Housing FIRST Act

Housing for Formerly Incarcerated Reentry and Stable Tenancy Act or the Housing FIRST Act

This bill limits the information allowed to be shared on credit reports and considered in housing decisions, including certain criminal background information.

First, the bill prohibits a consumer reporting agency from including specified information on a consumer credit report provided for tenant screening purposes, such as arrests, juvenile adjudications or convictions, civil citations, resolved criminal cases (e.g., through completion of a diversion program), and convictions with completed sentences.

Further, the bill restricts the use of consumer credit reports for tenant screening. A person who obtains such a report must not use it in violation of fair housing laws and must disclose its use to the consumer. When taking adverse action based on the report, a person must provide the consumer with a copy of the report, the specific reasons for the adverse action, and other information.

The bill also specifies that upon request, consumer reporting agencies must disclose to a consumer the entity that is the source of any information on a consumer credit report.

Finally, the bill excludes from consumer credit reports criminal convictions older than seven years.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov