New York bill to prevent landlords from conducting criminal background checks gets majority support from council

A controversial bill could prevent New York City landlords from conducting criminal background checks. The bill is now supported by more than half of the New York City Council.

The Fair Chance for Housing Act aims to stop housing discrimination in rents, sales and leases based on someone’s arrest or criminal record. These are not just misdemeanors. The bill would allow people convicted of murder and other serious crimes to move directly into the building, without a background check.

According to the Rent Stabilization Association, which represents thousands of landlords in the city, this bill helps criminals, not New Yorkers.

“By removing that criminal background check, you can be completely blindsided by who you allow into the building,” says RSA Vice President Vito Signorile.

Brownstone apartment buildings in Manhattan, New York, United States on October 22, 2022.
(Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

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Homeowners like Kennisha Gilbert are fighting the bill. Gilbert was attacked by one of her tenants last year after she called the police to report a resident for animal abuse. He is concerned that this bill could put private property owners even more at risk.

“They want to make sure they’re not living next door to someone who’s been convicted of multiple murders, arson, rape, pedophilia or even hate crimes,” Signorile says.

New York City Housing Authority complexes would still conduct background checks because federal law requires them. Also, landlords could still check the New York sex offender registry, but there is no mention of out-of-state records.

Fire escape stairs in SoHo, Lower Manhattan in New York, United States on October 24, 2022.
(Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The Fortune Society, which is a New York City-based non-profit organization that provides support to the formerly incarcerated, targets a large number of people with criminal records already living in the city who just because someone has a record criminals does not mean they will not be a good tenant.

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“Over 700,000 people in New York City have a criminal record, which is about 11% of the adult population. So right now there are people living in the different spaces of people and their neighbors who have convictions and stories that people have no idea about,” says Andre Ward, the Fortune Society’s associate vice president for public policy.

View from Jersey City to Manhattan in New York City, United States on October 21, 2022.
(Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

There are at least two states and a few cities that have some form of fair housing law. Includes Colorado, New Jersey, Seattle and San Francisco.

Mayor Eric Adams is expected to sign this bill into law. His office tells Fox News, “No one should be denied housing because they once engaged in the criminal justice system, plain and simple.”

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This is the second such bill in New York City. Last year, the other version didn’t happen.