When a Background Check Mistake Costs You a Home: One Family’s Story

When you’re trying to give your family a better life, a bigger home, a safer neighborhood, a better school, the last thing you expect is to be branded a criminal by mistake.
That’s exactly what happened to one family when SafeRent mixed up an innocent renter’s identity with someone else’s criminal record.

A Fresh Start, Denied

Our client applied for a new apartment so their children could attend a better school. Like most landlords, the property manager required a tenant background check. Confident that there was nothing to worry about, our client consented.
But when the results came back, the unimaginable happened: the report showed a list of serious drug convictions: manufacturing dangerous drugs, cultivation of a controlled substance, and possession with intent to distribute.
None of it was true.

The Mistaken Identity

The background check was prepared by SafeRent, a tenant screening company. SafeRent confused our client with someone else who shared the same first and last name and date of birth, but not the same middle name or address.
The other individual lived in Texas, a state our client had never even visited. The court records themselves clearly showed these differences. Yet SafeRent failed to verify the information before sending the report to the landlord.
Because of that mistake, the landlord denied our client’s rental application.

A Family Torn Apart

To make matters worse, our client’s partner applied for the same apartment and was approved. But our client couldn’t be added to the lease or live in the apartment until the background report was corrected.
That meant they couldn’t move into the new home or be on the property for any reason. They had to live apart, staying with a relative while their children missed the start of the school year.
What should have been a moment of joy and stability became weeks of stress, embarrassment, and hardship.

Holding SafeRent Accountable

No one should lose their housing or be separated from their family because of a background check company’s careless error. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) exists to protect consumers from exactly this kind of harm.
Under the FCRA, tenant screening companies like SafeRent must ensure the accuracy of the information they report. When they fail to do so, and that failure causes you to lose a home, job, or opportunity, you have the right to take legal action.
Our firm filed a lawsuit against SafeRent to hold them accountable for the harm they caused.

If This Sounds Familiar, You’re Not Alone

Background check errors happen more often than most people realize, and they can affect anyone. Whether you’ve been denied housing, a job, or another opportunity because of a mistake on your background report, you have rights.
You don’t have to face this alone.
Our attorneys at Francis Mailman Soumilas, P.C. have helped thousands of consumers clear their names and recover compensation for the harm caused by inaccurate background checks.
If a background check error has cost you a home or job, contact us today at 1-877-735-8600 for a free case review.