---
title: "Check a tenant screening report against the Fair Credit Reporting Act"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/residential-tenancies/check-whether-a-tenancy-database-listing-is-allowed/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A57-QU20261022-1-US"
practice_area: "Residential Tenancies"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Check a tenant screening report against the Fair Credit Reporting Act

> List the report used, the decision it influenced, and whether the applicant was told. Do not decide that a listing is allowed.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/residential-tenancies/check-whether-a-tenancy-database-listing-is-allowed/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Residential Tenancies](https://ailawframework.com/practice/residential-tenancies.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | List the report used, the decision it influenced, and whether the applicant was told. Do not decide that a listing is allowed. |
| What the lawyer must review | The FTC's landlord guidance says a tenant background check is a consumer report. A landlord needs a permissible purpose, which includes an application or a renewal, must certify that the report will be used only for housing, and must give an adverse-action notice if the report played any part in a rejection, a higher deposit, a required co-signer, or another adverse action. The notice includes the agency's name, address, and phone, a statement that the agency did not make the decision, and the right to dispute the report and to a free copy if requested within 60 days. 15 U.S.C. § 1681m requires that notice orally, in writing, or electronically, and the same 60-day free-report right. Whether a tenancy database may list someone at all is state law. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Check whether a tenancy database listing is allowed](https://ailawframework.com/practice/residential-tenancies/check-whether-a-tenancy-database-listing-is-allowed.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: List the report used, the decision it influenced, and whether the applicant was told. Do not decide that a listing is allowed.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- There is no national residential-tenancies act. The Fair Credit Reporting Act governs use of the report. It does not set a national rule for when a listing may be made.
- If a credit score was used, § 1681m and the FTC page add score disclosures. Open that paragraph before you describe the notice.

## Sources

- [FTC: Using consumer reports: what landlords need to know](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/using-consumer-reports-what-landlords-need-know) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [15 U.S.C. § 1681m (requirements on users of consumer reports)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1681m) (checked 2026-10-22)

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*