How and Where to Look Up Your Rental History
Discover how to access, understand, and manage your rental history for accurate housing records and future housing opportunities.
A rental history is a comprehensive record of a tenant’s past housing experiences. It can significantly influence future opportunities, including securing new housing. This history provides insights into an individual’s reliability and financial responsibility, reviewed by landlords, property managers, and some financial institutions. Understanding and accessing your rental history is an important step in managing your personal financial and housing profile.
What Your Rental History Includes
A rental history report details an individual’s past behavior as a renter, offering insights to prospective landlords. This report includes previous addresses and dates of tenancy. It also notes rent payment history, indicating whether payments were on-time, late, or missed. Landlords and property managers use this data to assess a tenant’s financial reliability.
The report also includes details about lease terms, such as initial rent amount and lease duration. Instances of lease violations, including unauthorized occupants, noise complaints, or property damage claims, are often recorded. Eviction records, which include court filings and judgments, indicate past legal disputes related to tenancy. Landlords use these reports during tenant screening to predict a prospective tenant’s future behavior and suitability for a property.
Identifying Sources for Your Rental History
Various entities compile information that contributes to an individual’s rental history. One source is the three major credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. While rent payments are not automatically reported, they may be included if a landlord or third-party service furnishes this data. If reported, this information appears on your credit report, which landlords often review during screening.
Specialized tenant screening companies also gather comprehensive reports from credit data, eviction records, and other public information. Examples include CoreLogic SafeRent, Experian RentBureau, LexisNexis, RentGrow, and TransUnion SmartMove. These companies consolidate data points to provide landlords with a holistic view of a prospective tenant’s background. Previous landlords directly retain records of a tenant’s history with their properties, including payment consistency and lease compliance. Public court records also serve as a source for eviction filings.
Steps to Request Your Rental History
Accessing your rental history involves requesting reports from various entities. To obtain your credit report, which may include rental payment data if reported, visit AnnualCreditReport.com. This federally authorized website allows one free copy of your credit report every 12 months from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. While rent payments are not always included, third-party services can facilitate their reporting for a fee, potentially boosting your credit score.
When dealing with tenant screening companies, ask the landlord directly which company was used, especially if a denial was based on the report. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you have the right to request a free copy of any tenant screening report used against you if denied housing. Common companies include CoreLogic Rental Property Solutions, Experian RentBureau, and TransUnion SmartMove; you can request reports directly from them via their websites or by phone.
To obtain records from previous landlords, contact them with your dates of tenancy and former address. You can request a summary of your payment history, lease compliance, and other relevant details. Some landlords may provide a written reference or a statement of tenancy. For public records, particularly eviction filings, search local court records. The process for accessing these records varies by jurisdiction, so check the specific procedures for the court where the eviction may have occurred.
Reviewing and Addressing Discrepancies
Once you have obtained copies of your rental history reports, carefully review them for inaccuracies. Common errors include incorrect personal information, misreported payment dates, or evictions that never occurred or were dismissed. Also check for records from properties you never rented or duplicate entries that inflate negative information. Identifying these discrepancies early helps maintain an accurate record.
If you find errors on reports from credit bureaus or tenant screening companies, you have rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to dispute them. Gather supporting evidence, such as lease agreements or payment receipts, and submit a formal written dispute to the reporting agency. These agencies must investigate your dispute within 30 days, or up to 45 days, and correct or remove inaccurate information.
For inaccuracies held directly by previous landlords, contact them with evidence of the correct information and request that they update their internal records. Maintaining a professional and clear communication can facilitate this process. If an eviction record in public court records is incorrect, correcting it may involve more complex legal steps, such as contacting the court directly with evidence to request an amendment or expungement. If a dispute is ignored or not properly investigated, or if you face housing denial due to an error, you may consider filing a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) or seeking legal counsel.