Credit-based rental screening, eviction and criminal searches, income insights, and landlord leasing decisions.
A SmartMove notice means a landlord used a TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions product. Request the tenant report, not just a generic TransUnion credit report, because the screening may contain additional sections.
What may be in the report.
The actual fields depend on the product ordered and whether the company has information about you.
- A TransUnion credit component used for the screening
- Eviction or criminal search results
- Resident score, income insight, and leasing recommendation
Request, freeze, or dispute the right file.
Use these direct paths instead of a paid credit-repair service or a phone number from an unsolicited message. A freeze at one company does not automatically freeze another report.
Request your report
The tenant FAQ directs renters to this number for criminal, eviction, and Income Insights report help, and links separately to TransUnion for a credit-report copy. Request the sections the landlord actually received.
866-775-0961 Official request pathFreeze information
The CFPB company list does not mark this company as offering a report freeze. Check the company page for any narrower state right, suppression option, or updated policy.
Check current freeze pathDispute an error
Contact the Rental Screening Solutions Consumer Dispute Team for the screening entry; its official page lists phone, email, and mail options. Check the underlying TransUnion credit file separately when the disputed item is a credit account.
800-230-9376TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions, Attention: Consumer Dispute Team, P.O. Box 800, Woodlyn, PA 19094
Official dispute pathFirst three steps.
Do not dispute accurate information just because it led to an unfavorable decision.
- 01 Request the SmartMove screening sections authorized for the landlord.
- 02 Check credit accounts and court records separately from modeled scores or income insights.
- 03 Dispute the screening entry with the Rental Screening Solutions team and pursue any underlying credit or court-record correction with its source.
Build your TransUnion SmartMove dispute.
Get the screening sections the landlord actually received. A SmartMove package can combine credit information with court-record searches and other insights. Dispute the inaccurate item in the screening report, and check the underlying TransUnion credit file when the error is in a credit account.
If an apartment is at stake, notify the landlord promptly and ask whether the application can stay under review, what evidence it will accept, and by what date. The investigation may outlast the vacancy; it does not reserve the apartment. After an adverse-action notice, request the free report within 60 days.
1. Read an annotated fictional report
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- Applicant and screening request
- Alex Example · Sample Apartments · August 20, 2026
What to check: Match the person, property, and screening date. Request the actual report used, including any criminal, eviction, and Income Insights sections ordered.
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- Eviction search
- Example County court · case DEMO-2025-17 · filed May 6, 2025
What to check: Check the court and case number, defendant identifiers, and address. A filing alone does not establish that a court ordered an eviction.
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- Case outcome
- Report: pending · court order: dismissed June 2, 2025
What to check: The missing dismissal is the fictional error. Obtain the order or current docket and ask for the correct disposition. A dismissal does not automatically make every record of the filing unreportable.
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- Income Insights
- Additional income verification suggested
What to check: This is a modeled insight using historical credit data, not a payroll record. SmartMove says it is used to decide whether more income proof is needed. Give current proof to the landlord; dispute inaccurate credit inputs separately.
2. Match the error to evidence
Use the row that fits your facts. Gather the records you have; supporting evidence can help, but you do not need every document listed to raise a dispute.
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Another person’s eviction or criminal case
- Evidence to gather
- The case number and court record showing the other person’s identifiers, plus your own relevant identifying or address records.
- Correction to request
- Explain the specific mismatch and request removal of the record from your screening file. A shared name is not enough to resolve identity.
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Missing dismissal, wrong disposition, or sealed record
- Evidence to gather
- Current docket, dismissal or satisfaction order, or sealing/expungement order that applies to the listed case.
- Correction to request
- Ask the screening dispute team to update the outcome or remove a record that should not be reported. If the court’s own record is wrong, contact the court or its self-help office too; a bureau dispute does not change a court order.
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Wrong credit account, balance, or payment status
- Evidence to gather
- The screening credit section, your TransUnion credit report, and creditor statements or a correction letter for the same account and reporting period.
- Correction to request
- Identify the error to the Rental Screening Solutions dispute team. If it also appears in your TransUnion credit file, dispute there and with the creditor; verify both reports afterward.
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Income insight does not reflect your current income
- Evidence to gather
- Current pay statements, an offer letter, or other income records the landlord accepts; check the credit information used by the model for factual mistakes.
- Correction to request
- Provide income proof to the landlord for its review. A new salary alone does not prove a credit-file error, and disputing a recommendation does not guarantee approval.
- TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions dispute team — TransUnion
- SmartMove report copies and Income Insights — TransUnion
- FTC tenant background report dispute guide — Federal Trade Commission
3. Prepare and send a specific dispute
- Use SmartMove tenant support to request the criminal, eviction, and Income Insights reports that were returned. Its tenant FAQ provides a separate link for your credit report. Ask the landlord which sections and information affected its decision.
- Use the Rental Screening Solutions dispute-team page linked above. It lists phone, email (TURSSDispute@transunion.com), and mail options. Specify the report reference, each account or court case, the inaccurate field, and the supporting record.
- For an underlying credit error, also use TransUnion’s credit-dispute route and contact the creditor. For a court-source error, contact the court while disputing the screening entry. Send any later source correction back to the screening team and landlord.
Keep the marked report page, your explanation, document copies, and proof of submission. Save portal confirmations or phone dates and reference numbers. If mailing, consider certified mail with a return receipt. Keep original documents and follow the company’s current identification requirements.
Sample dispute wording
Copy this into your own document or download the text. Replace every bracketed prompt and remove instructions or claims that do not apply. This is an explanation to adapt, not a completed official form. Downloading it does not send anything.
[Date] [Your full name] [Your mailing address] [Your preferred contact information]
To: TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions, Consumer Dispute Team Subject: SmartMove report dispute — [screening/report reference]
The report dated [date] supplied for [rental property] lists [court name], case [case number], with the outcome [reported outcome]. The current court record shows [correct outcome] as of [date]. Please investigate and correct the disposition of this entry.
I enclosed [court order or docket, with date] and marked the affected report page. The document shows [specific finding supporting the correction]. [If the case is not yours, replace the outcome explanation with the actual identifier mismatch.]
Please investigate the identified item, review the enclosed evidence, and correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information as appropriate. Please send me the written results and the report reflecting the investigation.
Enclosures: [List the marked report page and each supporting document; send copies.] [Your name]
For an error also in a nationwide credit file, use the CFPB’s bureau-by-bureau dispute contacts. If identity theft caused the entry, IdentityTheft.gov explains your recovery and blocking rights.
4. Handle the response
Track receipt, investigation, and results separately
Generally, an investigation is due within 30 days of receipt. Some cases allow up to 45 days, including an extension for relevant additional information. Written results generally follow within five business days after the investigation ends. Some states have shorter deadlines.
- Corrected or deleted
- Check the revised court or credit entry and every other item you disputed. Send the corrected report to the landlord, ask the screening company to notify it too, and request reconsideration. If a credit input changed, check the underlying TransUnion file and ask whether an updated screening is needed. A corrected report does not guarantee a lease.
- Verified or unchanged
- Compare the result with the actual court docket or creditor record. Request the investigation procedure and source details if the evidence was not addressed. TransUnion allows a brief consumer statement after an unresolved dispute. If the court record itself needs correction, use the court’s process and provide the resulting order to the screening team.
- You can request a description of the investigation procedure, including the furnisher’s contact details; the FCRA generally requires that description within 15 days of the request. Identify evidence that was missed or obtain new records before following up. A consumer statement explains an unresolved dispute; it does not correct the underlying item.
- More information requested or dispute rejected
- Read what is missing and respond through the verified company route with the case reference. If the company determines a dispute is frivolous or irrelevant, its notice must explain why and identify information needed to investigate. Add the missing specifics instead of resending an identical general letter.
- No result or an unresolved error
- Check delivery, the case status, and any explanation for an extension. Ask for the written outcome if it is overdue. A missed deadline does not by itself mean the entry has disappeared.
- For a CFPB complaint about inaccurate or incomplete consumer-report information, first dispute directly with the reporting company. The CFPB currently asks you to wait until the dispute is no longer pending or more than 45 days have passed. Include your report, original dispute, evidence, proof of receipt, response if any, and the correction still needed. Review the CFPB complaint requirements and proceed.
- CFPB credit-report dispute guide — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- CFPB credit dispute timing — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- FCRA § 611 reinvestigation procedure — GovInfo
- CFPB requirements before a consumer-reporting complaint — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Separate the reporting-company disclosure from the decision-maker’s action.
The company that supplied a report usually did not make the final decision. Use the notice decoder to choose the credit, banking, housing, employment, insurance, or utility context, then identify the report and next record to compare.
