home seekers. (334) 269-1803 The court held that a disparate impact had been proven. Blanket terms in your screening criteria that say “Any criminal convictions will be denied” are now considered discriminatory and in violation of the Fair Housing Act. Is a landlord being totally unreasonable to think that a felony conviction says something relevant about what kind of tenant that person might be? The City would be required to prove that a refusal to rent to anyone with a felony record would have a “significant adverse impact” on members of Group X. Yes, the Fair Chance Act applies to all criminal convictions, no matter where they occurred. The Human Relations Department of Kansas City, Missouri, is apparently of the opinion that a blanket prohibition on renting to a felon is a violation of Fair Housing but a restriction limited to a specific time frame would not be a violation. A felony conviction results from choices made by that individual. At the present time, HUD has not taken the position that a blanket prohibition against felons violates the Fair Housing Act. We discriminate against various people regularly and legally. By the time of the revitalization plan, only 220 of the public housing units remained occupied. 301.001. This is the question of disparate impact. Published by ezLandlordForms on September 15, 2011September 15, 2011. Restrictions After a Felony Conviction Fair Housing Act There is 1 felony restriction with this tag. You no longer need to be in the same location as your rental. L. § 296(16) that are incorporated by reference in New York City Human Rights Law § 8-107(11), and take effect … The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion and other categories. Some courts have stated, "the relevant question is whether a policy, procedure, or practice specifically identified by the plaintiff has a significantly greater discriminatory impact on members of a protected class." In a letter dated June 17, 2011, Sandra B. Henriquez, Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing, discourages such a prohibition but does not state that it constitutes a violation of law. The plaintiff must demonstrate that the challenged action or policy “results in, or can be predicted to result in, a disparate impact upon protected classes compared to a relevant population.” The burden then shifts to the defendant to show a legitimate non-discriminatory policy objective. The owners of the property decided to make it an all adult property and began to evict all the families with children. . Not all discrimination is illegal. According to HUD, some minority communities have a higher percentage of members convicted of a felony, and that makes blanket policies against all felons discriminatory under the Fair Housing Act. The last two categories were added when the Act was amended in 1988.). They also need to know what measures to take to evict a tenant. A housing provider uses the person’s criminal history to deny housing as a means to discriminate on another basis, such as the person’s sexual orientation, disability or national origin. by Robert Gomez. The reality is that having quality tenants is perhaps the most important factor for long-term profitability and, of course, it makes Read more…, More than 4,000,000 children sustain accidental injuries at home annually and 2,300 of them die from these injuries according to a report by A Secure Life. Darst Webbe Tenant Association v. St. Louis Housing Authority involved a plan to demolish a property of low income, public housing rental units to be replaced by a mix of housing which included low income, public housing, low income tax credit units, and market-rate rental units. A housing provider automatically discards any applications where the potential renter has checked the box inquiring if they have ever been convicted of a felony. The plaintiff alleged a disparate impact on those tribes. If the defendant is able to show such justification, the burden shifts back to the plaintiff to show that another policy would accomplish the defendant's goals without the discriminatory effect. There has never been a US Supreme Court case which says the Fair Housing Act is violated by a practice which has a disparate impact. Many courts have considered the issue of disparate impact. The court set forth the standard for deciding disparate impact cases. Or else face the consequences. For the sake of argument, let us assume that the City has shown such an impact. The plaintiff therefore, alleged a discriminatory impact on race, sex, and familial status. Guidance on Application of Fair Housing Act Standards to the Use of Criminal Records, http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hud-seeks-end-housing-discrimination-against-ex-offenders-n550471, New Mexico Lawmakers Advance Bill to End Qualified Immunity for Abusive Police, EJI Partners with Community to Memorialize Lynching Victims in Forsyth County, Georgia, Stabbing Death at St. Clair Is 14th Alabama Prison Homicide in Past Year, Alabama’s Denial of Religious Support to Condemned Man Leads to Stay of Execution, 122 Commerce Street Montgomery, AL 36104 Federal law still allows landlords to deny housing to anyone convicted of drug manufacturing or distribution, even though the War on Drugs resulted in grossly disproportionate arrest, conviction, and sentencing rates of African Americans for drug offenses. One of the reasons that the plaintiff failed in this case, was that it failed to offer any alternative policy which would meet the defendant's needs as effectively. It has been proven that the person, on a least one occasion has shown disregard for the life, safety, or property of another person or has otherwise disregarded the rules of society. As with most disparate impact cases, the evidence was largely statistical. Therefore, you normally will be denied housing if a crime you committed in the past is considered a possible risk to tenants living in a complex. Can Felons Secure Section 8 and Other Public Housing Slot? Texas Fair Housing Act: Sale or Rental. No such protection is presently afforded to anyone by the Fair Housing Act. If the court accepts such a justification, the City then has the burden of showing how the same goals can be achieved with less discriminatory results. That said, the following criminal records ruins your chances of benefiting from federal housing: Drug trafficking; Sex crimes Such discrimination is legal and based on a legitimate business purpose. Illegal discrimination occurs if we make a choice based on a person’s membership in a protected class. This can potentially leave landlords liable to lawsuits from Read more…, The great thing about ezLandlordForms and other technological tools is that so many tasks can be done long-distance. We reject applicants who have a previous history of evictions or nonpayment of rent. A personals criminal background is not included. No one is born with a felony conviction. When we think of discrimination we usually think in terms of intentional acts which exclude members of certain groups from employment, housing, or other opportunities. Robert J. However, the majority of the federal Courts of Appeals, including those in Missouri and Kansas have upheld the disparate impact doctrine. Finding felon friendly apartments or housing for rent can be an exceedingly difficult task, much more so nowadays than it has been in the past. How might such a Fair Housing suit actually progress? What if you implement a policy which is neutral on its face and has no discriminatory intent but has a discriminatory effect when actually put into practice? At the present time, the city of Kansas City, Missouri, has filed fair housing complaints against properties which have a general prohibition against renting to anyone with a felony record. Seattle’s Fair Chance Housing Ordinance prevents landlords from checking prospective tenant’s criminal histories. These ordinances would make felons a protected category like the now existing seven categories. The courts decided that the civil rights laws imply a disparate impact rule in order to enforce the goals of equal opportunity. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has put landlords and other housing providers on notice that a policy of denying housing to anyone with a prior arrest or any kind of criminal conviction would violate the Fair Housing Act. How are we doing? You will not gain any information on disparate impact by reading the Fair Housing Act. According to the US Fair Housing Act, again, felony convictions are not listed as a protected class. The same cannot be said regarding felons. Wise has been practicing housing law in the Kansas City metropolitan area since 1975. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. How Can You Manage Your Rental From A Distance. The disparate impact doctrine is a creature of court decisions. The Fair Housing Act prohibits racial discrimination in the sale, rental, or financing of homes. This chapter may be cited as the Texas Fair Housing Act. You – felons – may still be eligible for Section 8 Voucher or related public housing schemes, depending on the actual crime committed. discriminatory impact.” In the Darst-Webbe case, the plaintiff failed to offer any viable alternative. On April 4 th, HUD released a statement entitled “Guidance on Application of Fair Housing Standards to the Use of Criminal Records by Providers of Housing and Real Estate Related Transactions” that immediately set the landlording world abuzz with the news that we could no longer “discriminate” against felons. Time is Money: Appreciating the Costs of Vacancies, Passing on the Costs of Rental Improvements, 5 Things You Can Do to Make Property Management Easier. [email protected]. There is another obvious distinction between the present protected classes and felons. These protected classes include, under the federal Fair Housing Act, race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, and families with children. If the plaintiff shows such an impact, the burden then shifts to the defendant to show justification for its policy. 63 (2015) Revised 5/24/2019 Note: This guidance has been updated to reflect amendments to N.Y. Exec. Chat Now! He is presently the executive director of Mid-America Crime Free, Inc. and a partner in the law firm of Wise & Anderson, LLC. Fair Chance Act: Legal Enforcement Guidance NYC Commission on Human Rights Legal Enforcement Guidance on the Fair Chance Act, Local Law No. Then, you can write (and date) your personal guidelines for evaluating rental applications from felons. No such protection is presently afforded to anyone by the Fair Housing Act. Do the protections of the Fair Chance Act apply when a person has convictions from outside New York, particularly if the conviction is not a crime in New York? The residents were mostly African-Americans and/or female-headed households with children. The property owner would then offer its justification that, regardless of its effect on any group, it is reasonable to exclude felons for the sake of safety and crime prevention. Sources: Quotes not otherwise attributed are from “Housing Discrimination: Law & Litigation,” by Robert G. Schwemm. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account. The Federal Fair Housing Act does not specifically protect those with criminal records from discrimination in housing-related activities. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has put landlords and other housing providers on notice that a policy of denying housing to anyone with a prior arrest or any kind of criminal conviction would violate the Fair Housing Act. No one is born with a felony conviction. While having a criminal record is not a protected characteristic under the Fair Housing Act, criminal history-based restrictions on housing opportunities violate the Act if, without justification, their burden falls more often on renters or other housing market participants . When looking at the present categories which are protected by the Fair Housing Act, it is apparent that felons are not similar to those which are presently protected. When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. Finding the right tenant is one of the most important jobs of a landlord. Let’s refer to that protected group as Group X. The Eighth Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, in which Missouri is located, has recently dealt with two disparate impact housing cases. A felony conviction results from choices made by that individual. Henriquez states that the Obama administration “believes in the importance of second chances – that people who have paid their debt to society deserve the opportunity to become productive citizens . For formerly incarcerated people and their families, access to safe, secure, and affordable housing is critical, but they face significant barriers to finding a home because of their criminal history. If the property in question had any significant number of Group X residents, as compared with the local population, the City might not prove its case. Landlords will have to prove that they had a good reason to exclude an applicant based on criminal history, and HUD has made clear that “[b]ald assertions based on generalizations or stereotypes that any individual with an arrest or conviction record poses a greater risk than any individual without such a record are not sufficient to satisfy this burden.”. That is, not necessarily that felons can’t find housing, but that members of the protected Group X can’t find housing. The City’s position thus far has been that the property owner should put some time limit on the use of felony convictions rather than a blanket prohibition – but would that solve the disparate impact problem? 4. The Fair Housing Act prohibits both intentional housing discrimination and housing practices that have an unjustified discriminatory effect because of race, national origin, or other protected characteristics. Even those who were arrested but not convicted often are barred from housing based on the past arrest. People with criminal pasts are not a protected class under the Fair Housing Act and the administration insists that in some cases it might be legal and … Would love your thoughts, please comment. The U.S. Department of Housing has just determined that refusing to rent to a convicted felon may be a violation of the Fair Housing Act, and National Public Radio seems to approve.. A policy refusing to rent or sell homes to people who have criminal records is illegal discrimination, HUD announced last week, because African Americans and Hispanics are disproportionately arrested, convicted, and incarcerated. This is primarily due to the fact that the US Supreme Court did uphold disparate impact in employment law in the case of Griggs v. Duke Power Company (1971). It is a University of Minnesota study that says if you commit a crime, and you do not commit another crime for seven years, then your risk is the same as someone who has never committed a crime before.“They are hanging their hat on this study, saying, ‘How can you withho… It’s a smart idea to determine how you feel about renting to felons before anyone with a felony record applies. Thus, denying a felon who is a registered sex offender would not constitute a violation of the Fair Housing Act. This case involved a complicated dealing with the funding of housing for Indian tribes in South Dakota. .” Her letter to Public Housing directors points out that the only “explicit bans on occupancy based on criminal activity” (in Public Housing) is for persons involved in methamphetamine production on federally assisted housing property and registered sex offenders. If the statistics were basically the same for any given period of time, then the same impact on Group X would exist regardless of the policy in place. First, the plaintiff must "show a facially neutral policy has a significant adverse impact on members of a protected minority group." Several cities across the country have enacted restrictions on rental property owners regarding the general exclusion of felons. The same cannot be said regarding felons. Instead, there are a number of things you can do in order to improve your chances of gaining affordable housing … No one is born with a felony conviction. Suppose the City argues that a property owner should only look at crimes committed in the last ten years. Landlords in Virginia are required to follow the anti-discrimination statutes that have been put in place by the US Fair Housing Act. Although statistics are important in determining whether there is a disparate impact on a protected class, there is no precise formula for such a determination. If that is true, then the City would not be able to offer “a viable alternative that satisfies the defendant’s policy objectives while reducing the discriminatory impact.” In short, if the City brings a lawsuit based on disparate impact, it has the burden of offering a plan showing that the same objectives of crime reduction can be accomplished in a manner which has a lesser impact on the protected group. In 2005, the Eighth Circuit decided a case which arose in St. Louis, Missouri. SUBCHAPTER A. The federal Fair Housing Act and Fair Housing Amendments Act (42 U.S. Code §§ 3601-3619, 3631) prohibit landlords from choosing tenants on the basis of a group characteristic such as: 1. race 2. religion 3. ethnic background or national origin 4. sex 5. age 6. He is a former member of the AAKC Board of Directors, former executive director of the Missouri Apartment Association. (The first five categories were contained in the original Fair Housing Act. The Fair Housing Act prohibits racial discrimination in the sale, rental, or financing of homes. 3. To give felons the protection of the Fair Housing Act protects them from the consequences of their own conduct. On the other hand, the fact that a person has committed a felony does say something relevant about his/her character. “And the whole thinking is they don’t want landlords to have an “ever clause” any more – meaning landlords say they do not ever rent to felons,” Pickron said.“HUD’s thinking is based on a case from the 1960s. Rather, HUD’s Office of General Counsel has issued guidelines regarding how landlords and others should approach those with criminal records to minimize the chances of being accused of discriminatory practices The court restated the proof necessary to make such a case. “Beyond these restrictions, PHAs have broad discretion to set admission and termination policies” and they may consider evidence of rehabilitation and likelihood of “favorable future conduct.”(Emphasis added.) The court considers whether the impact of the defendant's policy or practice is significantly greater on a class of persons protected by the Fair Housing Act than it is on unprotected class members, and if so, whether the defendant has provided a sufficiently strong justification for using this policy or practice to overcome the prima facie case that the plaintiff showing of disparate impact has created.". The courts have clearly held that only a "significant" discriminatory effect violates the act. To give felons the protection of the Fair Housing Act protects them from the consequences of their own conduct. Housing For Felons in Florida. after completing a court program and were not convicted of a misdemeanor or felony. It is almost certain that blanket, indiscriminate criminal record restrictions, such as refusing to allow rentals to any person with a felony conviction, at any time in … Please take our patron satisfaction survey! What if the statistics are the same and 50% of the crimes committed in the last 10 years were committed by Group X members? Sec. What if the statistics were the same for crimes committed in just the last year? Current users of illegal controlled substances, persons convicted for illegal manufacture or distribution of a controlled substance, sex offenders, and juvenile offenders are not considered disabled under the Fair Housing Act, by virtue of that status. The city's claim is that a general prohibition against renting to felons will have a disparate impact on racial minorities, specifically African-Americans and Hispanic Americans, and therefore violates the Fair Housing Act. All seven present protected classes consist of categories in which people have no choice in participation – race, color, national origin, sex, persons with disabilities – or groups in which the choice should not be relevant to a landlord, such as religion or families with children. Although families with children were not a protected class at the time, the facts were that of the families to be evicted, 74.9% of the nonwhite families were given eviction notices and only 26.4% of the white families received such notices. We will now turn to the proposal of making felons a protected class and the possible progress of a Fair Housing case based on disparate impact.
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