Free Tenant Rejection Letter

If the denial rested in whole or in part on a consumer report, 15 U.S.C. § 1681m(a) requires four things. Notice of the adverse action, given orally, in writing, or electronically. A written or electronic disclosure of the numerical credit score you used, if you used one, along with the information in § 1681g(f)(1)(B) through (E). The name, address, and telephone number of the consumer reporting agency that furnished the report, its toll-free number if it maintains files nationwide, and a statement that the agency did not make the decision and cannot give the specific reasons. And notice of the right to a free file copy within the 60-day period under § 1681j and to dispute under § 1681i.

The FCRA does not require it. Section 1681m(a)(3)(B) requires a statement that the reporting agency did not make the decision and is unable to provide the specific reasons, which is a statement about the agency, not an obligation to explain yourself. The specific-reasons duty sits in the Equal Credit Opportunity Act at 15 U.S.C. § 1691(d), which applies to creditors and credit applicants, and a residential tenancy is generally not an extension of credit. Some state and local housing rules do require a stated reason or a review step, so this varies by jurisdiction. Many landlords give a brief reason anyway as a matter of practice.

Not under federal law for a rental. The pre-adverse-action step that requires handing over a copy of the report and a written description of the consumer’s rights lives in 15 U.S.C. § 1681b(b)(3), and by its own words it applies when a consumer report is used for employment purposes. Tenant screening is not employment purpose, so § 1681b(b)(3) does not reach it and there is no federal two-step pre-adverse and final-adverse sequence for a rental denial. Some state and local ordinances do impose their own notice-and-opportunity-to-respond steps for housing, so check your jurisdiction rather than assuming the federal answer is the whole answer.

Section 1681m(a)(1) allows the notice of adverse action to be oral, written, or electronic, and § 1681m(a)(3) and (a)(4) use the same language for the agency identification and for the notice of file and dispute rights. The one element that cannot be oral is the credit score disclosure under § 1681m(a)(2), which the statute says must be written or electronic. In practice, sending the whole notice in writing or by email is easier to defend than a phone call, because the § 1681j 60-day free-file window runs from the applicant’s receipt of the notice and you will want a dated record of it.

Section 1681m(a) is triggered only when the adverse action is based in whole or in part on a consumer report. If nothing from the report entered the decision, that subsection is not triggered. Be honest with yourself about the words in whole or in part, because a report that confirmed or contributed to the concern is still part of the basis. Note also that § 1681m(b)(1), which does address information from sources other than a reporting agency, is written for credit that is denied or repriced, not for tenancy, so it does not create a parallel duty for a rental denial based on a reference call.

This is the area where a national answer would be wrong. The FCRA governs the notice you send, not whether the underlying reason is permitted. Whether and how criminal history may be used in a housing decision is governed by other law, and it varies sharply. Several states restrict how far back a landlord may look or bar consideration of arrests that did not lead to conviction, and a number of cities run fair chance housing ordinances that dictate when the inquiry may happen, what individualized assessment is required, and what notices must go out. Federal fair housing law adds its own constraints on blanket exclusions. Check your state and city.

No, if they act in time. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681j(b), a consumer reporting agency that maintains a file on the consumer must make its § 1681g disclosures without charge when the consumer requests them within 60 days after receiving a notification under § 1681m. That is why § 1681m(a)(4)(A) requires your notice to point the applicant to that free copy and to indicate the 60-day period. The applicant requests it from the reporting agency, not from you, which is another reason the notice must carry the agency’s name, address, and telephone number.

Some screening companies offer to prepare or transmit notices, and using a service can make the mechanics easier. What does not move is the duty. Section 1681m(a) places the obligation on the person who takes the adverse action, which is the landlord or property manager who made the decision, and § 1681m(a)(3)(B) requires the notice to say that the reporting agency did not make that decision. So a vendor can help you produce and send the notice, but no product can make the decision or absorb the obligation, and no form guarantees that a particular landlord has satisfied the statute.