Denial of Request for Further Information
A free fillable letter for landlords responding when a denied rental applicant asks for more information. Provide everything the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires, decline what you may, keep it consistent, and download a professional PDF.
After you deny a rental application, an applicant may write back asking why they were turned down, what screening criteria disqualified them, or how they compared to approved applicants. You are generally not required to explain a subjective decision beyond what federal law demands. If the denial relied on a consumer report, an FCRA adverse action notice must already have gone out. Beyond that, you may decline to share internal reasoning, other applicants’ information, or proprietary criteria — as long as you decline the same way for every applicant. This letter gives you a professional, consistent, and defensible way to say so without creating fair housing risk.
Responding to an Information Request at a Glance
FCRA Trigger
Denial Based On a Consumer Report
Required Notice
Adverse Action + 4 Elements
Free Report Window
60 Days
Keep Records
3 Years Min
What You Can Never Withhold
If the denial was based in whole or in part on a consumer report (a credit report, background check, or eviction record), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681m) requires you to deliver an adverse action notice. That obligation stands even when you are declining every other request. Failing to send it can expose you to statutory damages and legal liability, so send it proactively rather than waiting to be asked.
Do You Have to Answer a Request for More Information?
In most cases, no. Federal and state fair housing laws require you to apply consistent criteria to all applicants, but they do not require you to narrate your specific decision-making process. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, if you use consumer reports and deny based on that information, you must send an adverse action notice that identifies the screening company and explains the applicant’s right to dispute the report’s accuracy. Most states do not require landlords to provide detailed explanations of denial reasons beyond those FCRA-mandated notices. A handful of jurisdictions go further — California, Seattle, and some other localities require landlords to provide specific written reasons for a denial — so always confirm your local law before you respond.
Once you have met the legal floor, you have legitimate business reasons to limit what else you share. Declining to provide extensive detail protects the privacy of other applicants, prevents applicants from reverse-engineering your criteria to manipulate a future application, keeps proprietary screening processes confidential, limits disputes and litigation based on off-the-cuff explanations, and reduces the risk of a stray comment being read as discriminatory. Those are all defensible reasons to keep your response short and standardized.
Never Fabricate or Vary Your Reasons
Do not invent reasons for denial or give different explanations to different applicants. If challenged, inconsistent explanations become evidence of discriminatory intent. If your policy is to provide nothing beyond the legally required notices, apply that policy uniformly to every denied applicant, and document that you did.
What the FCRA Adverse Action Notice Must Include
When a denial is based even partly on a consumer report, 15 U.S.C. 1681m and the Federal Trade Commission’s guidance for landlords require a written adverse action notice containing four specific elements. This letter can restate them as reminders, but the notice itself is mandatory and cannot be withheld.
- The consumer reporting agency’s identity — the name, address, and telephone number of the screening company or credit bureau that furnished the report.
- A statement that the agency did not decide — the report supplier did not make the decision to deny and cannot give the applicant the specific reasons for it.
- The right to dispute — the applicant may dispute the accuracy or completeness of any information the agency reported.
- The right to a free report — the applicant may obtain a free copy of the report from the agency if they request it within sixty days.
The FTC’s 2023 guidance recommends that housing providers deliver these notices in writing even though the FCRA technically allows oral notice, and that you send them within a reasonable time — commonly within about thirty days of the decision. Providing the notice up front, before the applicant even asks, is the cleanest way to comply and the strongest signal of professionalism.
Two Very Different “Requests for Further Information”
The phrase covers two situations that call for opposite responses. Read the applicant’s message carefully before you reply, because answering the wrong one creates problems.
1. A request to cure an incomplete application
Sometimes the applicant is not challenging a final decision at all — they simply left the application incomplete and want to finish it, or the denial was based on missing documents. In that case you should tell them exactly what is missing: identification, recent pay stubs or proof of income, employer or prior-landlord references, a completed authorization, or a cosigner. Give a clear deadline. Requesting the specific missing items is transparent, keeps qualified applicants in your pipeline, and is very different from disclosing your internal reasoning. Our free rental application lists the documents most landlords collect up front so applications arrive complete.
2. A request for the reasons behind a completed decision
More often, the applicant wants the internal reasons behind a decision you have already made: why you approved someone else, what your scoring thresholds are, who made the call, or why a particular factor was disqualifying. This is the request this letter is built to answer. You provide the legally required notices, state that your policy is not to share additional detail, and decline politely and consistently. The form below lets you check the specific, defensible reasons for declining.
How to Respond, Step by Step
Confirm what you already provided
If the denial relied on a consumer report, verify the adverse action notice (agency identity, dispute right, and free-report-within-60-days right) already went out. If it did not, send it now.
Identify what is really being asked
Separate an incomplete-application fix (name the missing documents) from a request for internal reasons, other applicants’ data, or scoring criteria (which you may decline).
Apply your written policy uniformly
Respond exactly as you respond to every denied applicant. Consistency is your best protection under the Fair Housing Act.
Generate the response letter
Fill in the parties, the dates, a short summary of the request, the reasons you are declining, and any FCRA or fair-housing reminders, then download the PDF.
Send and retain a copy
Deliver the letter, file a copy with the original application and adverse-action notice, and keep the record for at least three years.
Generate Your Response Letter
Complete the fields below to build a professional response declining to provide additional information beyond your legally required notices. The letter is generated entirely in your browser and downloaded as a PDF — nothing is uploaded or stored. Deliver it, keep a copy, and stay consistent with how you answer every applicant.
Purpose of this letter
This is a professional courtesy response, not a legal notice that must be served. It confirms you have met your legal notice obligations, states your reasons for declining a broader request, and reminds the applicant of any FCRA rights. It does not waive anything the applicant is owed under federal, state, or local law.
1. From (Landlord / Property Manager)
2. To (Applicant)
3. Nature of the Request
4. Reasons for Declining
5. Reminders to the Applicant
6. Signature
Valid vs. Invalid Reasons to Deny
A request for more information often follows a denial the applicant thinks is unfair. Knowing which reasons are lawful helps you keep your response short and confident. You may deny for legitimate, consistently applied, business reasons. You may never deny — or vary your explanation — based on a protected class.
Valid, business-based reasons
- Insufficient or unverifiable income against a stated income-to-rent ratio
- Poor credit history or a low score under a written, uniform threshold
- Prior evictions or unpaid rent judgments revealed by screening
- Relevant criminal history assessed individually, not by a blanket ban
- Falsified application information or misrepresented references
- An incomplete application or missing required documents
- Negative landlord references that you can document
- Policy violations such as exceeding occupancy limits or a no-smoking rule
Invalid reasons (Fair Housing Act)
You may never base a denial — or a different level of explanation — on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), familial status, or disability. Many states and cities add protected classes such as source of income, age, marital status, or military status. If any part of your reasoning touches a protected characteristic, the denial is unlawful no matter how it is phrased.
Conditional Approval Is Also an Adverse Action
Landlords sometimes assume the FCRA only applies to outright denials. It does not. If you approve an applicant but attach a condition because of information in a consumer report — a larger security deposit, a cosigner, a guarantor, or prepaid rent — that condition is itself an adverse action. The same adverse-action notice and the same applicant rights apply. If a conditionally approved applicant then asks why the condition was imposed, the analysis in this letter applies to them too: provide the required notices, then decline further internal detail consistently.
State and Local Laws That Require Written Reasons
Federal law sets the floor, but some jurisdictions require more. Certain states and cities require a landlord to provide a written statement of the specific reasons for a denial, particularly when the decision rests on a tenant-screening report or credit check. California, Seattle, and a number of other localities have enacted such requirements, and source-of-income and criminal-history ordinances continue to spread. Before you decline to explain a denial, confirm whether your state or municipality mandates a written reason — when it does, comply fully and specifically, because the duty to disclose overrides your general right to stay silent.
Professional Communication and Template Language
When you decline a broader request, keep the tone professional and respectful. Acknowledge the request, confirm you have provided everything the law requires, state your standard policy, and offer to correct factual errors in any screening report. Short, neutral language is safer than a detailed rebuttal.
Effective phrases include: “We have provided all information required by law regarding your application decision.” “Our policy is to not provide additional details beyond the adverse action notice you received.” “We cannot disclose information about other applicants or our internal decision-making processes.” And: “If you believe information in your consumer report is inaccurate, you have the right to dispute it directly with the reporting agency.” Each of these appears, in substance, in the generated letter.
When to provide more, not less
Occasionally openness serves everyone. If the applicant misunderstands the adverse action notice or their FCRA rights, clarify without adding new information. If there was a factual error — the wrong person’s report was pulled, or a clerical mistake occurred — correct it immediately and reconsider the application. If the denial rested on an easily fixable issue like a missing document, tell the applicant exactly what is needed. And where local law requires specific written reasons, provide them.
Documentation and Record-Keeping
Keep copies of every communication with a denied applicant: the initial adverse action notice, the applicant’s request for more information, your response, and any follow-up. This record shows that you responded professionally, followed a consistent policy, provided the required legal notices, and did not ignore a legitimate request. Retain the file for at least three years — longer in some states — to satisfy fair-housing record-retention expectations. If your decision is ever challenged, dated and consistent documentation is your strongest evidence.
When an Applicant Threatens Legal Action
If an applicant threatens to sue over the denial or your refusal to share more information, do not panic and do not change your approach. Continue following your standard procedure, refer the applicant to your attorney if the threats become serious, and document every communication carefully. Do not make new statements or provide information you previously declined to share — a sudden reversal can look like an admission. Most threats do not become lawsuits, especially when you have followed proper procedures, provided the required notices, and applied consistent criteria to everyone.
Bottom line
Provide everything the FCRA adverse action notice requires — the agency’s identity, the right to dispute, and the right to a free report within sixty days. Beyond that, you may decline to share internal reasoning, other applicants’ data, or proprietary criteria — but only if you decline the same way for every applicant. Keep it professional, apply your policy uniformly, and retain the records for at least three years.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a landlord have to answer a request for more information after a denial?
Not usually. Beyond the notices the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires when a denial is based on a consumer report, most landlords are not obligated to explain a decision in detail. You may decline to share internal scoring, other applicants’ information, or proprietary criteria — but you must apply that policy uniformly to every denied applicant.
What must an FCRA adverse action notice include?
When a denial is based in whole or in part on a consumer report, 15 U.S.C. 1681m requires four things: the name, address, and telephone number of the consumer reporting agency; a statement that the agency did not make the decision and cannot give the specific reasons; notice of the right to dispute the report’s accuracy; and notice of the right to a free copy of the report if requested within sixty days.
Do I have to give a reason for denying a rental application?
Under federal law you must provide the adverse action notice if a consumer report was used, but you generally do not have to explain a subjective decision beyond that. Some states and cities — California and Seattle among them — require a written statement of specific reasons, so check your local law. You may never deny for a protected-class reason under the Fair Housing Act.
What can I decline to share with a denied applicant?
You may decline to disclose information about other applicants, your internal decision-making or scoring, proprietary screening criteria, or subjective notes. Sharing another applicant’s information violates their privacy, and detailed subjective explanations can create litigation risk. Decline politely, briefly, and the same way every time.
What is the difference between declining information and an incomplete application?
They are two different requests. If the applicant is trying to cure an incomplete application, tell them exactly which documents are missing and give a deadline. If they want the internal reasons behind a completed decision, you may decline beyond the required notices. This letter handles the decline; an incomplete application usually just needs a short list of missing items.
Does a conditional approval require an adverse action notice?
Yes. Conditioning an approval on an extra deposit, a cosigner, or a guarantor because of information in a consumer report is itself an adverse action under the FCRA, so the same notice and the same applicant rights apply.
How long should I keep the denial and response records?
Keep the application, the adverse action notice, the applicant’s request, and your response together for at least three years, and longer where state law requires. Consistent, dated records are the strongest evidence that you followed a uniform, non-discriminatory policy.
What if the applicant threatens to sue?
Do not change your explanation or volunteer information you previously declined to share — that can look like an admission. Continue following your standard procedure, document every communication, and refer the matter to your attorney if the threat becomes serious. Most threats do not become lawsuits when proper procedures were followed and criteria were applied consistently.
Screen every applicant the same way, before you approve
Consistent decisions start with consistent screening. Tenant Screening Background Check has been verifying renters since 2004 — credit, eviction filings, criminal background, and employment — across all 50 states and DC.
Related Landlord & Screening Guides
Published by Tenant Screening Background Check
Established 2004 · 20+ Years · All U.S. States & Territories · Statute-Based · Attorney-Reviewed
A Private Eye Reports™ service trusted by landlords, property managers, and attorneys.
