Description: SafeRent’s AI-powered tenant screening tool used credit history and non-rental-related debts to assign scores, disproportionately penalizing Black and Hispanic renters and those using housing vouchers. The reported discriminatory housing outcomes violated the Fair Housing Act and Massachusetts law. A class action lawsuit (Louis, et al. v. SafeRent Solutions, et al.) resulted in a $2.275 million settlement and changes to SafeRent’s practices.
Editor Notes: Reconstructing the timeline of events: (1) May 25, 2022, a class action lawsuit was filed against SafeRent Solutions in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. It alleged violations of the Fair Housing Act and state laws due to algorithmic discrimination against Black and Hispanic rental applicants using housing vouchers. (2) January 9, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Housing and Urban Development filed a statement of interest supporting the case. (3) July 26, 2023, the court denied SafeRent’s motion to dismiss and ruled that the plaintiffs sufficiently alleged that SafeRent’s scoring system caused disparate impacts. (4) November 20, 2024, the court approved a $2.275 million settlement with injunctive relief to prohibit discriminatory tenant scoring practices, setting a national precedent for fair tenant screening.
Entités
Voir toutes les entitésAlleged: SafeRent Solutions developed an AI system deployed by Landlords, which harmed Renters , Massachusetts renters , Hispanic renters , Black renters , Mary Louis et Monica Douglas.
Statistiques d'incidents
ID
844
Nombre de rapports
4
Date de l'incident
2022-05-25
Editeurs