Having an arrest, conviction, and incarceration on your record does not automatically disqualify applicants from certain housing program. Make sure you have written policies on screening procedures that all office members As of 2018, four jurisdictions Newark, New Jersey; San Francisco; Washington, DC; and Seattle have instituted Ban the Box laws regulating rental housing providers use of criminal records. WebNonrenewal due to criminal acts: HUD clearly states that their guidance applies to "cases in which a housing provider justifies an adverse housing action such as a refusal to rent To further avoid accusations of discrimination, HUD also suggests that landlords delay consideration of a criminal history until the very end of the application review, after considering all other application requirements (like employment, credit, and financial qualifications). Only site-based projects may take exception to the criminal background of program participants. Laws in these jurisdictions either prohibit questions about criminal history on rental applications or permit only an individualized approach the use of criminal history information later in the application process. has been a longstanding, intractable problem for people. These tools, however, have also been criticized for using historical outcome measures that are inherently biased because of discriminatory criminal justice practices. 4-7(C)(2)(a)]; Any household member is currently engaging in illegal drug use [HUD Handbook 4350.3, par. Decide who in your company will conduct these appeals, Williams suggested. Persons on a states sex offender registry are banned from some HUD programs, including Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher(HCV), Public Housing, and Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA). More and more housing providers and their management agents are recognizing the limitation of this approach and are assessing criminal histories alongside additional contextual information like the seriousness of the crime, whether arrest led to conviction, history of participating in preventive interventions and other rehabilitative programs, history of participating in behavioral health interventions, length of current employment, ties to social and community supports, civic and social engagement, and other protective factors. However, certain convictions can disqualify applicants. to Know About Apartment Background Checks 2002-2023 ApartmentSmart.com, Inc.Affordable Housing Online is not affiliated with any housing authority or apartment community, and does not manage any affordable housing programs. Privacy Policy | The new guidance should help eliminate disparate treatment and make the background screening process fairer and more effective. 0000001486 00000 n Well discuss the mandatory and optional criminal background screening requirements. Termination of Tenancyor eviction based on criminal justice. The rule requires you to screen out applicants with histories of illegal drug use or who are registered sex offenders. , The Equal Rights Center. %PDF-1.3 % Criminal history is not a good predictor of housing success. As you review your policies and make adjustments, be prepared to show that your policies are set to improve your communities and residents safety, and that the policy is substantial, legitimate, and has no discriminatory interest. 4-7(C)(2)(b)]; You determine that theres reasonable cause to believe that a household members illegal use or a pattern of illegal use of a drug may interfere with the health, safety, or right to peaceful enjoyment of the premises by other residents [HUD Handbook 4350.3, par. First, criminal background checks should only be used for a non-discriminatory business objective, and there cannot be an alternative to the background check that is less discriminatory. Does a refusal to rent to individuals with criminal convictions actually mean fewer criminal acts or property destruction in the properties being managed? The guidance does not prohibit consideration of conviction records but says that arbitrary and overbroad criminal history-related bans will likely be found to violate the FHA. 0000004995 00000 n In 2016, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a guidance memo to advise landlords on how to use a tenants criminal background information when evaluating them as a potential renter. As you review your policies and make adjustments, keep in the back of your mind the goal you have: to demonstrate that your policies are set to improve your sites and residents safety, and that the policy is substantial, legitimate, and has no discriminatory interests, Richer says. Understanding Risk Assessment Instruments in Criminal Justice, Brookings Institution; Aron Shlonsky and Dennis Wagner. We promise, Introduction To HUD Guidance On Criminal Background Checks, requires certain persons to submit a written request to receive a Consumer Report;, establishes a timeframe for the HUD Secretary to approve such request; and. establishes a timeframe for HUD to conduct background checks after approving such a request. WebThe request must include: A copy of a consent form signed by the proposed household member in accordance with Section 5.903; Admissions standards for drug related In addition, the FHA provides protections against discrimination in housing based on marital status and disability. Instead, the housing provider or their management agent might take into account the applicants 10 years of employment as a bus driver for the public transit Criminal background check requirements is a focus topic for the National Center on Subsidy Innovation and Accountability. Nearly 1 in 3 adults in the United States has a criminal arrest record that often serves as a barrier to housing, employment, and a range of social services. The breakout for violent rearrest only shows that 6.8 percent of those classified as low risk were rearrested compared with 12.5 percent of those classified as high risk. The courts typically consider such interests to be both substantial and legitimate, but the landlord must also be able to prove through that its policy based on criminal history actually assists in protecting tenant safety or property. 2014. q0c\q9T[4%y}YSfG\.fT Conviction. 304 S. Jones Blvd #1666, Las Vegas NV 89107 United States. Evaluating MTW Flexibility for Smaller PHAs: Baseline Report Tenant screening with criminal background checks is a form of risk assessment that has two primary components: an assessment of an applicants creditworthiness and an assessment of the applicants potential safety risk to other tenants and property. Specifically, you must deny admission to an applicant household if: Optional screening criteria. Tenant screening requires a landlord to balance between finding good customers who will be able to pay rent and respect the landlords property with avoiding illegal discrimination against applicants. Housing providers and their management agents rely on findings from recidivism studies that show rates of rearrests following release from jails and prisons to support their stance, even though recidivism may not be a good proxy for housing problems. There are a couple of exceptions. Explore featured publications and browse regulations, policy guidance, toolkits, and other resources. They do not have a validated assessment or screening tool. Convicted criminals possibly may be denied housing if the reason for their convictions clearly puts the safety of other tenants or the property at risk. The takeaway from this table is that predicting future criminal involvement is a complicated business. Webcriminal background screening, and sets out some best practices FHIP and FHAP staff can suggest to housing providers who may be concerned about potential liability relating to the use of criminal background screening information on applicants or tenants. Avail offers free, standardized rental applications that help you obtain the information you need to rent your property, along with screening reports (credit, criminal, and eviction) that can be purchased together or separately, depending on your screening needs and your local laws. Blanket standards disallowing anyone convicted of drug manufacture or distribution are allowed it is the one exception to HUDs rule. In the event a tenant claims a landlord has used discriminatory screening practices against them, the landlord must be able to prove they havent by demonstrating their standardized, consistent policy of screening that shows an absence of discrimination. Even when these screening practices are applied to all potential renters, housing providers and their management agents often have found discriminatory workarounds, including the following practices: Jurisdictions nationwide are realizing the harm discriminatory criminal justice practices have caused as well as the potential for repeated harm in tenant screening with criminal background checks. A provider may use results of the criminal background check to determine whether an individual qualifies for a housing unit. Disproportionate patterns of arrests in poor communities and communities of color mean that using criminal background checks to screen tenants disadvantages renters who are people of color. 0000002628 00000 n Validation of the Compas Risk Assessment Classification Instrument. The third step of the disparate-impact analysis comes into play if the landlord or property manager successfully proves that the criminal history policy is necessary to achieve its substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interest. These may include both felony and misdemeanor crimes as long as consideration has been given to the nature of the crime. The most important part of tenant screening is ensuring you have a fair and consistent screening process that you apply to each applicant. Criminal History Guidelines for Federal Housing Providers Before getting into the HUD guidelines, there are a few terms brokers should recognize and understand. Depending on what it says, you may need to make some changes right away. H|n0EYK)E $ ]@KF/G]i$sg&Yk i~gF(% zA OmLuaT5/F)dRX4$"&Qv;hP:=oMM}:H l+c\*d$4^X~0(',D1SHa54j~T],m ?K(KBd . The guidance cites a number of research studies and existing policies in order to provide a thorough explanation of the issue. The landlord or property manager should have predetermined consistent standards in each of these categories that are applied uniformly to all applicants. Risk Assessments: Prediction Is Not Causality. Pending case. Research tends to show that the likelihood that a person with a prior criminal conviction will commit another offense decreases over time. How Can I Get Housing With a Criminal Record? - Affordable WebAs a reminder, only in limited and specific cases of criminal activity do HUD statutes and regulations require denial of admission or termination of assistance (and in only two Use of Criminal Background Checks in Fair Housing The FCRA is the main compliance law for all screening providers (known as consumer reporting agencies), says Richer. I have yet to identify research on tenant screening that focuses on assessing the risk of harm to other tenants or the property itself. Following a Housing First approach means that ESG and CoC providers may request identification or information related to a potential program participant's criminal background history but can use this information only in determining the most appropriate housing placement and not to screen out an otherwise eligible individual or family. FOIA | For anything outside the exceptions, HUD suggests that landlords and property managers should consider the following factors when using criminal background checks for prospective tenants: Do not consider charges or arrests that did not result in conviction. =G|N-n+T44r"CnB*Cj$i5KXU L1b3}.).! PS&iN50N}oS8Z@Mei]-IVj|>'yqY+6`3kjlxIjutyet:O y16eu5l'l^8wy\Rk\y endstream endobj 778 0 obj 432 endobj 779 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 778 0 R >> stream Such a record does not indicate that the applicant actually engaged in any criminal activity. In so doing, a financially capable 35-year-old rental applicant who was arrested at age 22 for possession of marijuana would not be automatically excluded from rental consideration. 0000004973 00000 n Browse the library of grantee reports and plans, organized by program. 4-27(E)(6)]. Any criminal record that isnt pending would have some type of disposition. WebIf the criminal activity of a resident that occurred prior to admission ("pre-admission criminal activity") was not revealed at the application stage due to a failure of the The guidance goes on to explain that arrest records can be incomplete and do not actually indicate any criminal activity has occurred unless a conviction has been made. Landlords should have a standard set of screening policies in place that abide by both the Fair Housing laws and HUD guidelines, and they should use those policies each time they screen a tenant, regardless of the tenants background. And if your site has adopted optional screening criteria, well cover how to evaluate and possibly amend your criminal screening policy to avoid a successful challenge in a fair housing case based on its disparate impact on minority applicants. Criminal History Guidelines for Federal Housing Providers Federal housing providers are also instructed to look at the underlying conduct of the applicant, and what he or she has done since the conviction. For providers subject to a background check through BCU, see OAR 407-007-0250(10) for In the first step of the disparate-impact analysis, the challenger such as HUD or another party must prove that the landlords criminal history screening standard has a discriminatory effect and results in a disparate impact on a protected class. Under the guidance, if landlords or property managers refuse to rent to people who have been arrested or convicted, and this policy unintentionally ends up discriminating against a protected class, the policy is unlawful if it is not necessary to serve a substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interest of the housing provider, or if such interest could be served by another practice that has a less discriminatory effect. The guidance reaches this conclusion by applying the disparate-impact analysis recently upheld by the United State Supreme Court. Read this guide to learn about Housing and Arrests or Criminal Convictions Youll also want to consider if theres any less discriminatory practice that could achieve the same goal. (Section III). CoC and ESG Additional Requirements - Criminal History - HUD , Thomas Blomberg, William Bales, Karen Mann, Ryan Meldrum, and Joe Nedelec. Although few studies examine the association between criminal history and housing success, no empirical evidence exists to justify a blanket exclusion of people with criminal histories from housing. HUD guidance ensures that criminal background checks are conducted in a manner that:, accurately and fairly identifies all individuals who pose a risk to public safety; and, is consistent with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).. However, HUD encourages recipients or subrecipients to work with the individual or family presenting for assistance to identify another appropriate housing placement. ESG and CoC recipients are allowed flexibility in designing their programs, which means they have the discretion to establish their own policies regarding individuals with criminal histories and sex-offenders. The new guidelines encourage HUD staff to consider an applicants criminal history when deciding whether to approve or deny a housing assistance application. The ESG and CoC Program Interim Rules do not require recipients to disqualify individuals or families based on criminal history, including sex offenders. The report highlights tenants who have been impacted by poor living, More than 11,400 people registered for the Homelessness and Housing First webinar on June 12 hosted by NLIHC, the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH), and the Center on Budget and Policy, HUD Memo: Criminal Background Screenings May Violate Fair Housing Act, Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding, Representative Waters Reintroduces Bills to Combat Affordable Housing and Homelessness Crises, Recap of Homelessness and Housing First Webinar. HUD Programs with No Criminal Record Requirements. HUDs new guidance can ensure that criminal background checks do not unfairly discriminate against certain applicants. The events may be unrelated, but a pattern of crimes may show a propensity toward risky behaviors over a short period of time or within a recent period of time. This new high-wire balancing act should be undertaken with great care. Although nearly 30 percent of the sample was rearrested for any arrest, 18 percent of individuals classified as low risk were rearrested compared with 61 percent of individuals classified as high risk. Htn0 Cb@Py' lDrh/N 5/,e{8P& hmb| CnZ]ZdfQ[HR\J%RII4K1A{C;f&wa 0000005543 00000 n Remember the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). disability, familial status or national origin.1 HUDs Office of General Counsel issues this guidance concerning how the Fair Housing Act applies to the use of criminal This article came from theFebruary 2017-Vol47-3edition of the bulletin. We do not spam. For more details about this case, see Waging the War Against Discrimination, in the April 2016 Wisconsin Real Estate Magazine, at www.wra.org/WREM/Apr16/Discrimination. This will be determined on a case-by-case basis. WebFor anything outside the exceptions, HUD suggests that landlords and property managers should consider the following factors when using criminal background checks for 2018 Testing Program Report. This subpart applies to criminal conviction background checks by PHAs that administer the Section 8 and public housing There are currently no empirically validated tools predicting the risk of harm a rental applicant might present to other tenants and property available to housing providers and their property managers. Using data from a large county in southern Florida, researchers from Florida State University assessed the recidivism rates for nearly 6,000 people released from jail and awaiting trial. , International & Philanthropic Spotlight Archive, Designing for Natural Hazards Series Volumes 1 - 5 Applicants who show that they have met court requirements and continued rehabilitation efforts are more likely to get approval for housing assistance than those with a history of repeat offenses. Choosing not to serve people with a criminal record with CoC or ESG Program funds is not consistent with a Housing First approach. As an owner of an assisted site, HUD sets out specific grounds for denying admission to applicants based on certain drug-related and other criminal activity. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released new guidance to help public housing agencies (PHAs) and their designated housing agencies (DHAs) implement fair housing laws, prohibit discrimination on the basis of criminal history during the assessment of individuals applying for housing, and provide guidance on how to best exclude individuals with criminal convictions. Other criminal activity that would threaten other residentsor site employees, contractors, or agentshealth or safety or their right to peaceful enjoyment of the premises [HUD Handbook 4350.3, par. This section includes information about Admissionsor the. Housing Access for People with Criminal Records While a record of conviction as opposed to an arrest will serve as sufficient evidence to prove that an individual engaged in criminal conduct, the guidance emphasizes to landlords that blanket bans are most likely illegal. One risk assessment tool widely used within the criminal and juvenile justice system highlights this point. Survey of State Criminal History Information Systems, 2012: A Criminal Justice Information Policy Report. All rights reserved. Despite an extensive behavioral and social science literature on risk assessment and screening principles and practices, stakeholder confusion about how accurately these tools estimate the risk of future harm leads to their misuse and has nontrivial impacts on decisionmaking. HUDs guidelines suggest that landlords evaluate each tenant with a criminal background on a case-by-case basis, and state that blanket discrimination policies against any tenant with a criminal record could violate the Fair Housing Act. If you havent done so already, you should pull out your tenant selection criteria and take a close look at the evaluation standards for applicants with criminal records. 0000001625 00000 n HUD guidance ensures that criminal background checks are conducted in a manner that: accurately and fairly identifies all individuals who pose a risk to public Regardless of your criteria, you must consider your choices disparate impact on minority applicants. As described above, more and more housing providers and their management are recognizing the limitation of that approach and are taking into account contextual and other social factors that have empirically been shown to reduce criminal involvement. Criminal history data typically are used in risk assessment and screening tools across criminal and juvenile justice settings, but they have not been studied as a predictor of housing retention. The guidance also states that screening standards based on prior arrests are unlawful because arrest records do not prove past unlawful conduct and thus are an unreliable measure of an applicants potential risk to neighbors or property. Background Check Disqualifiers for Federal Employment Objective and consistent standards will be challenging at best when HUD essentially recommends an individualized assessment when it comes to an applicants criminal history. BU0pRf XOQL@b ?3[ /8008&00|ehkZy^m^]WBBV'uV)a]H}f`N) kD@ ] endstream endobj 800 0 obj 462 endobj 765 0 obj << /Type /Page /Parent 759 0 R /Resources << /ColorSpace << /CS2 773 0 R /CS3 772 0 R >> /ExtGState << /GS2 792 0 R /GS3 794 0 R >> /Font << /TT4 770 0 R /TT5 766 0 R /TT6 771 0 R /TT7 781 0 R >> /ProcSet [ /PDF /Text ] >> /Contents [ 775 0 R 777 0 R 779 0 R 783 0 R 785 0 R 787 0 R 789 0 R 791 0 R ] /MediaBox [ 0 0 612 792 ] /CropBox [ 0 0 612 792 ] /Rotate 0 /StructParents 0 >> endobj 766 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /TrueType /FirstChar 32 /LastChar 167 /Widths [ 250 0 0 0 0 0 778 0 333 333 0 0 250 333 250 278 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 278 278 0 0 0 444 0 722 667 667 722 0 556 0 722 333 389 0 0 889 722 722 556 722 667 556 611 722 0 944 0 722 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 444 500 444 500 444 333 500 500 278 278 500 278 778 500 500 500 500 333 389 278 500 500 722 500 500 444 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 333 444 444 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 500 ] /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding /BaseFont /IEHFHH+TimesNewRoman /FontDescriptor 768 0 R >> endobj 767 0 obj << /Type /FontDescriptor /Ascent 891 /CapHeight 0 /Descent -216 /Flags 98 /FontBBox [ -498 -307 1120 1023 ] /FontName /IEHFOL+TimesNewRoman,Italic /ItalicAngle -15 /StemV 0 /FontFile2 797 0 R >> endobj 768 0 obj << /Type /FontDescriptor /Ascent 891 /CapHeight 656 /Descent -216 /Flags 34 /FontBBox [ -568 -307 2028 1007 ] /FontName /IEHFHH+TimesNewRoman /ItalicAngle 0 /StemV 94 /XHeight 0 /FontFile2 795 0 R >> endobj 769 0 obj << /Type /FontDescriptor /Ascent 891 /CapHeight 656 /Descent -216 /Flags 34 /FontBBox [ -558 -307 2034 1026 ] /FontName /IEHFMH+TimesNewRoman,Bold /ItalicAngle 0 /StemV 160 /XHeight 0 /FontFile2 793 0 R >> endobj 770 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /TrueType /FirstChar 32 /LastChar 148 /Widths [ 250 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 333 333 0 0 250 333 250 0 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 333 0 0 0 0 0 0 722 667 722 722 667 611 778 778 389 500 0 0 944 722 778 611 778 722 556 667 722 0 1000 0 722 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 500 556 444 556 444 333 500 556 278 333 556 278 833 556 500 556 556 444 389 333 556 500 722 500 500 444 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 333 500 500 ] /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding /BaseFont /IEHFMH+TimesNewRoman,Bold /FontDescriptor 769 0 R >> endobj 771 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /TrueType /FirstChar 32 /LastChar 121 /Widths [ 250 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 333 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 722 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 500 0 0 0 444 0 0 0 278 0 0 0 722 500 500 0 500 389 389 278 500 0 0 0 444 ] /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding /BaseFont /IEHFOL+TimesNewRoman,Italic /FontDescriptor 767 0 R >> endobj 772 0 obj /DeviceGray endobj 773 0 obj [ /ICCBased 796 0 R ] endobj 774 0 obj 446 endobj 775 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 774 0 R >> stream