White House Announces More Blueprint Actions
Building off the White House Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights, the Biden-Harris Administration announced a series of new actions on July 27, 2023, aimed to protect renters by:
- · Ensuring all renters have an opportunity to address incorrect tenant screening reports;
- · Providing new funding to support tenant organizing efforts and
- · Ensuring that renters are given fair notice in advance of eviction.
To ensure fair tenant screening practices, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) (see their two announcements here and here), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Federal Housing Financing Agency (FHFA) released guidance or best practices to remind housing providers that when they deny housing to an applicant using information obtained from a consumer report, like a criminal background check, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires landlords to communicate their decision to the tenant and share how the tenant can contact the company that produced the consumer report.