LeasingDesk Screening Report Dispute: Can You Sue for Damages?

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3 Jul, 2024
Daniel Cohen
2 min
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Ways to correct a background check error in a report generated by LeasingDesk

Errors in a LeasingDesk by RealPage report can wreck hopes of finding a home. Here’s what to do if it happens to you.

LeasingDesk Screening Report
LeasingDesk Hard Inquiry
LeasingDesk Background Check Dispute

Property managers use LeasingDesk by RealPage reports to assess the creditworthiness of rental applicants. Sometimes LeasingDesk reports are inaccurate. When that happens, you can lose your chance of renting a home. But here’s how to fix the report, repair your reputation, and hold LeasingDesk accountable.

LeasingDesk is a service from a company called RealPage that has a big role in determining which renter applicants get approved for an apartment and which renter applicants get denied. This article explains the process LeasingDesk screening uses, how that process can foster inaccuracies and errors, and what potential renters can do if they identify an error in their LeasingDesk screening report and that error causes a landlord or property manager to deny them housing.

As lawyers for consumers, we proudly and eagerly offer guidance and support to renters through the challenging process of disputing an inaccurate LeasingDesk screening report.

LeasingDesk Screening Report

Landlords and property managers use a LeasingDesk screening report to evaluate the risk of renting to potential tenants. The LeasingDesk screening report uses the following to determine if a rental applicant will be a suitable tenant:

  • Your credit information
  • Your income
  • Your criminal history
  • Your rental history
  • Your rent payment history
  • Your debt-to-income ratio
  • Your eviction history
  • Your property damage history

The report condenses the above information to provide a LeasingDesk score of pass or fail. Landlords, property managers, and anyone else involved in the rental decision-making process find these reports to be valuable. However, the quick turnaround time means if LeasingDesk reviews your score, it does so quickly. Because former property managers can neglect to update their data, and because administrative mistakes happen, this speed means that a LeasingDesk screening report can contain errors, outdated information, or outright wrong information that unjustly affects a rental applicant’s pass or fail rating.

LeasingDesk Hard Inquiry

Rental applicants often ask, “Why is LeasingDesk on my credit report?” To produce their LeasingDesk background report, LeasingDesk pulls your credit information. This results in a LeasingDesk hard inquiry on your credit report, which can lower your credit score and LeasingDesk credit report inquiries can stay on your credit report for up to two years. You should be aware of this, especially if you are filling out multiple rental applications at multiple apartments. These multiple inquiries can add up.

LeasingDesk Background Check Dispute

Should you become aware of errors or inaccuracies in your LeasingDesk screening report, you must correct them promptly. LeasingDesk errors range from incorrect credit information to outdated or mistaken criminal history or inaccurate rental history data. To correct the report, you must file a dispute. Disputing these inaccuracies can help ensure that your rental application is judged fairly.

Here’s how you can start the LeasingDesk dispute process:

  • Get a copy of your LeasingDesk report. RealPage, the company that owns LeasingDesk, will provide one free report every year. To request the report, go to the RealPage website.
  • Identify inaccuracies. Closely examine all sections of the report. Look for any errors in personal information, length of stay at former residences, inaccurate payment information, LeasingDesk criminal background errors, or any inaccurate financial data.
  • Collect evidence to disprove the errors. Collect any documents, emails from former landlords, and credit statements, and take screenshots of reports that support your position.
  • File a dispute. Write a letter to LeasingDesk identifying yourself, explaining the inaccuracies, and including any document evidence. We recommend doing this via certified mail so you do not waive any future rights to take legal action.
  • Contact credit report lawyers. LeasingDesk must obey the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a federal law that governs how reporting companies must treat consumers including how it must handle disputes. LeasingDesk must investigate your dispute and respond in 30 days. We are always here to guide you through the dispute process and help you however we can. The sooner you contact us, the sooner a lawyer will be able to file a lawsuit should LeasingDesk fail to obey the law, if it fails to correct the error, or if you have already experienced the loss of a rental opportunity because of the error.

Inaccurate information in your LeasingDesk screening report can have significant consequences. If you have been denied a rental for which you were qualified because LeasingDesk made an error, you have rights and legal remedies to compensate you for the damage.

If you have experienced any issues with background check errors associated with your LeasingDesk report that have not been resolved within the promised resolution duration, reach out to Consumer Attorneys to rectify the situation! You can connect with our legal team in various ways:

  • Call +1 877-615-1725 for immediate assistance and a free case review.
  • Fill out our brief Contact Us form or initiate a live chat to share your concerns.

Reach out to us at [email protected] with any questions.

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Daniel Cohen is the Founding Partner of Consumer Attorneys
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Daniel Cohen
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Daniel Cohen is the Founder of Consumer Attorneys. Daniel manages the firm’s branding, marketing, client intake and business development efforts. Since 2017, he is a member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates and the National Consumer Law Center. Mr. Cohen is a nationally-recognized practitioner of consumer protection law. He has a wealth of proven legal experience in the US in: collective claims, representing visually impaired people who believe their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act have been violated in both the physical and digital environments, corporate governance and dispute resolution. Read more

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