Report 4301

Overview

Mary Louis, Monica Douglas, and the Community Action Agency of Somerville, the Plaintiffs, allege that SafeRent Solutions, LLC, which provides tenant screening services to landlords and property owners, has been violating the Fair Housing Act and related state laws for years because its tenant screening software algorithm disproportionately gives low scores to Black and Hispanic rental applicants who use federally funded housing vouchers, causing them to be denied housing. Plaintiffs claim that this is due in part to SafeRent's use of credit history, which includes non-tenancy debts.

SafeRent Scores are designed, marketed, and used to screen prospective tenants for rental housing. These Scores, however, cannot be adjusted by the landlord nor can a variable like a housing voucher be weighted in the Score, yet the Score is used to decide if an applicant will be accepted. SafeRent Score's algorithm, for instance, does not consider the financial benefits of housing vouchers in assigning Scores. Specifically, when a housing voucher is used, on average over 73% of the monthly rental payment is paid by public housing authorities directly to housing providers.

Plaintiffs seek to end defendants' tenant screening practices that have an adverse impact on Black and Hispanic rental applicants and create a fair playing field for those using housing vouchers.

Settlement & Important Updates

• On November 20, 2024, the Honorable Angel Kelley for the United States District Court of Massachusetts granted final approval of a $2.275 million settlement. The settlement also establishes significant injunctive relief to tenant applicants who rely on vouchers and may be subjected to SafeRent tenant screening.
  • Settlement would protect voucher holders in Massachusetts from any future discriminatory assessment through the use of a SafeRent Score.
  • The injunctive relief is important to ensuring the original intention of the nation's voucher programs -- 1) to help erase historic discrimination in the housing markets, and 2) to give voucher holders more choice in where they live.
  • The injunctive relief in this settlement establishes a baseline that tenant screening companies nationwide should be following.
• Important notification to class members: To learn more about the settlement and how to file a claim if you are a class member, please visit the official settlement website at MATenantScreeningSettlement.com.

Other Rulings & Motions

• On July 26, 2023, the Honorable Angel Kelley for the United States District Court of Massachusetts denied defendants' motion to dismiss Fair Housing Act claims, holding that SafeRent Solutions, LLC, a national tenant screening provider formerly known as CoreLogic Rental Property Solutions, is subject to the Fair Housing Act's ban on racial discrimination in housing. Even though SafeRent is not a landlord, the court determined that the plaintiffs adequately alleged that property owners relied solely on SafeRent's tenant screening score, and adequately alleged those scores had a disparate impact on Black and Hispanic renters. FHA claims against landlord Metropolitan were also permitted to proceed, while claims under a Massachusetts consumer protection statute were dismissed.
• On January 9, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that they had filed a statement of interest in this case.

Case Background

On May 25, 2022, Cohen Milstein and co-counsel, Greater Boston Legal Services and National Consumer Law Center, filed a putative class action lawsuit on behalf of Mary Louis, Monica Douglas, and the Community Action Agency of Somerville against SafeRent Solutions, LLC in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Plaintiffs allege that SafeRent, which provides tenant screening services to landlords and property owners, has been violating the Fair Housing Act and related state laws for years because its tenant screening software algorithm disproportionately gives low scores to Black and Hispanic rental applicants who use federally funded housing vouchers, causing them to be denied housing.

Plaintiffs claim that SafeRent assigns disproportionately lower SafeRent Scores to Black and Hispanic rental applicants compared to white rental applicants, which is due in part to SafeRent's use of credit history, which includes non-tenancy debts. According to a 2022 study conducted by the Urban Institute, as of October 2021, Black consumers have a median credit score of 612 and Hispanic consumers have a median credit score of 661, as compared to white consumers' median credit score of 725, leading to unfair bias in accepting an applicant's lease application. Thus, the Complaint alleges, the inclusion of such credit history information in producing SafeRent Scores causes the SafeRent Scores to be disproportionately lower for Black and Hispanic rental applicants.

SafeRent Scores are designed, marketed, and used to screen prospective tenants for rental housing. These Scores, however, cause Black and Hispanic rental applicants to be disproportionately denied housing. The Score cannot be adjusted by the landlord nor can a variable like a housing voucher be weighted in the Score, yet the Score is used to decide if an applicant will be accepted. SafeRent Score's algorithm, for instance, does not consider the financial benefits of housing vouchers in assigning Scores. Specifically, when a housing voucher is used, on average over 73% of the monthly rental payment is paid by public housing authorities directly to housing providers.

The case name is: Louis, et al. v. SafeRent Solutions, et al., Case No. 1:22-cv-10800, United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts