceeding as separate events;
• reported eviction filings without later dismissals, and reported judgments in cases that had been dismissed;
• labeled the amount a landlord claimed was owed as a “Judgment Amount”;
• lacked reasonable procedures to keep sealed or restricted eviction records out of its reports;
• obtained eviction records from a data vendor without taking steps to verify their accuracy; and
• in many instances did not identify the third-party vendors that supplied criminal and eviction records when consumers asked for their files.

The order requires changes to how eviction records are reported and complete disclosures to consumers who request their files. In an SEC filing, TransUnion said it continues to believe its rental screening practices are lawful and that it settled to resolve the matter.

How to dispute a TransUnion rental screening report

1. Read the denial notice. A landlord that turns you down based on a report must name the screening company. Ask the property manager which company it used if the notice is unclear.
2. Get your file. The CFPB says TURSS will provide, on request, the tenant and income reports you authorized landlords to receive. Request it so you can see exactly what the landlord saw.
3. Dispute with the rental screening company itself. Use TransUnion’s official rental screening disputes page or the contact information on the CFPB’s listing. A dispute filed with TransUnion’s credit bureau side is not the same thing.
4. Be specific and attach proof. Identify each wrong record and why it is wrong. Include dismissal or sealing orders, judgments for you, a former landlord’s letter, or proof a record belongs to someone else.
5. Ask for the source. You are entitled to know where a record came from. That lets you fix the problem at the courthouse or the vendor, too.
6. Keep copies and dates. Save the denial, the notice, your file, what you sent, when you sent it, and every response.
7. Hold them to the deadline. A screening company generally has 30 days to complete its reinvestigation under 15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(1).

Your rights under the FCRA

• Accuracy (15 U.S.C. § 1681e(b)). TURSS must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy, including complete case outcomes.
• 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, generally cannot be reported after seven years from entry (or longer only if the governing statute of limitations has not run), and most other adverse information other than criminal convictions is limited to seven years.
• Adverse action notice (§ 1681m). The landlord must tell you about the denial, name the screening company, and explain your right to a free copy and to dispute.

What you may recover

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).

Get a free case review

An FCRA lawsuit generally must be filed within two years after you discover the violation and no later than five years after it occurred (15 U.S.C. § 1681p). If a TransUnion rental screening report cost you a home, save your paperwork and request a free case review now. 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 TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions

Can I sue TransUnion over a rental screening report?

You may be able to. TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions, Inc. provides tenant screening reports to landlords, which makes it a consumer reporting agency under the FCRA. If it reported inaccurate information without reasonable accuracy procedures, or failed to reasonably reinvestigate your dispute, you may have a claim.

Is this the same as my TransUnion credit report?

No. TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions is a subsidiary of Trans Union LLC, the credit bureau, but its tenant screening reports are separate products that can include eviction and criminal records. Fixing your TransUnion credit report does not automatically fix a rental screening report, so dispute with the rental screening company directly.

What is SmartMove?

The CFPB lists TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions, Inc. as doing business as TransUnion SmartMove, with the website MySmartMove.com. Landlords use it to screen applicants with tenant reports, income insights and resident risk scores.

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: TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions, Inc. (TransUnion SmartMove)
• FTC press release, October 12, 2023: FTC and CFPB settlement requires Trans Union to pay $15 million over tenant screening accuracy
• CFPB enforcement action: TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions, Inc. and Trans Union LLC, No. 1:23-cv-02659 (D. Colo.)
• TransUnion Form 8-K (October 2023) describing the consent order and the company's position
• TransUnion official rental screening disputes page

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