NEW YORK, N.Y. — Last week the Vera Institute of Justice praised the Maryland General Assembly for the passage of the Fair Chance Act.

The Fair Chance Housing Law “makes it illegal for most NYC housing providers to discriminate against renters and buyers — including in co-ops and condos — because of arrest records, convictions, or other criminal history,” according to the NYC Commission on Human Rights.

The act “creates a more equitable rental housing landscape by setting guidelines for housing providers (landlords) when considering an applicant’s conviction history during the rental screening process,” the Vera Institute of Justice stated.

Previously, the National Law Review said the protected classes for New York City residents included disability, age, citizenship status, color, creed, familial status, gender, lawful occupation, lawful source of income, marital status, national origin, partnership status, race, religion, sexual orientation, and status as a veteran or victim of domestic violence.

For many years, the National Law Review said the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, as well as other agencies, argued for integrating criminal background status into protections under the New York City Human Rights Law.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, the Fair Chance for Housing Act went into effect. Housing providers can no longer “make statements about criminal background checks or criminal records or express limitations on this basis in ads and applications” or “treat applications or tenants differently or change the terms of a sale or lease because of criminal history,” the NYC Commission on Human Rights said.

The NYC Commission on Human Rights said housing providers will only be able to use criminal background checks after reviewing tenant or buyer eligibility and making a conditional offer.

“Nearly 750,000 people in NYC have a conviction record, almost 11 percent of the adult population,” Brick Underground reported. “Many renters find themselves shut out of the housing market after serving sentences.”

Council Member Keith Powers of Manhattan said, “There’s a continuation to deny housing to people with a record, no matter what, or how long ago, or how minor, or what that offense was. And the result is tens of thousands of New Yorkers are locked into an endless, revolving door of homelessness, incarceration and housing instability,” CBS News reported.

Various New Yorkers such as Hilton N. Webb Jr., as reported by Brick Underground, and Vilma Ortiz Donovan, as reported by CBS News, have shared stories of struggling to find a permanent home after turning their lives around following incarceration.

“Once you have done your time you are supposed to be restored to society,” Webb said.

Diane Johnston, an attorney for the Legal Action Center, said, “NYC is one of the most difficult markets to find housing. People who have a conviction in their history have yet another barrier. A criminal history means someone is 10 times more likely to become homeless.”

New York now joins New Jersey in “having the strongest statewide protections against housing discrimination for people who have formerly been incarcerated,” said John Bae, director of the Opening Doors to Housing Initiative. “We applaud Maryland’s legislators for recognizing that people with a conviction history should not face a lifetime of discrimination when it comes to something as fundamental as a place to live.”

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Categories: Breaking News Everyday Injustice Tags: Civil Rights Fair Chance Housing Act Housing Discrimination New York City Reentry Vera Institute