New Yorkers face a severe housing crunch, with just 37 affordable homes for every 100 low-income renters. Not surprisingly, COVID-19 has only magnified this crisis and heightened the need for ample housing. More than 700,000 households in New York are currently behind on rent, according to National Equity Atlas, with just the Emergency Rental Assistance Program and our temporary statewide eviction ban keeping them from losing their homes.
Securing a home is especially challenging for any person who’s been impacted by the criminal legal system, no matter the offense. The widespread use of background checks by housing gatekeepers like realtors and landlords has been shown to make accessing a home that much harder.
The answer is to pass the City Council’s proposed Fair Chance for Housing Act, and to do it soon. This bill would protect people with conviction records — and their families — from housing discrimination in rentals, leases, subleases and occupancy agreements, by prohibiting landlords and real estate brokers from conducting background checks or asking about conviction records. As a leader of a national nonprofit that exists to make a good home possible for the millions of families without one, I applaud the Council and Councilman Stephen Levin, in particular, for their leadership in drafting this legislation.
Any conviction record creates steep impediments to obtaining housing. Nearly 90% of landlords require a background check or disclosure as part of their housing applications, a discouraging indicator for formally incarcerated people that their application will likely be denied. But private background checks and tenant screening businesses are largely unregulated and often inaccurate. Further, having a record — which a background check may flag — doesn’t mean that person was actually convicted. Following these checks, people with records may then be disqualified from applying to certain housing developments altogether or face more complex screening requirements. And even when they can submit an application, they may still face discrimination from landlords.
Involvement with the criminal legal system is not a niche experience. Nationally, approximately 30% of adults have arrest and conviction records. In New York City alone, nearly 750,000 people, or 9% of the population, have a conviction — meaning systemic bias in housing affects huge numbers of people. Such discrimination also falls along racial lines: People of color, particularly Black people, are overrepresented in our prisons and jails thanks largely to disparities in policing practices and legal processes. Of Black men in their thirties, about one out of every 12 is in prison or jail on any given day. And in New York City, almost 80% of people with conviction records are Black or Hispanic.
Denying stable housing to people based on their past records causes far-reaching harm. Nearly half of all children in the United States — about 33 million young people — have at least one parent with a criminal record. That means this type of housing discrimination affects whole families and perpetuates homelessness and housing instability across generations.
Housing is also a public health issue. Without a home, it is much harder to maintain physical and mental health — often resulting in costly public interventions via the health-care and shelter systems. As New York City recovers from the pandemic, centering housing access and stability will help mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmission and disease.
It’s a common misconception that background checks ensure tenant safety. But no studies have shown a direct causation effect between a criminal track record and an associated risk to the safety of others in the same building. In addition, several other cities have passed similar laws banning the use of some or all conviction records, including Seattle; Richmond, Calif.; and Urbana, Ill. As yet, there is no evidence that these laws have led to increases in crime or building problems.
What’s more, housing actually helps to reduce criminal behavior and is crucial for successful reentry. Research shows that formerly incarcerated people with access to stable housing are less likely to commit a crime. In a pilot program in Ohio, giving supportive housing, upon reentry, to formerly incarcerated people with disabilities led to a 40% drop in recidivism. A similar program in Los Angeles showed improved housing stability and reduced criminal justice involvement for the participants.
Passing the Fair Chance for Housing Act is crucial to increase real housing options for many New Yorkers and their families. And it should be just the first step in reducing housing discrimination. We must ensure that housing providers and brokers have the necessary education and resources to implement this policy change and combat internalized bias.
New York City must pass the Fair Chance for Housing Act. If and when it does, the city will create a model for other cities to ensure fairer housing access and redress the harm caused by mass incarceration.
Halm is vice president and New York market leader of Enterprise Community Partners.
