Oregon Renters' Handbook - OSPIRG

Chapter 1: Finding A Place To Liveare supposed to be there. Ifthe landlord charged an initialscreening fee, he or she shouldhave already provided the nameand address of the credit bureauas required under the FederalFair Credit Reporting Act,otherwise see Appendix C foragency contact information.Tenant ScreeningServicesSome landlords use a tenantscreening service to help themselect tenants. These servicesnot only have access to yourcredit history, but may also belinked to a database that canaccess the courts records ofevictions, divorces and smallclaims activities.Landlords must give tenants asheet with their screening criteriabefore charging a screeningfee. Be sure that you can passthe criteria before paying an applicationor screening fee.If you know that you won’t meetthe criteria, but have good reasonswhy you don’t meet them,ask if the landlord will consideryour explanation. Many landlordswill adjust their criteria foran honest explanation. You canalso ask if there is anything youcan do to increase your chances.For example, sometimes offeringadditional references can offseta negative reference from a pastlandlord. The landlord may,however, charge an additionaldeposit for the added risk.Tenants should be honest andfill out all applications completely,neatly and accurately.Landlords can reject an applicationthat is incomplete,inaccurate or falsified. In somesituations, they may also end arental agreement after the tenantmoves in if they find thatthe application contained falseinformation.If a landlord denies an applicationfor a rental agreementbased in whole or in part ona tenant screening companyor consumer credit reportingagency report on that applicant,the landlord must notify the applicantof that fact at the same6Oregon Renters’ Handbook