CREDIT CHECKS HURT HOMELESS.

Byline: Larry Grooms Special to the Daily News

LANCASTER - Having money to pay the rent isn't nearly enough for some Antelope Valley homeless families, who must pay repeatedly for landlord-required credit checks the prospective tenants often stand little or no chance of passing.

Homeless advocates said they know of individuals who have spent up to $300 on repeated credit checks - and that the situation affects hundreds of Antelope Valley families and individuals in a tightening rental market.

``We've had folks come in here despondent because they can't get ahead in renting a place because they've spent all their money on credit checks,'' said Debbie Purpus, program manager for the Homeless Solutions Access Center in Lancaster.

In many cases, each rental company requires its own independent credit check at a nonrefundable cost of about $25 for each prospective tenant. Families trying to transition from homelessness must frequently make multiple rental applications before finding a dwelling, advocates say.

``A lot of folks are having a really hard time,'' said Steve Baker, head of Grace Resource Center, a nonprofit Lancaster food bank that helps needy local residents.

The homeless center, which is run by the Mental Health Association under a federal grant, has had more than 500 clients, and at a minimum more than half are actively seeking rentals, Purpus said.

One of those shelter seekers was 80-year-old Eleanor Hoffman, who became homeless when her Lancaster apartment burned in January. Hoffman, who said she lives on $751 a month from Social Security, got her apartment from a Homeless Solutions referral list after running up against the credit check fee in her own search.

Hoffman said she never had to pay for a credit check until she began searching for a new apartment and was appalled when a landlord informed her that she would have to pay $25 to have her credit checked.

The apartment complex in Palmdale where she now lives did run a credit check but did not charge her for the screening, Hoffman said.

Both Homeless Solutions and Grace Resources offer referrals to landlords who don't require prepaid credit checks. The two organizations also advise the homeless to seek out apartments advertised on bulletin boards posted in grocery stores and coin laundries.

Another tactic for potential tenants is to be painfully honest with rental agents at the first contact, noting any credit or eviction history to find out if there is any point in even submitting what could be an expensive application.

Homelessness authorities do offer a suggestion to meet the screening needs of rental companies while ending the check credit cost spiral for prospective tenants.

Purpus said the problem would go away if landlords would agree to accept from homeless rental applicants a copy of a valid credit report no older than 30 days. Purpus said her agency could pay what she said is the $10 cost for a credit report.

But she added, ``They're not accepting that.''

One reason for not accepting a single credit report may exist within privacy provisions of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. The Act states that credit reports go only to those authorized to see them, and some officials believe this requirement could prevent a prospective tenant from simply taking his credit report from landlord to landlord.

Another barrier to the proposed solution comes from the credit reporting industry, which routinely cautions landlords not to accept copies of credit reports supplied by prospective tenants.

The situation could become even more expensive and complex for the homeless and others with checkered credit histories or an eviction report. The Web site of Coastal Credit Bureau advised landlords to ask for the last four to six months of rental receipts from the applicant's current address.

The same Web page also points out that many landlords are ordering criminal record reports on prospective tenants, and that the practice is expected to become routine.

The cycle of homelessness is perpetuated when families are barred from rental housing because of credit history, Grace Resources' Baker said. He said families most often end up staying in motel rooms. ``For what it costs to stay in a motel, they could make a house payment,'' he said.