Private landlords may set their own tenant screening and admissions requirements, provided that those requirements do not violate the Fair Housing Act.1  An increasing number of landlords and housing providers rely on reports generated by tenant screening companies to screen prospective tenants’ rental histories, credit reports, criminal backgrounds, and records of civil cases where the applicant is a party, such as eviction or debt collection cases.

• 1On the protections of the Fair Housing Act, see Section 13.

When a housing provider relies on an inaccurate tenant screening report to refuse to accept an applicant as a tenant, the applicant can take steps to dispute that report under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).1  Housing providers must comply with FCRA’s adverse action requirements by furnishing the name, address, and telephone number of the tenant screening or consumer reporting agency to the applicant.2  Within 60 days of the denial of housing, applicants have the right to request a free copy of the screening or consumer file directly from the tenant screening company.3  Once the applicant has obtained the file from the tenant screening company, they may write a dispute letter asking the company to reinvestigate or delete inaccurate information. Upon receiving the dispute, the tenant screening company has 30 days to conduct a reinvestigation (and more time if the information was purchased from another consumer reporting agency).4  Once the applicant receives written notice of the reinvestigation’s outcome, complete with the updated file, the applicant may then request that the screening company notify the housing provider of any updates.5

Due to the time it takes to use the FRCA dispute process to correct inaccurate screening information, tenants will rarely succeed in reversing a landlord’s decision to refuse to rent the unit at issue. However, disputing inaccurate information may prevent the prospective tenant from being denied leases in the future.

• 115 U.S.C. § 1681, et seq.
• 215 U.S.C. § 1681m.
• 315 U.S.C. § 1681j(b).
• 415 U.S.C. § 1681i(a), (f).
• 515 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(6), (l).

Many housing providers will deny an applicant if the tenant screening report shows a debt owed to a previous landlord. Under Louisiana law, rent and debts on an open account have a 3-year prescriptive period.1  Landlords frequently report inaccurate debts, often containing “junk” fees unsupported by the lease or the law, that can be challenged under the FCRA.

If the debt is still owed, a tenant’s only remedy is to pay the balance. If the debt has been sent to collections, it is often possible to negotiate a lower balance or payment plan directly with the collections agency. Collections agencies are especially amenable to negotiating lower debt balances during tax season.

• 1La. C.C. art. 3494.

The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in the rental of housing based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin.1  Although tenants with a criminal record are not among the FHA’s protected classes, an admissions policy may be discriminatory and prohibited by the Act if it has a disparate impact on a protected class.2

In 2016, HUD’s Office of General Counsel issued guidance on the relationship between the use of criminal records and the FHA. The guidance argues that criminal history-based housing restrictions may disproportionately impact racial minority groups since these groups are convicted and incarcerated at higher rates than the general population due to discrimination in the criminal legal system.3  The guidance concludes that the FHA prohibits blanket housing restrictions based on a tenant’s criminal history. Instead, owners should conduct an individualized assessment considering the time, nature, and extent of any conduct and to factors that might indicate a reasonable probability of favorable future conduct.4  Because the guidance is based on the FHA, it is applicable to both private and federally-subsidized landlords. Courts have positively cited the HUD analysis to support a disparate impact claim.5

If a landlord covered by the FHA refuses to rent to an applicant due to the applicant’s criminal history, the applicant should request an individualized assessment in writing. That request should include an explanation of why the criminal charges have no bearing on the applicant’s current conduct as a tenant and any mitigating circumstances surrounding the charge.

• 142 U.S.C. § 3601, et seq. For additional discussion of the FHA, see Section 13.
• 2Tex. Dep’t of Hous. & Cmty. Affairs v. Inclusive Cmtys. Project, 576 U.S. 519 (2015).
• 3U.S. Dep’t of Hous. & Urb. Dev., Office of General Counsel Guidance on Application of Fair Housing Act Standards to the Use of Criminal Records by Providers of Housing and Real Estate-Related Transactions (2016).
• 4Id.
• 5Conn. Fair Hous. Ctr. v. CoreLogic Rental Prop. Sols., LLC, 369 F. Supp. 3d 362 (D. Conn. 2019) (denying defendant’s motion to dismiss where the housing provider denied an applicant based on a single arrest record); Fortune Soc’y v. Sandcastle Towers, 388 F. Supp. 3d 145 (E.D.N.Y. 2019) (denying a defendant’s motion for summary judgment where housing provider banned admission to any individuals who had ever had a felony conviction).

Where an admissions denial is based on activity related to a disability or addiction (for example, a drug or behavioral-health related conviction), a landlord covered by the Fair Housing Act must consider a reasonable accommodation request for admission.1  Drug and alcohol addiction constitutes a disability under the Fair Housing Act so long as the individual is not currently using.2

Under Louisiana state law, a covered landlord may not deny an applicant admission based on activity directly related to domestic abuse or sexual assault.3  The applicant must provide requisite documentation and otherwise qualify to enter into the lease agreement.4

• 1For a more extensive discussion of reasonable accommodations under the FHA, see Section 13.5.2.
• 224 C.F.R. § 100.201(a)(2). The Fair Housing Act requires housing providers to take into consideration the rehabilitation of a person with a substance use disorder. United States v. S. Mgmt. Corp., 955 F.2d 914, 918 (4th Cir. 1992) (“Someone who as a medical matter will always have a craving for narcotics, but who has been able to control that craving for some (undefined) period of time, must not be denied access to housing on the basis of that craving and its attendant dangers.”).
• 3La. R.S. 9:3261.2(D)(1)(a). For a more complete discussion of LAVAWA, see Section 1.7.
• 4La. R.S. 9:3261.2(D)(1)(a).

In 2021, Louisiana passed limited and largely unenforceable protections for tenants who may have evictions, criminal convictions, or other adverse information on their records.1  Under current law, a lessor may not charge an application fee unless, prior to accepting payment, the lessor gives written notice of: (1) the amount of the fee; (2) whether the lessor considers credit scores, employment history, criminal history, or eviction records; and (3) the applicant’s right to share a statement of 200 words or less explaining that the applicant has experienced financial hardship due to a state or federally declared disaster.2  Tenants do not have a cause of action to enforce this law, but may be able to make a complaint to the Attorney General’s consumer protection division.3

• 1La. R.S. 9:3258.1.
• 2La. R.S. 9:3258.1(A).
• 3La. R.S. 9:3258.1(D).