STATEMENT: The Fair Chance for Housing Act Becomes Law Today

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

STATEMENT: THE FAIR CHANCE FOR HOUSING ACT BECOMES LAW TODAY; A BOLD STEP TO ENDING HOUSING DISCRIMINATION IN NYC

Contact: Alison Wilkey, Fair Chance for Housing Campaign, alison@cvhaction.org, 646-541-4991

In response to the enactment of the Fair Chance for Housing Act, the Fair Chance for Housing Campaign issued the following statement:

January 20, 2024 (New York, NY) –  After years of fierce advocacy and organizing by a diverse coalition co-led by directly-impacted people, the Fair Chance for Housing Act (Intro 632-A) becomes law in New York City today. This is a bold step that gives people who have faced unending housing discrimination new hope in their search for homes.

This landmark civil rights legislation will help stop housing discrimination against New Yorkers with previous convictions and ensure that families who’ve been impacted by the criminal legal system have a fair shot at housing. The Act will go into effect on January 1, 2025.

In New York City, nearly 750,000 people have a conviction record — that’s almost 11% of the adult population. 80% of these New Yorkers are Black and brown, so fighting housing discrimination based on convictions is a matter of racial justice and equity.  But housing discrimination impacts more than just individuals with convictions – it impacts families. 79 percent of formerly incarcerated people and their families reported being denied housing due to a criminal conviction in a survey spanning 14 states, including New York. The collateral consequences of a conviction record undermines mobility for families across generations. Reducing barriers to housing can interrupt these intergenerational cycles of poverty and homelessness that disproportionately trap people and families of color

This Act will also reduce racial disparities in homelessness and access to housing. Because of long-standing inequities in policing and prosecution, people of color are overrepresented in our criminal legal system and as a result more likely to be impacted by housing discrimination. 

Most housing providers do not have to conduct background checks, and this law does not change that.  For those that do, the law prohibits them from discriminating based on convictions outside of the “look back window” of 5 years for felonies and 3 years for misdemeanors. Landlords and brokers may still request a background check for convictions within those lookback periods, but only after they have pre-qualified an applicant based on financial, income, and other factors relevant to their ability to be a good tenant. Because the background check can only be conducted at the end of the screening process, applicants with recent convictions who have done their time and want to stabilize their lives post-incarceration will have a stronger shot at securing housing.

Housing is the foundation for employment, physical and mental health, and family well-being. The Fair Chance for Housing Act will allow people to better support themselves and their families, which will make our communities safer and allow our neighbors to thrive. The Fair Chance for Housing Coalition celebrates its long overdue passage into law and stands ready to partner with the City on effective implementation. Everyone deserves a home.

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