A Rental Application Rejection Letter is a professional and polite document to send to potential tenants to inform them that you decline their application to lease.
Landlords or property managers send this letter with the reason or reasons why they do not accept the applicant as a renter.
The most frequent cause of rejections is an unfavorable consumer report. The denied applicant can formally request a copy of the report by submitting a written request to Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion within 60 days.
What Is a Rental Application Rejection Letter?
A rental application rejection letter is a document that explains why you reject the applicant as a future renter. This document protects the landlord or property manager against allegations of unfair denials.
The letter should include all the details about why the prospective tenant is rejected.
Some of the most common reasons include the following:
- Inadequate gross income. A good rule is that the prospective tenant’s income should be three times the rent.
- Inaccurate or incomplete application. This may have been a mistake by the applicant, but if a landlord cannot resolve it with a follow-up or if the application is fraudulent, property owners can send a tenant rejection letter.
- Poor credit history. This is one of the most common reasons for a rejection letter. Under federal law, applicants have a right to receive copies of the credit report and to dispute the accuracy or completeness of information in the report.
- Miscellaneous reasons. The landlord may have other reasons to reject an applicant, such as a history of previous evictions or negative references. As long as they are not invalid, you may include them in your rejection letter as reasons for the denial.
How to Reject a Tenant’s Rental Application
The question of how to deny a renter’s application is always a touchy one for landlords.
Your rejection letter should be courteous and informative and contain the reasons for the rejection. It should also be apologetic but firm. It will include the date, the property address, the reasons for the rejection, any supporting documents (for instance, a copy of their credit report), and a polite apology.
You should send the letter promptly. The prospective tenant is on a schedule and wants your answer as soon as possible. They will appreciate a response, even if it is negative.
What’s in a Rejection Letter?
You may want to tailor the rejection to your specific case, but a standard letter contains the most common reasons for rejecting a tenant application.
For example, you can check two boxes if the applicant lacked sufficient income and had a negative credit report.
A rental application rejection letter should be part of every landlord’s rental inventory of legal real estate documents.IMPORTANT
If a negative consumer report contributed to the rejection, the rejection letter should address the relevant details:
- Consumer Reporting Agency Identification: The name, address, and contact number of the Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA) responsible for supplying the report.
- Decision Attribution Clarification: A statement emphasizing that the CRA, which furnished the report, was not responsible for making the unfavorable decision.
- Dispute Rights Notification: Explicitly communicate the individual’s right to dispute the accuracy or completeness of any information supplied by the CRA, highlighting their right to request a free report from the CRA within a 60-day timeframe.
Some state laws also require landlords and property managers to provide rejected tenants with a copy of their credit reports or credit scores.
A good tenant denial letter links the applicant to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) if they need further information on why the landlord rejected their application.
How to Write a Lease Application Rejection Letter
Step 1 – Enter Sender’s Information
Provide the sender’s full name, current address, landlord, or rental property management company.
Step 2 – Fill Out the Date
Write the date of the application rejection letter.
Step 3 – Enter the Recipient’s Information
Provide the full name and current address of the recipient, the applicant.
Step 4 – Enter the Property Address
Provide the complete street address of the rental property.
Step 5 – Provide a Reason
Select the reason(s) the landlord or manager denied the rental application or enter any other reasons not already provided.
Step 6 – Enter the Landlord’s Contact Information.
Provide the landlord’s phone number and email address.
Step 7 – Sign the Letter
The landlord needs to sign the rejection letter.
Rental Application Rejection Letter Sample
