Rep. Vigil (District 16 - Colorado Springs) introduces credit report bill

Colorado Springs Members & Investors holding Properties, (please consider sharing with your fellow landlords/property owners)

Representative Vigil, District 16 (Colorado Springs), introduced HB 23-1099: Portable Screening Report For Residential Leases

• This bill would require a landlord to accept screening reports from any applicant and cannot charge a new app fee or process a new app to verify the accuracy of the information. Here's a summary of the bill text. As landlords, it's essential to be able to process our own applications to ensure the accuracy of the data.
  
  
• We are asking members that live or own property in Colorado Springs to reach out to Rep Vigil
• stephanie.vigil.house@coleg.gov
• 303-866-2937
  
  
• Issues that we have with this bill that can be used in messages to Rep Vigil:
  • Credit scores can vary, and background companies don't all look at the same things. It's hard for us as landlords to ensure accuracy and completeness when using outside systems and reports
  • How can a landlord validate the legitimacy? These docs can be altered electronically, and we would have difficulty determining what's been edited and what hasn't.
  • The attorney general's office likely doesn't have the staff to investigate. If they have the staffing, what would stop them from just investigating every legitimate complaint? Maybe some guard rails hear about "habitual offenders."

Here's a summary of the bill text. As landlords, we think it's important to be able to process our own applications to ensure the accuracy of the data:  

• The bill requires a landlord to accept from a prospective tenant a portable tenant screening report (screening report). A screening report must have been prepared by a consumer reporting agency (agency) within the previous 30 days at the prospective tenant's request and expense and include certain information about the prospective tenant.
  
  
• If a prospective tenant provides a screening report, the landlord shall not charge the prospective tenant either an application fee or a fee for the landlord to access or use the screening report.
  
  
• Prior to collecting any tenant information that would generate an application fee, a landlord shall advise a prospective tenant that the landlord accepts screening reports and is prohibited from charging an application fee or other fee to a prospective tenant who provides a screening report.
  
  
• If a prospective tenant's rental application is denied, and the landlord charged the prospective tenant an application fee to obtain a consumer report, the landlord shall provide a copy of the consumer report to the prospective tenant, along with a notice of the prospective tenant's right to dispute the accuracy of the consumer report. If the prospective tenant did not pay an application fee for the landlord to obtain a consumer report, the landlord's notice of denial must include either a copy of the consumer report or the agency's contact information and notice of the prospective tenant's right to receive a free copy of the consumer report and to dispute the accuracy of the consumer report.
  
  
• The bill authorizes the attorney general's office to independently initiate and bring an action to enforce the "Rental Application Fairness Act."
  
  
• (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)