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NACA v. RentGrow – EPIC – Electronic Privacy Information Center
webepic.org·epic.org/documents/naca-v-rentgrow/
This case challenges automated AI-driven tenant screening systems for producing biased and erroneous outputs that harm marginalized populations, illustrating real-world harms from algorithmic decision-making in high-stakes domains like housing.
Metadata
Importance: 42/100otherprimary source
Summary
EPIC, Richman Law & Policy, and NACA filed a 2024 consumer protection lawsuit against RentGrow for unfair and deceptive practices in its automated tenant screening reports. The complaint alleges RentGrow's AI-generated reports contain errors and biases that disproportionately harm marginalized populations, and that RentGrow deceives consumers and landlords about report reliability and legal compliance.
Key Points
- •RentGrow uses automated AI systems to generate tenant screening reports drawing from credit bureaus and data brokers like LexisNexis, with persistent inaccuracies.
- •The lawsuit alleges RentGrow neither vets third-party data nor monitors its AI systems for errors and biases that harm consumers.
- •Marginalized populations are disproportionately harmed, including D.C. Housing Choice Voucher Program participants relying on RentGrow's recommendations.
- •RentGrow allegedly deceives consumers and landlords about report reliability and compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
- •The case is a concrete example of algorithmic harm in high-stakes automated decision-making, relevant to AI governance and accountability debates.
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Challenging the unfair and deceptive practices of tenant screening company RentGrow’s automated tenant screening reports
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NACA v. RentGrow – EPIC – Electronic Privacy Information Center
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Privacy Cases
NACA v. RentGrow
2024-CAB-006253
DC Superior Court
DOWNLOAD Filed NACA v RentGrow Complaint pdf 1.1MB
Contents
Contents
Summary
Factual Background
RentGrow's Tenant Screening Services
D.C. Consumers are Harmed by RentGrow's Services
NACA's Complaint
EPIC's Interest
NACA's Claims Against RentGrow Survive Motion to Dismiss
Legal Documents
DC FOIA Documents
IL FOIA Documents
News
Challenging the unfair and deceptive practices of tenant screening company RentGrow’s automated tenant screening reports
Summary
On October 1, 2024, EPIC, Richman Law & Policy , and the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) filed a consumer protection lawsuit against tenant screening company, RentGrow, for unfair and deceptive practices tied to their automated tenant screening reports. The lawsuit, brought under the D.C. Consumer Protection Procedures Act, alleges that RentGrow automatically generates tenant screening reports that contain serious errors and biases. These errors and biases can cause consumers across the District—most often those from marginalized populations—to lose out on housing opportunities through no fault of their own. Worse still, the complaint alleges that RentGrow neither vets the third-party information it uses to generate tenant screening reports nor monitors its services for errors and biases that could harm consumers. The complaint also alleges that RentGrow deceives consumers and landlords about the reliability of its tenant screening reports and its own compliance with related laws like the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Factual Background
Tenant background checks and screening reports have become commonplace. To obtain housing, prospective tenants must increasingly rely on third-party screening companies to provide positive recommendations to landlords concerning tenant eligibility. These tenant screening reports require the collection of vast amounts of consumer data from both credit bureaus and data brokers—and in recent years, many of these screening services have turned to AI and automated decision-making systems to generate these reports.
RentGrow, Inc., is one such tenant screening company, which provides automated tenant screening services to landlords, property managers, and other housing providers throughout the District of Columbia and across the country. RentGrow is one of the largest pr
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