Adverse Action Letters: What MHP Operators Have to Send and When

If you deny an applicant — or even approve them with worse terms — based on a consumer report, the Fair Credit Reporting Act says you have to send an adverse-action letter. Most operators know this; many don't have a workflow that actually does it consistently. This is the rules in plain English plus a template that holds up to a CFPB review.

When the letter is required

FCRA's adverse-action trigger is: you took an action unfavorable to the applicant, AND you used information from a consumer report to make the decision. Outright denial is the obvious case. Less obvious: requiring a higher deposit, requiring a co-signer, or charging a higher rent than your published rate, all based on credit information.

If the action wasn't influenced by the report — say, the applicant simply withdrew, or you denied for income alone with no credit pull — no letter is required. But if the credit pull contributed to the decision in any way, send the letter.

What the letter must contain

The letter has five required components, all in writing.

• Statement of action taken
  Plainly state the adverse action — denial, increased deposit, conditional approval, etc.
• Name and contact info of the consumer reporting agency
  Whichever agency supplied the report. Include their toll-free number and address.
• A statement that the agency did not make the decision
  Required exact language: the agency only supplied data; the operator made the decision.
• Notice of the applicant's rights
  Right to a free copy of the report from the agency within 60 days, and the right to dispute inaccurate information.
• Score disclosure (if score was used)
  If a credit score factored into the decision, disclose the score, the score range, the date, and the top four factors.

Timing — 30 days from denial

FCRA gives you 30 days from the adverse decision to mail the letter. Most operators we see use 7–14 days as their internal target so they have a buffer if mail volume is high. Build the trigger into your screening workflow: when an application is marked denied, the letter generates and goes out within 7 days, automatically.

Template language that works

Below is the language we'd reuse. Drop your park name, your screening agency's contact info, and the applicant's address into a mail-merge field, and you have a compliant letter every time.

Dear [Applicant], We are unable to offer you tenancy at [Park Name] under the terms originally requested. This decision was based in whole or in part on information obtained from [Agency Name, Address, Phone]. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you have the right to obtain a free copy of your report from [Agency] within 60 days, and to dispute any inaccurate information. The reporting agency did not make the decision; we did. If a credit score was used in this decision, your score was [Score] from a range of [Range] on [Date]. The principal factors affecting your score were [Top 4 Factors]. Sincerely, [Park Name Management].