People with criminal histories face many barriers when trying to access rental housing. This includes tenant screening reports many landlords use to decide who they will rent to, which contain detailed criminal histories that can span decades. Although there’s little evidence linking criminal history to lease adherence, landlords are more likely to reject rental applicants with any record of a criminal filing or conviction.

To reduce barriers to housing for people with criminal histories, a small number of jurisdictions have passed Fair Chance housing laws. These laws limit the amount of criminal history information that landlords can access and consider when screening rental applications.

To understand the early impacts of Fair Chance housing laws, we conducted 10 interviews with legal advocates, landlords, and administrators involved with the design and implementation of these laws in two cities (Seattle, Washington, and Portland, Oregon) and two states (Oregon and New Jersey).

Why This Matters

The increased use of tenant screening reports by landlords exacerbates other challenges people with criminal histories face when trying to secure housing. Amid a severe shortage of affordable rental housing, people with criminal histories are more vulnerable to housing instability and homelessness.

Few studies have explored how variation in Fair Chance housing laws affect their implementation and outcomes. Understanding what challenges and opportunities jurisdictions have faced can help state and local policymakers improve the implementation, enforcement, and public perception of these laws.

Key Takeaways

All jurisdictions aimed to reduce barriers for people with criminal histories, but each took a distinct approach to how their Fair Chance housing laws were designed and enforced.

We offer the following lessons learned to policymakers interested in lowering the barriers to housing among people with criminal history:

• Fair Chance housing laws require an external and proactive approach to enforcement. Interviewees reported that the burden of compliance primarily falls on affected renters. This system is often ineffective, as renters may not know about the protections available or have the resources to file lawsuits.
• Building awareness about Fair Chance housing laws among landlords and the public can help prevent violations and address concerns about public safety. Interviewees said their communities had a negative perception of Fair Chance housing laws because they believed loosened rental screening criteria posed a threat to public safety. Helping community members better understand these laws and the relationship between stable housing, recidivism, and public safety could improve implementation.
• Community-level partnerships are key to successfully implementing Fair Chance housing laws. Interviewees highlighted how partnerships with community-based organizations can help build awareness, address the public’s concerns about safety, expand enforcement oversight, and provide legal aid to complainants.
• Outcomes research is needed to show the effectiveness of Fair Chance housing laws. More robust evidence on the laws’ outcomes could help improve their design and demonstrate their capacity to reduce recidivism.