If you're looking for an apartment in New York City, you no doubt know to expect landlords to run background checks to determine whether you would make a responsible tenant who pays the rent in full and on time. As part of their screening efforts, many landlords also search court dockets to see if an apartment hunter has been sued by a prior landlord for nonpayment of rent, damage, or other issues. The court docket reports, however, are based on a prospective tenant's name rather than a Social Security Number, and this difference has led to several cases of inaccuracies based on mistaken identification.
The Tenant Fair Chance Act, which went on the books on March 2, 2010, aims to make this problem a thing of the past. The Act requires landlords to let prospective tenants know the names and addresses of any screening companies they use to obtain these court docket reports. This way, prospects who believe a report is about another person who has the same or a similar name can point this out and not lose an apartment over it.
If you find yourself in the frustrating situation in which a New York City landlord rejects your apartment application because of a court action that doesn't concern you, keep the Tenant Fair Chance Act in mind. The landlord must furnish you with information to help you rectify the problem, and if he doesn't, then you can tell the landlord that New York City law requires him to do so.
As a final note, although the Act is hailed as a piece of pro-tenant legislation, consider that landlords also benefit from having accurate screening information. When landlords unknowingly reject good prospects based on a mistake, it hampers their efforts and hurts their business.
To view the full text of New York City's Tenant Fair Chance Act, click here.
