Now that you’ve reviewed how to read the credit and criminal sections of your renter’s background screening report, it’s time to go over the final segment: evictions. As the 3 major credit bureaus have begun making plans to enact their National Consumer Assistance Plan (NCAP) on July 1, 2017, knowing how to analyze the eviction section is even more crucial. It’s predicted by Experian^® that the changes made by NCAP will affect about 96% of civil judgement data, meaning your applicants’ monetary civil eviction judgments may no longer show up on the major credit bureaus’ credit report section (potentially affecting your applicants’ score). By depending on the ApplyConnect^®’s eviction information, and not solely on credit data, you’ll get a well-rounded understanding of whether or not a particular applicant is right for your rental property.

When you get to the “Eviction Search Results” on your applicant’s report, you see that it’s split into 2 parts: primary and secondary. The difference between primary and secondary repository eviction search results is that the primary search is concentrated around the western hemisphere, while the secondary search is taken from the national repository. Both results are important.

Primary and Secondary Repository Eviction Search Results

Both primary and secondary eviction search results are formatted the same. First, you’ll see the defendant’s name and the evicted address. Then, you’ll see the information on the case, like filing date, case number, and the court name. If there was a monetary judgment, you’ll be able to see the judgement amount and notice type. The notice types you’ll find are:

Underneath the “Judgement Amount”, the plaintiff’s name and attorney, the disposition of the case and a phone number will be available.

Be aware that the FCRA mandates that eviction records should be reported for only 7 years, unless you live in Oregon where it’s kept for 5 years (Senate Bill 91). So if your applicant was evicted in 1995, it will not appear on their background screening report.

Understanding your applicant’s eviction data has become increasingly necessary as Experian^®, Equifax^®, and TransUnion^® shifts towards NCAP. While eviction records are currently only reported by the credit bureaus if a monetary judgement is attached, the new NCAP guidelines might require the bureaus to disregard even those records. Regardless, the eviction search results, in addition to the applicant’s credit and criminal data, should be factored into your rental requirements. If your applicant wants to dispute anything on their background report, they can contact us using the information at the bottom of the report or by going to the Renter’s Dashboard online. If you would like to learn more about the effects of NCAP, click here.

Need a refresher? Read part 1 and part 2 to learn more about the credit and criminal sections on your report and be sure to subscribe!