A screening company that attaches another person's eviction to you, for example because of a similar name, may be violating its FCRA duty to use reasonable procedures for maximum possible accuracy. Get the report, dispute the record with proof of identity, and tell the landlord.
Eviction court records can contain limited identifying information, sometimes little more than a name and the address of the rental. When a screening company matches those records to applicants using only a name, or a name plus a loose identifier, a stranger’s eviction can land on your report.
Why this can violate the FCRA
Tenant screening companies are consumer reporting agencies. Section 1681e(b) requires them to follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information about the person the report is about. Reporting another person’s eviction is inaccurate, and loose matching can cause it.
The CFPB’s November 2022 report on the tenant screening market identified public records, including eviction records, as one of three areas of challenges for renters.
Signs the eviction is not yours
- A property or city where you never lived
- A case date when you were living somewhere else
- A different middle name, suffix, or spelling
- A co-defendant you do not know
What to do
- Get the report. If the landlord denied you or changed your terms because of it, the FTC says the landlord must give you an adverse action notice naming the screening company. You can get a free copy if you ask within 60 days.
- Gather proof. Your lease or utility bills from the same period, identification showing your date of birth, and the court docket for the case.
- Dispute in writing with the screening company under § 1681i. It generally must reinvestigate within 30 days and delete information it cannot verify.
- Tell the landlord right away and share your proof.
- Check other screening companies. The same court record may have been picked up by more than one company.
If another person’s eviction cost you an apartment, a free case review can help you understand your options, with no fee unless we win.
Related
- Tenant screening lawsuits
- How to Dispute a Tenant Screening Report: Evictions, Sealed Records and Wrong-Person Errors
- Companies we sue
Sources
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681e (Cornell LII)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681i (Cornell LII)
- FTC: Using Consumer Reports: What Landlords Need to Know
- CFPB: Tenant Background Checks Market (Nov. 2022)
Updated November 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.