Criminal Justice Reform Includes Housing

At HUD, we believe that the Fair Housing Act should protect returning citizens. Here’s why.

Last year, the Supreme Court affirmed what many of us have always believed: that the Fair Housing Act prohibits discriminatory policies, whether they’re intentional or not.

The “disparate impact” standard is one of the most powerful tools we have to stamp out discrimination. And I want you to know that HUD will not be shy about using it to tear down the unfair barriers that have undermined the dreams of far too many Americans.

Today, I’m proud to announce new guidance that makes it clear HUD will use the full force of the law to protect the fair housing rights of folks who’ve been arrested or who are returning to their communities after serving time in jail or prison.

No American should ever be discriminated against because of their race or ethnicity, even if that discrimination results from a policy that appears neutral on its face.

Black and Latino Americans are unfairly arrested at significantly higher rates than white Americans. According to the Drug Policy Alliance, even though rates of drug use are comparable across racial lines, black and brown Americans are far more likely to be stopped, searched and arrested for drug law violations than are whites.

So when landlords summarily refuse to rent to anyone who has an arrest record, they may effectively and disproportionately bar the door to millions of folks of color for no good reason at all.

It is wrong — and it has to end.

From my time as a mayor especially, I know that many law enforcement professionals make their best judgment when they arrest someone. But an arrest only means that a person was suspected of a crime. And in the United States, suspicion alone just isn’t a sufficient reason to bar someone from a community.

The fact that you were arrested shouldn’t keep you from getting a job, and it shouldn’t keep you from renting a home. And thanks to our actions today, it won’t.

Now convictions, of course, are different. And HUD is fully committed to making sure that local housing providers can still set fair, non-discriminatory screening policies for returning citizens looking for housing. But right now, many landlords use the fact of a conviction — any conviction, regardless of what it was for or how long ago it happened — to indefinitely bar folks from housing opportunities.

When someone has been convicted of a crime and has paid their debt to society, then they ought to have an effective second chance in life. The ability to find housing is an indispensable part of that second chance.

Past mistakes shouldn’t determine future opportunity, and HUD is doing everything in our power to make sure of that.

HUD’s focus on ensuring that anyone who has had contact with the criminal justice system is treated fairly when they look for a home builds on our efforts to help more returning citizens move into public housing communities.

To do that, we’re working with a number of local governments to re-unite folks with their families and connect them to case management and other re-entry services like job training.

We’ve also made it clear that arbitrary “One Strike” policies that bar anyone with a prior arrest cannot be used in public or private housing. It used to be that if someone was arrested for a drug offense their entire family would be kicked out of public housing. It was a harsh policy that likely did more harm than good. Today HUD is taking a new approach to these cases.

Local officials will still have the ability to evict tenants when their actions warrant it, but we’re working to make sure that families who pose no risk to community safety aren’t unduly punished.

And, finally, because we know that housing alone isn’t enough, HUD is doing its part to help connect more returning citizens to jobs.

We’re partnering with the Justice Department to invest nearly $2 million to help young public housing residents clear their criminal records, find work, and have a better shot at succeeding once they rejoin their communities.

We want to make these same opportunities available to everyone we serve.