Across the U.S., more than 600,000 people are released from state and federal prisons each year. Unfortunately, barriers to housing make it difficult — and sometimes nearly impossible — for many returning citizens to find a home to return to. But local reentry housing advocates, as well as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, are working to change this.
According to HUD guidance, a criminal background screening policy violates the Fair Housing Act if it has a disparate impact on a protected class. The State of Ohio incarcerates five Black people to every one white person. Therefore, housing related collateral consequences disproportionately impact Black communities. For this reason, fair housing law may be able to help folks who run into housing barriers due to a criminal background.
Local advocacy efforts
For years, local advocates have been working to bring awareness to the housing barriers faced by returning citizens and pushing for systemic change. In 2020, the Reentry Housing Committee of the Greater Cleveland Reentry Leadership Coalition released a report highlighting these barriers. The report explores how Project-Based Section 8 housing providers in Cuyahoga County screen for criminal backgrounds, and what housing-related collateral consequences result.
The report found that criminal convictions — even from misdemeanors — have a long-term
impact on access to Project-Based Section 8 Housing in Cuyahoga County. Some other findings of the report include:
- More than 76% of the properties surveyed said they may deny tenancy to people with a history of drug use.
- More than 78% may deny applicants with misdemeanor convictions (see graphic below).
- The majority of providers, 58 out of 108, said a misdemeanor conviction may make an applicant permanently ineligible to live there.
- Eighty percent may ban applicants with felony convictions.
- Fifty-six percent permanently disqualify applicants with any type of sex offense conviction.
The report closes with these words from EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute’s Heather Pederson:
Reentry is hard enough without the additional barrier of housing. Every citizen returning home deserves fair and equal housing and the opportunity to reconnect with their families and communities. We are doing our reentry community a great disservice by barring people from housing when they have already paid their debt to society and are ready to move forward with their lives. This is something that needs to happen not now, but right now!
Federal plans to address reentry housing needs
Recently, there has been talk at the federal level about addressing reentry housing needs. Last month, HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge outlined actions that the Department is taking to address the housing needs of returning citizens in a letter to public housing authorities, Continuums of Care, multifamily owners, and HUD grantees. In the letter, Secretary Fudge noted that, “HUD is committed to taking a comprehensive approach to addressing the housing needs of returning citizens and people with criminal records, and by doing so, increasing public safety within our communities. Addressing reentry housing needs also furthers the Biden Administration’s commitment to advancing equity and reversing systemic racism, given the racial disparities evident in the criminal justice system.”
In addition to the nearly 70,000 emergency housing vouchers recently awarded to PHAs across the country by the American Rescue Plan, HUD is taking additional steps to reduce barriers and address the housing needs of returning citizens. This includes:
- Developing additional tools and guidance to assist private landlords, PHAs, and Multifamily housing owners to ensure that their applicant screening and tenant selection practices avoid unnecessarily overbroad denial of housing to applicants on the basis of criminal records that could lead to Fair Housing violations, consistent with the 2016 memo on disparate impact and criminal records;
- Reviewing existing HUD policies and regulations that limit access to housing and HUD assistance among people with criminal conviction histories; and
- Publishing findings regarding best and promising practices on reentry housing, including through HUD’s existing programs and demonstrations like the Juvenile Reentry Assistance Program and the Pay for Success Permanent Supportive Housing Demonstration.
The work continues
Housing cannot truly be fair until it is fair for everyone — including justice-involved individuals. Between continued advocacy efforts at the state and local levels and federal initiatives designed to address reentry housing needs, systemic change is possible. To learn more about fair housing rights for people with a criminal history, and to download resources, visit https://www.thehousingcenter.org/resources/criminal-history.