Housing and CORI

A landlord or housing authority may check your CORI only if you sign a form that says you know the housing authority is requesting your CORI. This form also asks you for personal information, such as your full name, date of birth, Social Security number and mother’s maiden name, to try to make sure it is your CORI the employer or housing screener will receive.

It is against the law for a landlord or housing authority to ask you to bring a copy of your own CORI.

Important

A CORI you get on your own can include cases that housing authorities and landlords are not allowed to see on a CORI that they get on their own.

You cannot be forced or asked to go get a copy of your own CORI for anyone.

When a landlord or housing authority, or anyone else, checks your CORI, they must give you a copy of the CORI right away, before making a decision.  Along with the CORI, you should get a copy of the  DCJIS instructions for fixing mistakes on your CORI and for enrolling in the Identity Theft File if you were a victim of identity theft.

Before a housing authority or landlord denies your application, or ends your lease because of your CORI, they must first do these things:

• Notify you that they might turn you down for the job ,
• Give you a copy of the CORI or background report they have for you, that they got ,
• Tell you what part of your CORI or background report is a problem, and
• Give you the chance to have a meeting to discuss your CORI or background report. Massachusetts law gives you the right to “contest the accuracy and relevance of your CORI.” This means:
• You can explain any mistakes on your CORI;
• You can explain why your CORI should not matter (for example, if the cases happened a long time ago, or had nothing to do with the job, etc.); and
• You can also use this meeting to show the housing authority any letters of recommendation that you have, such as the sample “changed person” letter.

Note

If the housing worker does not know about the regulation and your rights, you can show the employer a copy of the regulation 803 CMR 6.11.