Experian Credit Report Does Not Include Eviction

Mature woman sitting on floor in empty house, counting money
Dear Experian,

An eviction is showing on my credit report, per the leasing company I submitted an application to. I have never received paperwork for an eviction, but when I contacted the courts, they show an eviction was filed against me and dismissed. They say there is no judgment against me. How can I go about removing this as it's preventing me from finding new housing because it doesn't show "dismissed" on my credit report.

- LPT

Dear LPT,

Your credit report does not include eviction reports. A tenant screening company likely compiled a rental history report for the leasing company that included your credit report in addition to information from other sources that included the eviction notice.

If you still owed rent, the amount could be considered a debt after the eviction and could then be sold to a collection agency. The collection account may appear on your credit report, but it would not be reported as an eviction.

Additionally, the landlord or leasing company may have filed suit against you for the amount owed as a result of the eviction. The judgment would then appear on your credit report as a public record item.

If the judgment was dismissed by the court, it should no longer appear on your credit reports. In order to have the public record information removed from your report, contact the court and request copies of the paperwork showing that the judgment has been dismissed. For more information on disputing, see How to Dispute Credit Report Information.

If there is a record of the eviction appearing on your rental history report as well, and you believe the information to be inaccurate, you should contact the tenant screening company directly to find out how to go about disputing the information with them as well.

Thanks for asking.
The "Ask Experian" team