🏠 Renter Shield

Check your landlord before you sign the lease.

Look Up an Address Free with simple registration · Data from public government records

12
Cities
1.2M+
Properties
5.9M+
Violations Tracked
50K+
Landlords Scored

How It Works

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1. Search an address

Enter a street address. We'll look it up across 12 cities and federal HUD data.

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2. See the record

View housing code violations, severity ratings, and what's still unresolved.

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3. Check the landlord

See how the landlord compares to others in the same city — across all their buildings.

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4. Download a report

Get a printable PDF summary to bring to housing court or share with your tenant association.


What the Ratings Mean

RatingLevelDescription
No issues found Zero violations on record
Minor issues Low-severity violations, all resolved
Some concerns Open violations or moderate severity
Significant issues Critical violations present
Severe issues Critical violations + many unresolved

Cities Covered

New York City Boston Philadelphia Chicago San Francisco Seattle Pittsburgh Los Angeles Austin Miami-Dade Detroit HUD REAC (Federal — all 50 states)

More cities coming. Data is updated regularly from official government open-data portals.


Frequently Asked Questions

Where does the data come from?
All data is from publicly available government open-data portals — NYC HPD, Boston ISD, Philadelphia L+I, Chicago Buildings, SF DBI, and others. Federal inspection scores come from the HUD REAC Multifamily Assisted Properties database. We don't collect or generate any data ourselves.
Is this a legal finding?
No. Scores are derived from algorithmic analysis of public records. They do not constitute legal findings, may not reflect current conditions, and may contain errors due to name-based ownership resolution. Always verify independently before taking action.
How often is the data updated?
Data is refreshed periodically from each city's open-data API. The analysis window covers January 2022 to the most recent download.
What does "owner unknown" mean?
Some cities (e.g. San Francisco, Seattle) don't publish landlord/owner records in their open data. In those cities, you can still see the building's violation history, but no landlord score is available.
Can I use this in housing court?
You can download a PDF report of any property's violation history. While the report itself is not a legal document, it summarizes public records that may support your case. Consult a tenant rights attorney or legal aid organization for guidance.
Who built this?
Renter Shield is an open-source public-interest project. The source code and dataset are publicly archived on GitHub and Zenodo.

Disclaimer: Scores are derived from publicly available government records and algorithmic analysis. They do not constitute legal findings, may not reflect current conditions, and may contain errors due to name-based ownership resolution. Independent verification is required before any legal, administrative, or public action.

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