Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
If a property management company checks your credit report brfore renting to you and they charge you a fee for this credit check who owns the credit report?
4 Answers from Attorneys
If you were turned down based on the report, they must notify you in writing, and then you would have the right to request a free copy of the report under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Even if you weren't turned down, you have the right to a free copy of the report once a year.
The property management company owns the report. Your fee was to reimburse them for the cost of checking your credit, not to purchase a credit report for you.
Nobody is really helping you out.
If the landlord obtains your credit report, the landlord must give you a copy of the report if you request it. "If an application screening fee has been paid by the applicant and if requested by the applicant, the landlord or his or her agent shall provide a copy of the consumer credit report to the applicant who is the subject of that report." (Civ. Code, sect. 1950.6, subd. (f).)
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