Urgent Action Alert: Credit Check Regulations Return as Amendment to Housing Bond Bill
Dear SPOA Members and Supporters:
Last month we contacted you regarding, H1308, which at the time was moving rapidly through the House. This bill essentially bans the use of credit checks and would potentially create serious legal liability for small property owners who rely on credit reports when screening prospective tenants. Thanks to the many calls and letters from SPOA members we were able to put the brakes on this bill in the House.
However, this bad idea has now emerged in the State SENATE and is expected to be taken up tomorrow (Thursday, June 27) during debate on the Housing Bond Bill, S2834, as Amendment 212.
Sponsored by Senator Adam Gomez (Springfield, W. Springfield, Chicopee), the amendment itself can be found using the link below. Once there, click on the number 212 to read the proposed regulations.
Under this proposal, any property owner, who used a credit report to make an adverse decision about a prospective tenant, would be required to disclose the information that was the basis for the decision to the tenant 14 days prior to the rejection -- and provide the tenant an opportunity to dispute the rejection with the credit agencies before a final rejection.
This bill will turn a simple, routine credit check into an endless quagmire fraught with legal danger and long delays before a unit could be rented. And if that is not bad enough, a property owner who fails to comply with any part of this bill would be subject to Chapter 93A violations with triple damages.
PLEASE CONTACT YOUR STATE SENATORS IMMEDIATELY TODAY TO TELL THEM HOW OUTRAGEOUS THIS AMENDMENT IS! You can find your STATE SENATOR by using this link: https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator
When contacting your Senator, you can tell them the following:
1) What kind of message are we giving to property owners? Seal eviction records, effectively ban credit reports, just rent to anyone with no questions asked, and make it more difficult to remove noncompliant tenants. Is this really fair, safe, or sustainable for all the hard-working business owners who put their savings on the line to provide others with housing?
2) This bill puts property owners in a no-win situation by threatening their businesses, while punishing them for making sure that a prospective tenant can pay the rent.
3) The bill also sets up tenants for difficulty down the road if they can't pay the rent.
4) At a time when we need more housing, this bill will drive property owners away, further depleting the available rental housing stock, while driving rents up.
5) Obstructing owners from making informed decisions places both owners and tenants at risk, along with the properties themselves.
6) Government should seek an even playing field for both owners and tenants, instead of hampering these relationships to the peril of both stakeholders and the housing itself.
PLEASE CONTACT YOUR STATE SENATORS TODAY TO VOICE OPPOSITION TO THIS DANGEROUS BILL!
Sincerely,
Small Property Owners Association (SPOA)
