Blacklists and Credit Reporting

In recent years, landlords have become more aggressive in screening out potential tenants who have been sued in housing court in the past.  Landlords are seeking to screen out both tenants who might be likely to fall behind in the rent and tenants who have withheld rent in order to get repairs or services.  Reporting agencies collect the information from Housing Court – names and information on defendants in nonpayment cases.  This information is then sold to landlords who pay a fee to screen potential tenants.  The lists are informally known as the “blacklist” because tenants who are on it are being punished for exercising their right to withhold rent for repairs and services.

For more information on this issue, see the two links below:

A flyer on the Blacklist from the Citywide Task Force on Housing Court

Information on Credit Reports and the Blacklist from NEDAP