California's Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act is stricter than the federal FCRA for housing background checks. It requires the landlord to disclose the screening company's name, gives you the right to a free report copy, and has a 5-year statute of limitations.
Before denying your rental application, the landlord must notify you of the screening company used and your right to dispute. Skipping this is an ICRAA violation — independent of any inaccuracy in the report.
The screening company that reported inaccurate information and the landlord that failed to follow ICRAA adverse action procedures may both be liable. We pursue every available claim.
Do I Qualify?
Did a background check
error prevent you
from getting housing?
Rental background check errors are extremely common and frequently go unchallenged because applicants don’t know their rights. A free case review can identify FCRA and ICRAA claims against both the screening company and the landlord.
Common Errors on Housing Background Checks
What errors appear on rental background check reports?
An eviction judgment belonging to someone else, a case that was dismissed, or an eviction that was vacated by the court still appearing as active on your tenant screening report.
A criminal conviction that was expunged or sealed — which California law prohibits from being reported for rental purposes — still appearing on your screening report.
Arrests, charges, or civil judgments that were dismissed, resolved, or satisfied still appearing as open or adverse on your background check.
A name or address match error causes the screening company to pull records belonging to someone else and attribute them to you on your rental report.
California's ICRAA requires landlords to tell you which screening company they used. If they denied you without that disclosure, that is an independent violation.
Incorrect collections, wrong balances, or outdated negative credit items that were included in the tenant screening report and contributed to the denial.
California's ICRAA gives you the right to obtain a free copy of any investigative consumer report used to deny your rental application within 3 years of the report being prepared. If the landlord won't tell you which company screened you, contact us — that refusal is itself a violation.
Under California Government Code § 12955 and the FEHA, using a criminal background check as an automatic disqualifier without individualized assessment may also be a fair housing violation — separate from and in addition to your FCRA/ICRAA claim.
Why AJG Law Group
Why AJG Law Group
for your housing background check claim?
California's ICRAA provides some of the strongest tenant protections in the country. We handle housing background check error cases against all major screening companies and know how to pursue both the CRA and the landlord for maximum recovery.
California's ICRAA provides additional protections beyond the federal FCRA for investigative consumer reports used in housing and employment. We pursue every available claim.
Under the FCRA and ICRAA, the background check company pays all attorney fees when we prevail. You pay nothing out of pocket.
AJG Law Group handles background check error cases against Checkr, HireRight, Sterling, and other CRAs across all of California.
