On February 28, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a request for information seeking public comment on background screening issues affecting individuals who seek rental housing in the United States, including how the use of criminal and eviction records and algorithms affect tenant screening decisions and may be driving discriminatory outcomes.
As part of the Request for Information, the FTC and CFPB are asking current tenants, prospective tenants, advocacy groups, commercial and individual landlords, property managers, background screening companies, other consumer reporting agencies, and others to weigh in on a wide array of issues that affect tenant screening.
Comments may be submitted at Regulations.gov and must be received no later than May 30, 2023. To ensure the Commission considers your online comment, please follow the instructions on the web-based form. Your comment – including your name and your state – will be placed on the public record, including, to the extent practicable, on the Regulations.gov website. You may view submitted comments at Regulations.gov at any time.
Because your comment will be placed on the public record, you are solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential information. In particular, your comment should not contain sensitive personal information, such as your or anyone else’s Social Security number; date of birth; driver’s license number or other state identification number or foreign country equivalent; passport number; financial account number; or credit or debit card number. You are also solely responsible for making sure your comment does not include any sensitive health information, such as medical records or other individually identifiable health information. In addition, your comment should not include any “[t]rade secret or any commercial or financial information which . . . is privileged or confidential” – as provided in Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2) – including in particular competitively sensitive information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.
Need help? See Regulations.gov’s FAQs for more information.