The new law won't affect the business, Harrington said, because much of the new local law is already mandated by federal law. That's because tenant screening information is often bundled with credit reports, which are subject to clear disclosure requirements.
The problem isn't that companies like his have too much information on tenants, Harrington argued. It's that they have too little.
Housing Court purges social security numbers, addresses and other identifying information from the data it sells to companies like On-Site. It also doesn't sell the disposition of the case, only the fact that an individual was party to a court action, Harrington said. More precise information would permit tenant screening companies to make sure they are talking about the right Cindy Johnson.
“Well-identifying information is the thing that matters here. The court can fix this and instead they are punting,” Harrington said. “There is not really a way to clean it up because it is the source of information that makes it unclear.”
On-Site has a tenant relations department specifically dedicated to amending or deleting the record if tenants can prove information on them is erroneous, Harrington said.
But even if the data is accurate and applied to the correct Cindy Johnson, tenants who have had problems in the past are left in a lurch. They are marked. In a tight rental market, a landlord will always have incentive to avoid a tenant with a housing court history, said David Robinson, senior staff attorney at Legal Services of New York.
People with questions about tenant screening lists or who seek help correcting their records can call Housing Court Answers at (212) 962-4795.
