Question: Is there any reason to retain a credit report on file once a decision has been made on an applicant?

Answer: All application records, including credit reports should be retained for denied applicants for three years. This is the statute of limitations for fair housing claims. Records for accepted tenants should be retained for four years after the end of the tenancy, based on the statute of limitations for actions on a contract. All tenant records, especially those containing confidential information, like credit reports, must be maintained in a secure, i.e., locked, location. When the records are ready to be disposed of, California law requires the destruction of customer (i.e., tenant) records by shredding, erasing, or otherwise modifying the personal information in those records to make them unreadable.