UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Federal Trade Commission

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20580

Office of Commissioner

Rebecca Kelly Slaughter

CONCURRING STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER 

REBECCA KELLY SLAUGHTER

In the Matter of AppFolio, Inc.

Commission File No. 1923016

December 8, 2020

Credit agencies hold immense power over our lives: whether we get the job, whether we 

can buy the car, and in terms of housing they quite literally hold the keys. The Fair Credit 

Reporting Act (FCRA) strives to offset the harms inherent to this power imbalance by requiring 

consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) to follow reasonable procedures to ensure the maximum 

possible accuracy of consumer reports. Defendant AppFolio, Inc. (“AppFolio”) failed to follow 

reasonable procedures in preparing background screening reports that they sold to thousands of 

property-management companies. Too often, AppFolio’s reports contained outdated or flat-out 

incorrect information about applicants’ eviction history and criminal records. AppFolio’s careless 

practices directly resulted in qualified tenants being turned away from potential homes. 

FCRA provides a clear consequence for violators in the form of civil penalties of up to 

$4,063 per violation. The FTC’s proposed settlement with AppFolio includes a civil penalty 

amount of $4.25 million, which represents a significant per-violation penalty. I have pushed for 

the Commission to use its current rules and civil penalty authority aggressively, and this action 

does both. Importantly, I have also emphasized the need for Commission resolutions to achieve 

both specific and general deterrence, and, on balance, I am convinced that the imposition of this 

penalty is likely to have that effect in this specific action. For these reasons, I support this 

resolution.

I write separately because this resolution does not help AppFolio’s existing victims. 

When families are unfairly denied an apartment, they lose time, money, and sometimes hope. 

Victims have to figure out what happened, dispute incorrect information, begin the search for 

housing all over again, and in some cases pay multiple application fees. Imagine the misfortune 

of a consumer who applied to several of the thousands of rental companies that used AppFolio’s 

subpar services—doors closing again and again. While today’s settlement hopefully achieves 

deterrence, AppFolio’s penalty payment benefits the U.S. Treasury, not its victims. 

In future actions, when CRAs engage in practices that rob consumers of their time and 
2

money, the Commission should insist that the CRAs pay them back.1

 

 1 I also want to express support for the excellent points made by my colleague, Commissioner Chopra, regarding 

ways to improve this settlement and future settlements. I wholeheartedly agree that this settlement and future 

settlements could be strengthened by requiring more specific reporting metrics, public reporting, and increased 

compliance accountability among corporate leadership. In addition, I agree that the FTC should work with the 

Department of Justice to assess whether the facts involved in these types of cases also constitute illegal housing 

discrimination. I am skeptical, however, that efforts to partner with DOJ staff under its current leadership would have 

been fruitful in this case, but I am grateful for his proposal and hope that we implement it in future cases.