Tenant Screening: A Billion-Dollar Industry with Little Oversight. What’s Being Done to Protect Renters?

Tenant screening has become a billion-dollar industry dominated by thousands of companies that promise landlords quick, data-driven decisions on prospective tenants. But as Shelterforce reveals, these tools often rely on error-prone, biased algorithms that exclude renters — especially Black, Latino, low-income, and voucher-holding tenants — based on factors that have little to do with their actual ability to pay rent.

The article follows the story of Mary Louis, a Massachusetts renter denied housing due to a low algorithmic score from SafeRent Solutions, despite having stable employment and strong references. Her experience highlights the broader problems with tenant screening: opaque criteria, inaccurate data, and limited recourse for those unfairly rejected.

Despite federal guidance issued under the Biden administration to curb discriminatory practices, the current Trump administration has rolled back these protections, weakening oversight at HUD and the CFPB. In response, state and local governments are stepping up — enacting laws to seal eviction records, require transparency in screening decisions, and enforce fair chance housing policies.

Litigation is also gaining traction, with recent legal victories forcing screening companies like SafeRent to reform their practices. Advocates say these fights echo the long road to credit report regulation in the 1970s — and believe tenant screening is the next frontier in consumer protection and housing equity.