ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Fifty-seventh Legislature

First Regular Session

 

☐ Prop 105 (45 votes) ☐ Prop 108 (40 votes) ☐ Emergency (40 votes) ☐ Fiscal Note

HB 2647: rental payments; credit reporting

Sponsor: Representative Liguori, LD 5

Committee on Commerce

Overview

Provides for a landlord to offer to report a tenant's rental payments to a consumer credit reporting agency.

History

The Fair Credit Reporting Act governs access to consumer credit report records and promotes accuracy, fairness and the privacy of personal information assembled by credit reporting agencies. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau a consumer reporting agency can provide consumer reports and risk scores to an array of businesses, including lenders, employers, government agencies, landlords and residential real estate management companies, banks and credit unions, debt collectors, insurance companies and telecommunications and utility companies.

Current statute, except under specified conditions, allows a consumer reporting agency to furnish a consumer report only under the following circumstances and no other:

1)   in response to the order of a court having jurisdiction to issue such an order;

2)   in accordance with the written instructions of the consumer to whom it relates;

3)   to a person that it has reason to believe;

a)   intends to use the information in connection with a credit transaction involving the consumer on whom the information is to be furnished and involving the extension of credit to, or review or collection of an account of, the consumer;

b)   intends to use the information for employment purposes;

c) intends to use the information in connection with the underwriting of insurance involving the consumer;

d)   intends to use the information in connection with a determination of the consumer's eligibility for any license or other benefit granted by a governmental instrumentality required by law to consider an applicant's financial responsibility or status;

e)   otherwise has a legitimate business need for the information in connection with a business transaction involving the consumer; or

4)   on request by the Department of Economic Security (A.R.S. § 44-1692).

A consumer report is a  written, oral, or other communication of any information by a consumer reporting agency bearing on a consumer's credit worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living which is used or expected to be used or collected for the purpose of serving as a factor in establishing the consumer's eligibility for: 1) credit or insurance to be used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes; 2) employment purposes; or 3) other purposes authorized under statute (A.R.S. § 44-1691). 

Provisions

1.   Instructs a landlord, at the beginning of tenancy and once each year thereafter, to offer a tenant the option of having the landlord report the tenant's rental payments to a consumer credit reporting agency. (Sec. 1)

2.   Outlines information which must be included in the written offer. (Sec. 1)

3.   Stipulates a tenant may submit the completed written election to report rental payments at any time after receiving the offer from the landlord instead of at the time of the offer. (Sec. 1)

4.   Allows the tenant to request and receive copies of the written election of the rental payment reporting form from the landlord. (Sec. 1)

5.   Allows the landlord to require a fee of not more than the lesser of the actual cost for the landlord to provide the rental payment reporting or $10 per month. (Sec. 1)

6.   Prohibits the payment status of the fee from being reported to the credit reporting agency. (Sec. 1)

7.   Stipulates that any nonpayment of the fee:

a)   is not a nonpayment of rent or cause for terminating the rental agreement;

b)   cannot be deducted from the tenant's security deposit; or

c) allows the landlord to stop reporting the rental payments if the nonpayment continues for more than 30 days. (Sec. 1)

8.   Authorizes a tenant to notify the landlord to stop the rental payment reporting and prohibits electing rental payment reporting again for at least six months after the date of the tenant's request to stop rental payment reporting.  (Sec. 1)

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12.                    HB 2647

13.  Initials PB           Page 0 Commerce

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