This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

35595 

Vol. 86, No. 127 

Wednesday, July 7, 2021 

1The term ‘‘rental information’’ in this Bulletin 

is used to refer to consumer reporting information 

about a rental relationship, including eviction 

information and information about unpaid rent. 

Other types of information, including criminal 

background information and credit information, 

have important impacts on the ability of renters to 

secure housing and access other opportunities, but 

are not the focus of this Bulletin. Rental information 

is included in consumer reports issued by tenantscreening companies and other CRAs. Sources of 

rental information include public records and 

information provided by furnishers, including debt 

collectors and landlords. Consumer reports issued 

by tenant-screening companies may include 

automated scores or recommendations provided to 

users as well as rental payment, eviction, and other 

information. 

2See generally Eviction Lab, Princeton Univ., 

https://evictionlab.org/eviction-tracking/ (last 

visited June 21, 2021). 

3Bureau of Consumer Fin. Prot., Complaint 

Bulletin: COVID–19 issues described in consumer 

complaints (July 2021), https://files.consumer

finance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_covid-19-issuesdescribed-consumer-complaints_complaintbulletin_2021-07.pdf (CFPB Complaint Bulletin). 

4Press Release, U.S. Dep’t of Health & Human 

Servs., Secretary Azar Declares Public Health 

Emergency for United States for 2019 Novel 

Coronavirus (Jan. 31, 2020), https://www.hhs.gov/ 

about/news/2020/01/31/secretary4azar-declarespublic-health-emergency-us-2019-novelcoronavirus.html. By the end of August 2020, there 

were over 5,500,000 COVID–19 cases identified in 

the United States and over 174,000 deaths related 

to the disease. See 85 FR 55292, 55292 (Sept. 4, 

2020). As of June 27, 2021, the Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates a total of 

601,221 deaths related to COVID–19 in the United 

States. Ctrs. for Disease Control & Prevention, 

United States COVID–19 Cases, Deaths, and 

Laboratory Testing (NAATs) by State, Territory, and 

Jurisdiction, https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-datatracker/#cases_totaldeaths (last visited June 27, 

2021). 

5 85 FR 15337 (Mar. 18, 2020). The national 

emergency was continued on February 24, 2021. 86 

FR 11599 (Feb. 26, 2021). 

6See Bureau of Consumer Fin. Prot., Housing 

Insecurity and the COVID–19 Pandemic, at 5 (Mar. 

1, 2021), https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/ 

documents/cfpb_Housing_insecurity_and_the_

COVID-19_pandemic.pdf (CFPB Housing Insecurity 

Report). 

7See id. at 6. 

8See, e.g., Joint Ctr. for Hous. Studies, Harvard 

Univ., Renters’ Responses to Financial Stress 

During the Pandemic 1, 14–15, 19–20 (Apr. 2021), 

https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/ 

research/files/harvard_jchs_renter_responses_

covid_airgood-obrycki_etal_2021.pdf. 

BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL 

PROTECTION 

12 CFR Part 1022 

Bulletin 2021–03: Consumer Reporting 

of Rental Information 

AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial 

Protection. 

ACTION: Enforcement compliance 

bulletin and policy guidance. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Consumer 

Financial Protection (Bureau) is issuing 

this Enforcement compliance bulletin 

and policy guidance (Bulletin) regarding 

consumer reporting of rental 

information in light of upcoming 

heightened risks to renters associated 

with inaccurate consumer reporting 

information. As pandemic-related 

government interventions aimed at 

protecting renters begin to expire over 

the coming months, the Bureau will be 

paying particular attention to consumer 

reporting agencies’ (CRAs’) and 

furnishers’ compliance with their 

accuracy and dispute obligations under 

the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) 

and Regulation V with respect to rental 

information. The Bureau will hold CRAs 

and furnishers accountable for failing to 

comply with the FCRA and Regulation 

V. The economic recovery of renters and 

their ability to secure new rental 

housing should not be impeded by 

noncompliance with the law. 

DATES: This bulletin is applicable on 

July 7, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Susan Stocks, Assistant Deputy 

Enforcement Director for Policy and 

Strategy, Office of Enforcement; 

Amanda Quester, Pavneet Singh, Laura 

Stack, or Priscilla Walton-Fein, Senior 

Counsels, Office of Regulations, at 202– 

435–7700. If you require this document 

in an alternative electronic format, 

please contact CFPB_Accessibility@

cfpb.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Rental information in consumer 

reports plays a critical role in 

consumers’ access to rental housing, 

credit, and other opportunities.1 As the 

eviction moratoria and other 

government interventions aimed at 

alleviating the economic and public 

health impacts of the 2019 novel 

coronavirus (COVID–19) pandemic 

begin to expire, the Bureau anticipates 

that many renters will face eviction 

from their homes, rental arrearages, and 

collection attempts to recover unpaid 

rent.2 Consumers have complained to 

the Bureau about the financial impacts 

of the pandemic on their ability to stay 

current on rental payments and about 

negative rental information related to 

the pandemic in consumer reports.3 An 

increase in negative rental information 

in the consumer reporting system, 

combined with an increase in the 

number of consumers seeking rental 

housing, may create new risks that 

inaccurate negative rental information 

will be included in tenant-screening 

reports and that such inaccuracies will 

affect increased numbers of consumers. 

Inaccurate rental information in tenantscreening reports can have devastating 

impacts on consumers, including 

impairing the ability of renters 

negatively impacted by the pandemic to 

secure new rental housing and 

otherwise recover from the pandemic’s 

economic effects. An increase in 

housing instability caused by inaccurate 

rental information could undermine the 

nation’s efforts to recover from the 

pandemic. 

On January 31, 2020, the Department 

of Health and Human Services declared 

a public health emergency for the entire 

United States to aid the nation’s 

healthcare community in responding to 

the COVID–19 pandemic.4 On March 

13, 2020, then-President Trump 

declared a national emergency 

concerning the COVID–19 pandemic, 

citing the strain on the healthcare 

system and the need for additional 

measures to contain and combat the 

spread of COVID–19.5 Income shocks 

resulting from the pandemic, such as a 

job loss, reduced work hours, or the 

death or illness of a family member, 

contributed to an increase in housing 

and financial insecurity for many 

households.6 The financial impact of 

the pandemic was especially 

pronounced for renters.7 Survey data 

indicate that about half of all renters 

saw their incomes fall during the 

pandemic due to lost employment or 

reductions in hours worked.8 In August 

2020, some estimates projected that up 

to 30 to 40 million individuals in 13 to 

17 million renter households were at 

risk of eviction over the course of the 


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35596 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 127 / Wednesday, July 7, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

9CFPB Housing Insecurity Report, supra note 6, 

at 15 (citing Aspen Inst., The COVID–19 Eviction 

Crisis: An Estimated 30–40 Million People in 

America Are at Risk (Aug. 7, 2020), https://

www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/the-covid-19- 

eviction-crisis-an-estimated-30-40-million-peoplein-america-are-at-risk/). 

10 Id. (citing Eviction Lab, Princeton Univ., 

https://evictionlab.org/national-estimates/ (May 11, 

2018)). 

11 85 FR 55292 (Sept. 4, 2020). 

12See id.; see also 42 U.S.C. 264 and its 

implementing regulation 42 CFR 70.2. 

13 85 FR 55292, 55297 (Sept. 4, 2020). 

14Section 502 of title V, Division N of the 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, Public Law 

116–260, 134 Stat. 1182, 2078 (2020), extended the 

original CDC Order until January 31, 2021. On 

January 29, 2021, following an assessment of the 

ongoing pandemic, the CDC Director renewed the 

CDC Order until March 31, 2021. 86 FR 8020 (Feb. 

3, 2021). On March 29, 2021, the CDC Director 

extended the CDC Order until June 30, 2021. 86 FR 

16731 (Mar. 31, 2021). On June 24, 2021, the CDC 

Director extended the CDC Order until July 31, 

2021. 86 FR 34010 (June 28, 2021). 

15CARES Act section 4024, Public Law 116–136, 

134 Stat. 281, 492 (2020). 

16The temporary eviction moratorium under the 

CARES Act expired in July 2020. Id. 

17These protections included a prohibition on 

charging fees, penalties, or other charges to the 

tenant related to the nonpayment of rent while the 

temporary moratorium was in place. CARES Act 

section 4024(b)(2), 134 Stat. 494. 

18See infra note 31. 

19See, e.g., Eviction Lab, COVID–19 HOUSING 

POLICY SCORECARD, https://evictionlab.org/ 

covid-policy-scorecard/ (last visited June 17, 2021); 

Perkins Coie LLP, COVID–19 Related Eviction and 

Foreclosure Orders/Guidance 50-State Tracker 

(June 17, 2021), https://www.perkinscoie.com/en/ 

news-insights/covid-19-related-eviction-andforeclosure-ordersguidance-50-state-tracker.html. 

20CFPB Housing Insecurity Report, supra note 6, 

at 3. 

21See, e.g., 86 FR 21163, 21166–67 (Apr. 22, 

2021); see also Ashley Balcerzak, NJ renters still 

being locked out by landlords despite COVID 

eviction freeze (Mar. 11, 2021), https://

www.northjersey.com/story/news/2021/03/11/ 

njrental-assistance-covid-eviction-freezeignoredsome-landlords/6892203002/; Annie Nova, 

The CDC banned evictions. Tens of thousands have 

still occurred, CNBC (Jan. 14, 2021), https://

www.cnbc.com/2020/12/05/why-home-evictionsare-still-happeningdespite-cdc-ban.html; Jeff 

Ernsthausen et al., Despite Federal Ban, Landlords 

Are Still Moving to Evict People During the 

Pandemic, ProPublica (Apr. 16, 2020), https://

www.propublica.org/article/despite-federal-banlandlords-are-still-moving-to-evict-people-duringthe-pandemic. 

22CFPB Complaint Bulletin, supra note 3. 

23 86 FR 21163, 21163–64 (Apr. 22, 2021); see 

also, e.g., Press Release, Bureau of Consumer Fin. 

Prot., CFPB Acting Director Uejio & FTC Acting 

Chairwoman Slaughter Issue Joint Statement on 

Preventing Illegal Evictions (Mar. 29, 2021), https:// 

www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/ 

cfpb-acting-director-uejio-and-ftc-actingchairwoman-slaughter-issue-joint-statement-onpreventing-illegal-evictions/. 24See generally Eviction Lab, Princeton Univ., 

https://evictionlab.org/eviction-tracking/ (last 

visited June 21, 2021). For many households, a 

return to pre-pandemic levels of income may allow 

them to make rental payments going forward, but 

may not permit them to pay back rent owed. 

According to one report, almost half of all renter 

households were rental cost-burdened at the time 

the pandemic hit, based on 2018 numbers. See 

Emily Benfer et al., The COVID–19 Eviction Crisis: 

An Estimated 30–40 Million People in America Are 

at Risk, Aspen Inst. (Aug. 7, 2020), https://

www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/the-covid-19- 

eviction-crisis-an-estimated-30-40-million-peoplein-america-are-at-risk/ (citing https://

www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/Harvard_

JCHS_Americas_Rental_Housing_2020.pdf). Rental 

cost burden is defined as households that pay over 

30 percent of their income towards rent. Id. Also 

in 2018, 10.9 million renter households (25 percent 

of all renter households) were spending over 50 

percent of their income on rent each month. Id. 

25See CFPB Housing Insecurity Report, supra 

note 6, at 8, 18; see also Pew Research Ctr., 

Economic Fallout From COVID–19 Continues To 

Hit Lower-Income Americans the Hardest (Sept. 24, 

2020), https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/ 

2020/09/24/economic-fallout-from-covid-19- 

continues-to-hit-lower-income-americans-thehardest/. 26See, e.g., Press Release, Board of Governors of 

the Fed. Reserve Sys., Federal Reserve Issues FOMC 

Statement (June 16, 2021), https://

www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/ 

monetary20210616a.htm. 27CFPB analysis of U.S. Census Bureau, Census 

Household Pulse Survey, Week 30 (May 12–May 24, 

2021), https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/ 

demo/tables/hhp/2021/wk30/housing1b_

week30.xlsx. 28 Id. 29 Id. 30 Id. 

pandemic.9 In comparison, 

approximately 900,000 renter 

households are evicted in a typical 

year.10

On September 4, 2020, the Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 

published an agency order entitled 

‘‘Temporary Halt in Residential 

Evictions To Prevent the Further Spread 

of COVID–19’’ (CDC Order).11 Citing the 

historic threat to public health posed by 

the COVID–19 pandemic, the CDC 

Order established an eviction 

moratorium that generally limits the 

circumstances in which certain persons 

may be evicted from residential 

property.12 The CDC Order initially was 

set to expire on December 31, 2020.13

The CDC Order has been extended four 

times and currently is set to expire on 

July 31, 2021.14

In addition to the CDC’s eviction 

moratorium, Federal, State, and local 

governments have taken a variety of 

other actions to alleviate the rental 

housing-related impacts of the COVID– 

19 pandemic, including establishing 

other eviction moratoria and rental 

assistance programs. For instance, 

section 4024 of the Coronavirus Aid, 

Relief, and Economic Security Act 

(CARES Act) 15 provided a temporary 

moratorium on eviction filings 16 as well 

as other protections for tenants in 

certain rental properties with Federal 

assistance or federally related 

financing.17 In addition, as discussed in 

more detail below, the Federal 

Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) 

programs established by the U.S. 

Department of the Treasury (Treasury) 

have made billions of dollars available 

to eligible households by funding rental 

assistance programs administered by 

State and local governments.18 State and 

local governments have also 

implemented temporary eviction 

moratoria, rent freezes, and additional 

rental assistance programs.19

These governmental actions have 

reduced evictions so far.20 However, the 

Bureau is aware of concerns that some 

landlords may have evicted tenants in 

violation of applicable eviction 

moratoria and that other tenants may 

have preemptively moved out of rental 

housing to avoid an eviction filing or 

been subject to other types of informal 

evictions outside the judicial eviction 

process.21 The Bureau’s analysis of 

recent consumer complaints indicates 

that renters have expressed concerns 

about debt collection activities 

following evictions, including attempts 

to collect questionable charges and 

fees.22 These reports and complaints are 

an area of concern for the Bureau, and 

Bureau staff will be monitoring and 

investigating eviction practices to 

ensure that they are complying with the 

law. Evicting tenants in violation of the 

CDC Order, State, or local moratoria, or 

evicting or threatening to evict them 

without apprising them of their legal 

rights under such moratoria, may violate 

prohibitions against deceptive and 

unfair practices under the Fair Debt 

Collection Practices Act and the Federal 

Trade Commission Act.23

Moreover, as the CDC Order and other 

measures begin to expire, many 

households will face difficulties 

navigating significant rental payment 

arrearages.24 Low-income and minority 

renters have been disproportionately 

affected by the economic effects of the 

COVID–19 pandemic, including job 

losses.25 Although economic conditions 

have improved in recent months,26 13 

percent of adult renters were behind on 

rent in May 2021.27 Renters in lowincome households were more likely to 

report they were behind on rental 

payments than those in higher-income 

households. As of May 2021, more than 

one in six renters with household 

incomes under $25,000 reported that 

they were behind on their rent.28 An 

estimated 19 percent of renters with 

children report being not caught up on 

rent, compared to 10 percent not living 

with anyone under 18.29 Minority 

renters were more likely to report that 

their household was not caught up on 

rent: 21 percent of Black renters, 17 

percent of Hispanic renters, and 17 

percent of Asian renters said they were 

not caught up on rent, compared to 9 

percent of white renters.30 Accordingly, 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 127 / Wednesday, July 7, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 35597 

31Eligible grantees of ERA funds include States 

(including the District of Columbia), U.S. territories, 

local governments with more than 200,000 

residents, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, 

and Indian tribes or the tribally designated housing 

entity of an Indian tribe, as applicable. See U.S. 

Dep’t of the Treasury, Emergency Rental Assistance 

Program, https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/ 

coronavirus/assistance-for-state-local-and-tribalgovernments/emergency-rental-assistance-program 

(last visited June 25, 2021). Treasury has 

established two separate ERA programs: ERA1, 

which provides up to $25 billion in rental 

assistance under the Consolidated Appropriations 

Act, 2021, Public Law 116–260, 134 Stat. 1182 

(2020), and ERA2, which provides up to $21.55 

billion in rental assistance under the American 

Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Public Law 117–2, 135 

Stat. 4 (2021). Id. At the same time that funds were 

allocated for rental assistance under ERA2, the 

Federal government also implemented additional 

guidance to increase access to funds by renters most 

in need of assistance to avoid evictions. For 

example, Treasury guidance now makes clear that 

emergency rental assistance provided under ERA2 

must be offered directly to renters when landlords 

do not accept payment. The new guidance also 

allows rental assistance programs under ERA2 to 

offer assistance directly to renters before reaching 

out to landlords. See U.S. Dep’t of the Treasury, 

Emergency Rental Assistance Fact Sheet (May 7, 

2021), https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/ 

FACT_SHEET-Emergency-Rental-AssistanceProgram_May2021.pdf. The Treasury guidance was 

updated again on June 24, 2021 to further support 

the deployment of ERA funds. See U.S. Dep’t of the 

Treasury, Emergency Rental Assistance Fact Sheet 

(June 24, 2021), https://home.treasury.gov/system/ 

files/136/Treasury_Fact_Sheet_6-24-21.pdf. 

Treasury has published frequently asked questions 

(FAQs) related to the ERA programs, which are 

available at: https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/ 

136/ERA_FAQs_6-24-21.pdf. 

32See U.S. Dep’t of the Treasury, Emergency 

Rental Assistance Program, https://

home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/coronavirus/ 

assistance-for-state-local-and-tribal-governments/

emergency-rental-assistance-program (last visited 

June 25, 2021). 

33See U.S. Dep’t of the Treasury, Emergency 

Rental Assistance Fact Sheet (June 24, 2021), 

https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/ 

Treasury_Fact_Sheet_6-24-21.pdf. 

34 86 FR 34010, 34013 (June 28, 2021). 

35U.S. Dep’t of the Treasury, Emergency Rental 

Assistance Program, https://home.treasury.gov/ 

policy-issues/coronavirus/assistance-for-state-localand-tribal-governments/emergency-rentalassistance-program (last visited June 28, 2021). 

36See Bureau of Consumer Fin. Prot., Federal 

Help With Paying Your Rent, https://

www.consumerfinance.gov/coronavirus/mortgageand-housing-assistance/renter-protections/ 

emergency-rental-assistance-for-renters/ (last 

visited June 25, 2021). 

37Under the CARES Act, if a homeowner attests 

to a hardship related directly or indirectly to the 

COVID–19 pandemic, homeowners with mortgages 

backed by the government-sponsored enterprises 

(GSEs) and federally backed mortgages have the 

right to request and obtain a forbearance for up to 

180 days, and an extension for another 180 days. 

CARES Act section 4022(b), 134 Stat. 490. Guidance 

from the GSEs and Federal agencies allow up to 18 

months of forbearance. Many servicers and 

investors of privately owned mortgages not covered 

by the CARES Act offer similar protections. Further, 

the CARES Act and guidance from the GSEs and 

Federal agencies have prohibited lenders and 

servicers of GSE and federally backed loans from 

beginning foreclosures through July 2021. When 

forbearance periods and the foreclosure moratoria 

end, some homeowners who are significantly 

behind on their mortgage payments may have 

limited options to avoid foreclosure if they do not 

reach agreement with their servicers on a workout 

option. See CFPB Housing Insecurity Report, supra 

note 6, at 11–13. To the extent these homeowners 

enter foreclosure and lose their homes, many are 

likely to seek housing options in the rental market. 

38See, e.g., 2021 Or. Laws Ch. 39 (S.B. 282) 

(preventing landlords from reporting to a CRA 

nonpayment of rent, charges, and fees accrued on 

or after April 1, 2020, and before July 1, 2021, and 

from considering, when evaluating a rental 

applicant, an action to recover possession if entered 

on claims that arose on or after April 1, 2020, and 

before March 1, 2022, or an applicant’s unpaid rent, 

including rent reflected in judgments or referrals of 

debt to a collection agency, that accrued on or after 

April 1, 2020, and before March 1, 2022). 

39See, e.g., 735 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/9–122 

(providing that the court file shall be sealed upon 

the commencement of any residential eviction 

action during the period beginning March 9, 2020, 

and ending March 31, 2022). 

40The NCLC report states that 90 percent of 

landlords run background checks on prospective 

tenants. Nat’l Consumer Law Ctr., Broken Records 

Redux: How Errors by Criminal Background Check 

Companies Continue to Harm Consumers Seeking 

Jobs and Housing 3 (Dec. 2019), https://

www.nclc.org/images/pdf/criminal-justice/reportbroken-records-redux.pdf. 

41See, e.g., Tex Pasley et al., Shriver Ctr. on 

Poverty Law, Screened Out: How Tenant Screening 

Reports Undermine Fair Housing Laws and Deprive 

Tenants of Equal Access to Housing in Illinois (Jan. 

2021), https://www.povertylaw.org/report/tenantscreening-report/. 

low-income and minority renters are 

more likely to be affected by the 

expiration of the CDC’s eviction 

moratorium and other temporary 

measures aimed at reducing evictions 

and supporting renters unable to make 

their rental payments. 

The Federal ERA programs were 

established to address the concerns 

about rental arrearages.31 ERA funds 

may be used to provide assistance to 

eligible households and their landlords 

to pay rent, utilities, and certain other 

housing costs, including arrearages for 

rent and utility payments.32 Grantees of 

ERA funds have been working to ramp 

up their deployment of funds.33 As the 

CDC has noted, though there are 

indications that emergency rental 

assistance has started to reach 

increasing numbers of households over 

recent months, there are likely hundreds 

of thousands of applications for 

assistance that currently remain 

outstanding as programs accelerate their 

activity.34 The Bureau is concerned that 

renters may be evicted for nonpayment 

of rent even as they are attempting to 

access these funds. The Bureau 

encourages landlords and renters to 

consider their options under these 

programs. In addition to the extensive 

information about rental assistance 

programs under the ERA available on 

Treasury’s website,35 information about 

rental assistance programs under the 

ERA is also available on the Bureau’s 

website.36

The Bureau anticipates that many 

tenants who face eviction or have 

experienced economic shocks during 

the pandemic will seek alternative 

housing in the rental market. In addition 

to current renters seeking new housing, 

the Bureau also anticipates a likely rise 

in consumers who are currently 

homeowners seeking rental housing as 

pandemic-related mortgage forbearance 

programs and foreclosure moratoria 

come to an end.37

The Bureau is concerned that 

information concerning evictions and 

rental payment arrearages related to the 

pandemic’s effects may not be a reliable 

predictor of a consumer’s future 

performance given the extent of the 

economic dislocation caused by the 

pandemic. The use of pre-pandemic 

relationships and scoring models on 

pandemic data may lead to unreliable 

conclusions regarding a consumer’s 

future performance and may hinder 

public policy efforts to protect 

consumers during the pandemic and 

promote an equitable recovery from the 

pandemic. Some States and local 

governments have taken steps to prevent 

the reporting or use of information 

related to evictions and rental arrearages 

arising during the pandemic.38 For 

example, some States have taken or are 

considering taking steps to make it 

easier to seal or expunge eviction 

records.39

In the upcoming transition period 

during which the Bureau anticipates 

both an increase in negative rental 

information in the consumer reporting 

system and an increase in consumers 

seeking rental housing, the Bureau is 

concerned that existing problems with 

the accuracy of tenant-screening and 

other consumer reports will be 

exacerbated. According to a 2019 report 

by the National Consumer Law Center 

(NCLC), the vast majority of landlords 

use tenant-screening reports to screen 

rental-housing applicants.40 These 

reports, which are obtained from one of 

the nation’s many tenant-screening 

companies,41 may include traditional 

credit report data, criminal background 

history, and rental information. 

Inaccuracies in negative rental 

information included in consumer 

reports can have significant damaging 

consequences for tenants’ future access 

to rental housing, credit, and other 

opportunities. For example, an 

applicant whose tenant-screening report 

shows past litigation or a poor rental 

payment history may find it difficult or 

more expensive to rent property, and 

many landlords will not rent to an 

applicant if their screening report shows 


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35598 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 127 / Wednesday, July 7, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

42See, e.g., CFPB Complaint Bulletin, supra note 

3 (noting that, in their complaints to the Bureau, 

consumers have expressed concerns that an 

eviction would have detrimental effects on their 

ability to secure future housing and have reported 

facing homelessness because an eviction had 

negatively affected their credit, making it more 

difficult to secure housing); Kaveh Waddell, How 

Tenant Screening Reports Make It Hard for People 

to Bounce Back from Tough Times, Consumer 

Reports (Mar. 11, 2021), https://www.consumer

reports.org/algorithmic-bias/tenant-screeningreports-make-it-hard-to-bounce-back-from-toughtimes/. 

43 86 FR 16731, 16733–34 (Mar. 31, 2021). See 

also 86 FR 34010, 34013 (June 28, 2021) (noting that 

‘‘[e]victed renters must move, which leads to 

multiple outcomes that increase the risk of COVID– 

19 spread’’). 

44See, e.g., 15 U.S.C. 1681e(b), 1681i, 1681s–2; 12 

CFR pt. 1022. 

45See, e.g., Fed. Trade Comm’n, Report to 

Congress Under Section 319 of the Fair and 

Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (Dec. 

2012), https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/ 

documents/reports/section-319-fair-and-accuratecredit-transactions-act-2003-fifth-interim-federaltrade-commission/130211factareport.pdf (finding 

that one in five consumers had an error on at least 

one of their three nationwide credit reports). More 

recently, the Bureau and the Federal Trade 

Commission hosted a full-day public workshop to 

discuss issues affecting the accuracy of both 

traditional credit reports and employment and 

tenant background screening reports. Fed. Trade 

Comm’n, Accuracy in Consumer Reporting 

Workshop (Dec. 10, 2019), https://www.ftc.gov/ 

news-events/events-calendar/accuracy-consumerreporting-workshop. 

46See, e.g., CFPB Complaint Bulletin, supra note 

3. 

47See, e.g., Lauren Kirchner & Matthew 

Goldstein, How Automated Background Checks 

Freeze Out Renters, N.Y. Times (May 28, 2020), 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/28/business/ 

renters-background-checks.html; Complaint, United 

States v. Appfolio, Inc., No. 1:20–cv–03563 (D.D.C. 

Dec. 8, 2020), https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ 

documents/cases/ecf_1_-_us_v_appfolio_

complaint.pdf (alleging failure to follow reasonable 

procedures relating to the use of identifiers to 

match criminal and eviction records to consumers 

for purposes of preparing tenant-screening reports); 

Complaint, FTC v. RealPage, Inc., No. 3:18–cv– 

02737–N (N.D. Tex. Oct. 16, 2018), https://

www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/cases/152_

3059_realpage_inc_complaint_10-16-18.pdf 

(alleging failure to follow reasonable procedures 

relating to the matching criteria used to match 

criminal records to consumers for purposes of 

preparing tenant-screening reports). 

48 Joshua Comenetz, U.S. Census Bureau, 

Hispanic Surnames Rise in Popularity (Aug. 9, 

2017), https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2017/ 

08/what-is-in-a-name.html (‘‘Twenty-six surnames 

cover a quarter of the Hispanic population and 16 

percent of Hispanic people reported one of the top 

10 Hispanic names. The pattern is similar for 

Asians and blacks.’’). 

49See, e.g., Complaint, United States v. Appfolio, 

Inc., supra note 47 (alleging failure to follow 

reasonable procedures to assure that the eviction 

and criminal record information included in tenantscreening reports accurately reflected the 

disposition, offense name, and offense type and to 

prevent the inclusion of multiple entries for the 

same criminal or eviction action in the same 

report). 

50See, e.g., Consent Order, In re Gen. Info. Servs., 

Inc., 2015–CFPB–0028 (Oct. 29, 2015), https://

files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201510_cfpb_consentorder_general-information-service-inc.pdf (alleging 

that an employment background screening 

company violated FCRA section 607(b) by, among 

other things, failing to use reasonable procedures to 

prevent the inclusion of expunged criminal records 

in consumer reports). 

51See, e.g., 15 U.S.C. 1681s–2; 12 CFR 1022.40– 

.43. 

52CARES Act section 4024, 134 Stat. 492–94. 

53 15 U.S.C. 1681i, 1681s–2; 12 CFR 1022.43. 

an eviction filing.42 Concerns about lack 

of access to rental housing are further 

heightened during the continuing 

pandemic. For example, a basis for the 

CDC’s eviction moratorium is the 

concern that individuals moving into 

close quarters in congregate or shared 

living settings, such as homeless 

shelters, puts individuals at higher risk 

of contracting COVID–19.43 CRAs and 

debt collectors and landlords that 

furnish information for inclusion in 

consumer reports have important 

obligations under the FCRA and 

Regulation V relating to the accuracy of 

information included in consumer 

reports,44 and the Bureau urges CRAs 

and furnishers to ensure they are 

complying with these obligations. 

Concerns about the accuracy of 

information included in consumer 

reports are long-standing,45 and the 

Bureau is especially concerned about 

the effects of these accuracy problems in 

light of the economic and public health 

impacts of COVID–19. The Bureau has 

received consumer complaints alleging 

that inaccuracies in tenant-screening 

reports have caused landlords to deny 

some consumers rental housing and 

charge others higher security deposits 

than they would have otherwise.46 The 

Bureau is particularly concerned that 

the procedures that some tenantscreening companies use to match 

public records and other rental 

information to specific consumers may 

create a high risk that inaccurate data 

will be included in tenant-screening 

reports,47 a risk that may be further 

heightened by increased volumes of 

negative rental information resulting 

from the pandemic. The risk of 

mismatching may be greater among 

Hispanic, Black, and Asian individuals 

because there is less surname diversity 

than among the white population.48

In addition, the Bureau is concerned 

that tenant-screening companies may 

report information, such as information 

about an eviction filing, in a consumer 

report without having reasonable 

procedures to report information about 

the disposition of the eviction filing or 

to prevent the inclusion of multiple 

entries for the same eviction action in 

the same consumer report.49 The Bureau 

is also concerned that tenant-screening 

companies may lack reasonable 

procedures to exclude from consumer 

reports eviction information that has 

been sealed or expunged.50

CRAs frequently include rental 

information, such as eviction records, 

that comes from public records; 

landlords and debt collectors also 

furnish information about rental 

housing payments and debts to CRAs. 

The FCRA and Regulation V set forth 

important requirements for furnishers 

concerning both the accuracy of 

information furnished and the handling 

of consumer disputes related to the 

accuracy of information included in 

consumer reports.51 The Bureau is 

concerned that existing accuracy 

problems related to the furnishing of 

rental information may be exacerbated 

by the anticipated increase in the 

amount of negative rental information 

furnished. 

For example, furnishers may fail to 

account for COVID–19-related aid or 

protections when reporting overdue rent 

amounts. In addition to providing a 

temporary moratorium on eviction 

filings for tenants in certain rental 

properties with Federal assistance or 

federally related financing, the CARES 

Act prohibited landlords of these rental 

properties from charging fees, penalties, 

or other charges related to the 

nonpayment of rent during the Act’s 

eviction moratorium.52 State and local 

laws may also in some cases prohibit 

landlords from charging certain late fees 

or penalties to renters. The Bureau is 

concerned that furnishers may include 

prohibited penalties or fees when 

reporting rental arrearages. In addition, 

under many rental assistance programs, 

funds to make rental payments may be 

provided to landlords to pay the rent of 

specific tenants who are eligible for the 

program. If furnishers providing rental 

information do not appropriately 

account for funds received pursuant to 

these programs and fail to offset overdue 

rent amounts, this could lead to 

inaccuracies in consumer reports. 

Finally, the dispute-resolution 

obligations the FCRA and Regulation V 

impose on CRAs and furnishers are also 

critical to ensuring that consumer 

reports are accurate. CRAs and 

furnishers must conduct reasonable and 

timely investigations of consumer 

disputes to verify the accuracy of the 

information furnished.53 An increase in 

the amount of negative rental 

information in public records and 

furnished to CRAs is likely to lead to a 

corresponding increase in dispute 

volumes. A reasonable and timely 

investigation of a consumer dispute is 

critical to mitigating the harmful impact 

that inaccurate negative information in 

a consumer report may have on the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 127 / Wednesday, July 7, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 35599 

54See, e.g., Fed. Trade Comm’n, 40 Years of 

Experience with the Fair Credit Reporting Act: An 

FTC Staff Report with Summary of Interpretations 

67 (July 2011), https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/ 

files/documents/reports/40-years-experience-faircredit-reporting-act-ftc-staff-report-summaryinterpretations/110720fcrareport.pdf (noting that 

‘‘when a CRA learns or should reasonably be aware 

of errors in its reports that may indicate systematic 

problems (by virtue of information from consumers, 

report users, from periodic review of its reporting 

system, or otherwise), it must review its procedures 

for assuring accuracy and take any necessary steps 

to avoid future problems’’). 

55 5 U.S.C. 553(b). 

56 5 U.S.C. 603(a), 604(a). 57 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. 

consumer. Moreover, proper handling of 

disputes not only ensures that 

inaccuracies in the disputing 

consumer’s report are resolved, it also 

facilitates CRA and furnisher 

identification of systemic problems 

related to their consumer reporting and 

furnishing practices.54

II. Compliance Guidance 

As pandemic-related government 

interventions aimed at protecting 

renters begin to expire, the Bureau will 

continue to look carefully at consumer 

reporting agencies’ and furnishers’ 

compliance with their FCRA accuracy 

obligations with respect to rental 

information. CRAs and furnishers 

should take immediate steps to ensure 

they are fulfilling their obligations 

under the law. If the Bureau determines 

that a CRA or furnisher has engaged in 

any acts or practices that violate the 

FCRA, Regulation V, or other Federal 

consumer financial laws, the Bureau 

will take appropriate enforcement 

action to address violations and seek all 

appropriate corrective measures, 

including remediation of harm to 

consumers. 

The Bureau plans to pay particular 

attention to the areas outlined below. 

For CRAs Reporting Rental Information 

1. Whether CRAs are reporting 

accurate rental information. 

2. Whether CRAs are using a 

sufficient number of identifiers to match 

consumer report information to the 

consumer who is the subject of the 

report, including whether CRAs are 

using name-matching procedures or 

limited identifiers likely to heighten the 

risk of inaccurate matching. 

3. Whether CRAs are reporting 

eviction information that is inaccurate, 

incomplete, or misleading (such as may 

result from a failure to have reasonable 

procedures to report information about 

the disposition of an eviction filing, to 

prevent the inclusion of multiple entries 

for the same eviction action in the same 

consumer report, or to prevent the 

inclusion of eviction information that 

has been sealed or expunged). 

4. Whether CRAs are complying with 

their obligations to investigate disputed 

information in a consumer report, 

including whether they are conducting 

timely and reasonable investigations. 

For Furnishers Providing Rental 

Information 

1. Whether furnishers are providing 

accurate rental information to CRAs. 

2. Whether furnishers are providing 

information about rental arrearages that 

include amounts that were already paid 

on behalf of a tenant through a 

government grant or relief program, 

such as the Emergency Rental 

Assistance programs. 

3. Whether furnishers are providing 

information about rental arrearages that 

include fees or penalties that CARES 

Act section 4024(b) or other laws 

prohibit charging. 

4. Whether furnishers are complying 

with their obligations to investigate 

disputed information in a consumer 

report, including whether they are 

conducting timely and reasonable 

investigations. 

III. Conclusion 

The Bureau issues this Bulletin to 

highlight that the Bureau will hold 

CRAs and furnishers accountable if they 

do not comply with their accuracy and 

dispute obligations under the FCRA and 

Regulation V with respect to rental 

information. 

IV. Regulatory Requirements 

This Bulletin constitutes a general 

statement of policy exempt from the 

notice and comment rulemaking 

requirements of the Administrative 

Procedure Act.55 It summarizes existing 

legal requirements and articulates 

considerations relevant to the Bureau’s 

exercise of its enforcement discretion 

for institutions under its jurisdiction. It 

does not impose any legal requirements 

on external parties, nor does it create or 

confer any substantive rights on external 

parties that could be enforceable in any 

administrative or civil proceeding. 

Because no notice of proposed 

rulemaking is required in issuing this 

Bulletin, the Regulatory Flexibility Act 

also does not require an initial or final 

regulatory flexibility analysis.56 The 

Bureau has also determined that the 

issuance of this Bulletin does not 

impose any new or revise any existing 

recordkeeping, reporting, or disclosure 

requirements on covered entities or 

members of the public that would be 

collections of information requiring 

approval by the Office of Management 

and Budget under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995.57

Dated: July 1, 2021. 

David Uejio, 

Acting Director, Bureau of Consumer 

Financial Protection. 

[FR Doc. 2021–14459 Filed 7–6–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–AM–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2019–0293; Product 

Identifier 2017–SW–052–AD; Amendment 

39–21610; AD 2021–13–05] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Airbus 

Helicopters Deutschland GmbH 

Helicopters 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The FAA is adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for Airbus 

Helicopters Deutschland GmbH (Airbus 

Helicopters) Model EC135P1, EC135P2, 

EC135P2+, EC135P3, EC135T1, 

EC135T2, EC135T2+, and EC135T3 

helicopters. This AD requires modifying 

the tail rotor (T/R) control installation, 

a functional test, and corrective actions 

as necessary. This AD was prompted by 

cases of insufficient clearance between 

a certain T/R control bearing connection 

and the helicopter structure, which 

were detected on the production line. 

The FAA is issuing this AD to address 

the unsafe condition on these products. 

DATES: This AD is effective August 11, 

2021. 

The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference 

of a certain document listed in this AD 

as of August 11, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: For service information 

identified in this final rule, contact 

Airbus Helicopters, 2701 North Forum 

Drive, Grand Prairie, TX 75052; 

telephone 972–641–0000 or 800–232– 

0323; fax 972–641–3775; or at https://

www.airbus.com/helicopters/services/ 

technical-support.html. You may view 

the referenced service information at the 

FAA, Office of the Regional Counsel, 

Southwest Region, 10101 Hillwood 

Pkwy., Room 6N–321, Fort Worth, TX 

76177. Service information that is 

incorporated by reference is also 

available at https://www.regulations.gov 


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