Zillow rental application screening cost you a home?

Who Zillow Rental Manager is and who prepares its reports

Zillow Group, Inc. is the Seattle-based company behind Zillow’s home and rental listings. Zillow Rental Manager is its tool for landlords: they post a listing, turn on the “Apply now” button, and receive completed applications with screening reports. According to Zillow’s tenant screening page, renters pay a $40 application fee that includes the screening reports, and the reports are free to landlords.

Zillow does not compile those reports itself. Zillow says its applications include a credit report from Experian and a background check from CIC. Experian’s own page describing the Zillow tool says the same thing: an Experian tenant credit check and a background check using CIC.

• The credit report comes from Experian, one of the three nationwide credit bureaus. It shows your score, credit lines and collections. If an account on it is wrong, see our Experian guide.
• The background check comes from CIC, Contemporary Information Corp., which the CFPB lists as a company providing background screening services for landlords and residential property managers. Zillow says the background check shows whether an applicant has been evicted or has a criminal history. If a record on it is wrong, see our CIC guide.

That split matters. A wrong eviction or criminal record is a CIC problem. A wrong credit account is an Experian problem (and usually a problem with the creditor that reported it). Zillow delivers the reports, but the dispute has to go to the company that prepared the part that is wrong.

Errors that show up on Zillow screening reports

• Incomplete eviction records. A filing shown as an eviction even though the case was dismissed, settled or won by the tenant.
• 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, late payments you did not make, or debts still shown as owing after payoff, settlement or bankruptcy discharge.
• Obsolete records. Arrests and other non-conviction records older than seven years.

How to dispute Zillow Rental Manager

1. Get the adverse action notice. A landlord that turns you down based on the report must tell you which company supplied it. For a Zillow application, that will be Experian, CIC or both.
2. Separate the errors. Put eviction and criminal record errors in one pile and credit errors in another.
3. Dispute background check errors with CIC. CIC’s consumer assistance page lets you register online to dispute an item, request a free copy after a denial, or request your free annual report. You can also dispute by fax to 888-797-2254 or by mail to CIC Consumer Relations, 3700 Crestwood Pkwy, #300, Duluth, GA 30096. CIC says mail and fax requests need your full name, current and previous addresses, phone number, Social Security number, date of birth, a legible copy of your driver’s license or other state-issued ID, and an explanation of your dispute.
4. Dispute credit errors with Experian. Use Experian’s online dispute center or mail your dispute to Experian, Dispute by Mail, P.O. Box 4500, Allen, TX 75013. Send copies, not originals.
5. Attach proof. Dismissal or sealing orders, judgments in your favor, payoff or settlement letters, a bankruptcy discharge, ID, and anything showing a record belongs to someone else.
6. Tell the landlord. Let the landlord know you have disputed and ask it to hold the unit or reconsider once the report is corrected.
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 every letter, upload confirmation and response.

How to contact Zillow Rental Manager

Zillow does not run the dispute process for screening reports. These are the contact points for the companies that do:

• CIC (background checks): phone 888-316-4242 (Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern, per CIC); online at consumers.cicreports.com; fax 888-797-2254; mail to CIC Consumer Relations, 3700 Crestwood Pkwy, #300, Duluth, GA 30096.
• Experian (credit reports): online at experian.com/disputes; mail to Experian, Dispute by Mail, P.O. Box 4500, Allen, TX 75013.

Your rights under the FCRA

• Accuracy (§ 1681e(b)). Experian and CIC must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of what they report.
• Reinvestigation (§ 1681i). Disputed information must be reasonably reinvestigated, free of charge, and corrected or deleted if it is inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable.
• Furnisher investigations (§ 1681s-2(b)). When Experian forwards your dispute to a creditor or collector, that company must investigate too.
• 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.
• Reporting time limits (§ 1681c). Arrest records and most other adverse non-conviction information generally cannot be reported after seven years.

Can you sue Zillow Rental Manager?

An FCRA lawsuit over a Zillow application is usually brought against the company that prepared the inaccurate report: CIC for eviction and criminal records, Experian for credit data, and in some cases the creditor that reported a wrong account. You may have a claim if the company reported inaccurate information without reasonable procedures, or did not reasonably reinvestigate after you disputed. Whether Zillow’s own role adds a claim depends on the facts, which a lawyer can review.

If the FCRA was negligently violated, you may recover actual damages, such as a lost apartment, extra application 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).

We found no final regulator action or court ruling against Zillow over its rental screening reports.

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

Get a free case review

If a Zillow rental application cost you a home, save the denial, the adverse action notice, the reports, 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 Zillow Rental Manager

Can I sue Zillow over a rental application?

Usually the claim is against the company that prepared the report. Zillow says its applications include a credit report from Experian and a background check from CIC, and both are consumer reporting agencies under the FCRA. If either reported inaccurate information without reasonable procedures, or failed to reasonably reinvestigate your dispute, you may have a claim. A lawyer can review whether Zillow's own role adds anything.

Who prepares the Zillow background check?

CIC (Contemporary Information Corp.). Zillow Rental Manager's tenant screening page says Zillow applications include a background check from CIC, which covers eviction and criminal history. The credit report comes from Experian.

Zillow says my background check is unavailable or delayed. What does that mean?

Zillow's help center has articles on why a background check can show as unavailable or delayed, or why a credit report could not be pulled. If the report was delivered and is wrong, the fix is a dispute with CIC or Experian, not with Zillow.

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
• How to Dispute Credit Report Errors With Equifax, Experian and TransUnion

Sources

• Zillow Rental Manager tenant screening page on Trulia (Zillow applications include a credit report from Experian and a background check from CIC; $40 application fee paid by renters)
• Experian: Zillow tenant screening (Experian tenant credit check; background check using CIC)
• CFPB consumer reporting companies list: Contemporary Information Corp. (CIC) contact information
• CIC consumer assistance page (disputes, report copies, phone, fax and mailing address)
• Experian official dispute center (online disputes; Dispute by Mail address)
• SEC EDGAR: Zillow Group, Inc. filer information (Seattle, Washington business address)

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