What is Aptly Screening?

What is Screening?

Aptly screening works with your Renter Leads CRM to convert leads into applicants, filling vacancies with qualified residents. Unlike other screening processes, which can take days, Aptly screening returns results just moments after you submit them for review. Aptly Screening combines credit, criminal, and eviction information on each candidate with instant identity and income verification to get a clear picture of each potential renter.

What is the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)?

The Fair Credit Reporting Act is a federal law in the United States that governs background checks on any individual. This legislation was put in place to promote the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of consumer information and consumer reports. Enforcement of the FCRA is overseen by the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Any company that uses credit and criminal reports must comply with the FCRA. Both Aptly and your company have to follow the rules set out in the FCRA. Aptly has partnered with Credit Reporting Services, Inc (CRS), a Consumer Reporting Agency (“CRA”), and under the FCRA, CRAs have certain specific responsibilities that must be followed. Our CRA partners assemble consumer information (i.e. credit data, rental history, criminal records) into a report to provide property managers with information about a potential renter to make informed decisions about renting a home to them.

As a property manager and user of the reports provided by Aptly and our partners, you are also subject to compliance with the FCRA.

What Are Aptly’s Duties under the FCRA?

Our CRA partners and Aptly are responsible for what information will be available in a screening report and help consumers with any disputes. Additionally, to be compliant with FCRA guidelines, Aptly and our CRA partners will ensure the following:

Accurate Records: Additionally, the FCRA requires reasonable efforts to assure the accuracy of all screening reports. Aptly and our CRA partners have automated workflows for all screening reports increasing the accuracy of the data provided to your company.

Timeliness of Records: The FCRA requires that certain types of records cannot be reported after a certain period of time (i.e. criminal records beyond 7 years). These older records are considered “obsolete” as they have passed their statute of limitation or relevance. It’s possible for a property manager to discover criminal, conviction, or bankruptcy data that is beyond the permissible 7-year period. However, making decisions on a candidate based on data outside this timeframe would be a violation of the FCRA.

Dispute Handling: Aptly and our CRA are required to assist applicants who have questions regarding any information in their screening report. If your applicants who need help - please send them to our team and they will answer their questions and/or submit a dispute for them. They can be contacted at:

What Are Your Duties under the FCRA?

We recommend that you consult with your legal counsel who is familiar with the FCRA and state/local screening laws to understand your obligations. However, we’ve highlighted some basic guidelines for your obligations under the FCRA:

You must have a permissible purpose for the person you are screening

The applicant who you are screening must have given you written (online/offline) consent to access their credit and criminal data. This permission is captured when the applicant applies online via your Aptly application form. However, if you are manually screening a candidate, you must receive written permission from the person who is being screened. We encourage that you ask your legal counsel to review the wording in your online and offline applications to ensure compliance with state and local laws.

Screening reports can only be used to evaluate an applicant for one of your properties. You cannot use Aptly screening for a property you do not manage or for employees/vendors as it is a violation of permissible purpose.

If a circumstance requires you to re-screen an applicant (for example, they are moving into another of your properties at the expiration of their current lease), you need to get written consent again before you perform the new background check. Just remember - every screening report must have corresponding written consent (rental application).

You need to handle rejection properly

Rejecting a candidate that has applied for one of your rentals needs to be handled appropriately to stay compliant with FCRA and Fair Housing laws. Again, we recommend consulting your own legal counsel that is well versed in the requirements for your state/locale to ensure you handle Adverse Action (ie. rejecting a candidate) properly. Adverse action is defined as any action you take based on the screening information obtained for an applicant that negatively affects their ability to obtain housing.

Examples of adverse action include:

Denying the application;

Requiring a co-signer on the lease;

Requiring a deposit that would not be required for another applicant;