Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.), as applied to tenant screening, requires a landlord obtaining a consumer report (credit, criminal, or eviction-history report) to have a permissible purpose and certify that purpose to the consumer reporting agency (§ 1681b). When a landlord takes an adverse action against an applicant based even in part on a consumer report — such as denying the application or offering less favorable lease terms — it must provide an adverse action notice giving the reporting agency's name, address, and phone number, stating that the agency did not make the decision and cannot explain it, and informing the applicant of the right to a free copy of the report within 60 days and to dispute inaccuracies (§ 1681m(a)). If a credit score was used, the numerical score and the key factors affecting it must also be disclosed (§ 1681m(a)(2)).