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Email the landlord or agent: "Was my application declined based in whole or in part on a consumer report? If so, please identify the reporting company, as required under the Fair Credit Reporting Act." Keep it polite and keep the reply — then you can request your free report copy — the real answer is in there.
If a report influenced the denial, silence is not allowed: federal law requires the landlord to tell you an adverse action was based on a consumer report and to identify the company that supplied it. Many denials skip this step — which means many renters never learn a fixable error existed.
You applied, were rejected (or asked for a bigger deposit or co-signer — that counts as adverse action too), and got no notice naming a screening company.
To get your free report — send to the screening company named in your denial letter (use the contact route on its official site or in the letter itself):
I was denied [housing / employment / a bank account] on [date] based on a consumer report you supplied. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act I request my free copy of that report. My name: [full name]. Address: [address]. Date of birth: [DOB]. Please send it to the address above.
To dispute an error — send with copies (never originals) of your evidence:
I dispute the following item in my file: [describe the entry exactly as it appears]. It is inaccurate because [not mine / paid on date / dismissed by the court / wrong amount]. Enclosed: [list documents]. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, please investigate and correct or delete this item, and send me the result in writing.
Keep a copy of everything you send, and send by a method you can prove (certified mail or the company's own dispute portal).
Full plain-English walkthrough on our home page.
Complain to the CFPB and your state attorney general — both accept adverse-action complaints, both are free. And apply elsewhere with the knowledge that a hidden report may exist: you can request files from the major tenant-screening companies directly.
Landlords have latitude, but fair-housing law limits discriminatory reasons, and using a report without the required notice is a legal failure regardless of the reason.
Disputes fix errors. They don't erase history that's true — accurate records survive investigation. If the record is real, what helps is settling and documenting it, second-chance programs, and time. We built this site for honest people hit by wrong records.
Companies most often behind this situation: saferent · realpage · rentgrow · appfolio. Based on FCRA consumer rights as explained in FTC and CFPB guidance, checked August 2026. General information, not legal advice. Free official complaint route: consumerfinance.gov.