In view of the April 4, 2016 HUD Guidelines to Providers of Housing, POE believes it is necessary to utilize additional versions of the Adverse Action Notifications that property owners and property managers are required to send, when the owners/managers intend to decline an application placed by a prospective resident. The existing required prospective resident Adverse Action Notifications do not mention the reason for decline, do not mention anything about a criminal record, and they… [Read More]
HUD Guidance, Applicants with Criminal Records & Housing Providers
On April 4, 2016, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of General Counsel, issued its Guidance on Application of Fair Housing Act Standards to the Use of Criminal Records by Providers of Housing and Real Estate-Related Transactions. The Guidance, which strongly resembles the April 25, 2012 EEOC Enforcement Guidance to Employers on the Use of Criminal Records, advises that refusing to rent to people just because they have criminal convictions — and… [Read More]
Compliance…Compliance…Compliance
Litigation against End Users of Consumer Reports and Investigative Consumer Reports continues to Snowball across the land. And record setting settlements are being paid by employers and other end-users of screening reports. Two-thirds of FCRA suits are being brought against End Users because of invalid Authorization and Disclosure documents or because of End User failure to provide proper Adverse Action Notifications with required enclosures. Authorizations and Disclosures must not include “release of liability” or other… [Read More]