Post date: Jul 13, 2016 8:49:51 PM
On April 4, 2016, The U.S. Dept of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released the Office of General Counsel Guidance on Application of Fair Housing Act Standards to the Use of Criminal Records by Providers of Housing and Real Estate-Related Transactions.
Landlords cannot have a policy or rental criteria to exclude potential renters because of one or more prior arrests without convictions. Use of an arrest record would constitute a violation of the Fair Housing Act.
Convictions including, but not limited to theft, forgery, fraud, assault, robbery, and violence can result in denial, BUT housing providers must be able to prove their rental criteria is necessary to achieve a substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interest and take into consideration such factors as the type of crime and the length of the time since conviction. See Part III Section B.2.
See April 216 HUD EXO Guidance attachment.
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