California Civil Code Section 1785.20 requires that any time a landlord or a property management firm takes an "adverse action" with respect to any consumer, and the adverse action is based, in whole or in part, on any information contained in a consumer credit report, that landlord or property manager shall immediately provide the applicant with the following:
- A notice of the adverse impact;
- The name, address and phone number of the reporting agency;
- A statement that the owner's decision to reject the application was based In whole or in part upon information contained in a consumer credit report; and
- A statement that says the consumer has a right to obtain, within 60 days, a free copy of the consumer's credit report from any reporting agency, and that the applicant has a right to dispute the accuracy or completeness of information in the credit report.
The Notice to Tenant Regarding Tenant Disapproval containing each of the above elements should be sent to the prospective tenant immediately.
The law also requires that all credit applications and credit rejection notices be retained for a period of 24 months.