Attorney General Weiser secures settlement protecting renters from illegal tenant screening practices

Attorney General Weiser secures settlement protecting renters from illegal tenant screening practices

Sept. 2, 2026 (DENVER) - Attorney General Phil Weiser today announced a settlement with Avail Property Management Inc. and PK Management, LLC resolving allegations that the companies illegally denied prospective tenants housing by considering criminal history information that Colorado law prohibits landlords from using during the rental application process.

The attorney general alleged the companies violated Colorado's Rental Application Fairness Act and the Colorado Consumer Protection Act by using prohibited criminal history information to deny housing to prospective tenants. According to the complaint, applicants were denied housing based on arrests, deferred judgments, and convictions that occurred more than five years before they applied, including some convictions that were more than 20 years old.

"Housing provides the foundation people need to build stable lives. Colorado law recognizes that arrests that never resulted in convictions and old criminal records generally should not prevent someone from finding a place to live," said Attorney General Weiser. "People deserve the opportunity to move forward, and landlords remain responsible for ensuring their tenant screening practices comply with Colorado law, whether they conduct background checks themselves or rely on a third-party screening company."

The attorney general's investigation found that Avail and PK managed nearly 4,000 rental units at more than a dozen properties across Colorado, many of them affordable housing communities supported through government programs, including some that specifically serve seniors. The companies used a third-party background screening service and allegedly continued denying applicants based on criminal history information that Colorado law prohibits landlords from considering.

Under the settlement, Avail and PK must:

• Comply with the Rental Application Fairness Act which prohibits landlords from considering criminal convictions older than five years except where Colorado law expressly allows.
• Stop considering arrests, pending charges, and other non-conviction records.
• Revise tenant screening policies and consumer-facing materials to comply with Colorado law.
• Review third-party background screening recommendations instead of automatically relying on screening vendors.
• Submit documentation demonstrating compliance and provide annual compliance reports to the Attorney General's Office for two years.
• Pay $300,000 for attorney's fees, consumer fraud and antitrust enforcement, and consumer education.

Read a copy of the complaint (PDF) and consent judgment (PDF). The settlement is subject to court approval.

###

Media Contact:
Mallory Boyce
Communications Specialist
720-219-1898 (cell)
[email protected]