A landlord may not reject a prospective tenant for discriminatory reasons. The Federal Fair Housing Act prohibits a landlord from denying an applicant because of race or color, national origin, familial status, disability, or sex. A landlord may base a decision on the following factors: credit history, employment history, and income.

If a landlord decides to reject an applicant because of information in a credit report, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires the landlord to provide the applicant with the name and address of the credit reporting agency. A landlord should keep written documentation of the reason a prospective tenant was rejected and the screening process used should be applied consistently to each applicant.

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