Applying for a new apartment isn’t always an easy task, especially if you have a criminal record. But sometimes people who have never been inside a courtroom – or have only faced minor charges like traffic violations and paid the fines – will discover that their criminal record shows inaccurate and debilitating information that can severely impact their chances of being accepted as a tenant.
Good landlords who manage quality apartments and rental homes will do a rental history check, which should include a criminal background check. When applying for a rental unit, be proactive and check your rental history report first, just to make certain the criminal record information on that report is accurate.
Criminal record errors can occur on reports for many reasons – human mistake in typing in a Social Security number, confusion between two individuals with similar names or even files becoming mixed up on a busy court day.
Individuals can ask to have these criminal record errors fixed. How to get it fixed depends on what state the court appears in, and what type of court handled the case. A quick Internet search will help you find who to contact.
You can also dispute incorrect information appearing on your report with My Rental History Report. A member of Rental History Report’s dispute team will begin investigating your claim, and will work to help you get the information corrected. Be prepared for investigations into incorrect criminal record information to take a bit of time – you may want to delay applying for any new apartments until the correction has been made.
