Criminal History/Justice Involvement

Under current federal and state law, housing discrimination due to criminal history or justice involvement is a lawful form of housing discrimination. However, an increasing number of studies are showing that the lack of safe, affordable housing dramatically impacts recidivism rates. As a result, there could be fair housing violations depending upon the specific facts of what is occurring. Contact our office to learn more.

FHCCI Resources:

HUD/DOJ or other Federal Guidance:

General Information:

Reports of Interest:

Cases of Interest:

  • Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia, Inc. v. Wisely Properties, LLC: Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME) filed a 2019 federal lawsuit against the owner and management company of Sterling Glen Apartments in Chesterfield County, Virginia, challenging their one-size-fits-all policy of rejecting any and all applicants with criminal backgrounds as racially discriminatory. Settlement reached in 2019. The policies agreed to as part of the resolution are of interest and provide strong guidance/best practices.
  • Savannah Chatham County Fair Housing Council, Inc. (SCFHC), et al v. CHG Westgate and American Management Co. Inc.: Fourteen black mothers who lived in Westgate Apartments in Garden City, GA alleged in February 2012 that the defendants attempted to evict residents based on their criminal backgrounds – most for minor offenses, others more than a decade old – when the companies instituted a “99-year rule” barring tenants if a person in the family had a record – felony or misdemeanor – within the past 99 years. Settlement reached in 2018.
  • Fortune Society v. Sandcastle Towers: On October 30, 2014, the Fortune Society, a non-profit organization that provides temporary and permanent housing to hundreds of formerly incarcerated individuals each year filed this suit in the U.S. District for Eastern District of New York. They sued Sandcastle Towers Housing Development Fund Corp under the Fair Housing Act of 1968 and New York law, alleging that in the summer of 2013 and early 2014, Fortune tried to rent apartments for its clients at Sandcastle, a multi-building apartment complex that the defendants own and manage in Queens, New York. When defendants learned that Fortune was seeking housing for the formerly incarcerated individuals it serves, they refused to rent apartments per the defendants’ policy prohibiting anyone with a criminal record from renting an apartment or living at Sandcastle. This ban, Fortune alleges, is discriminatory and has an unlawful disparate impact on the basis of race and color. On July 3, 2019, the Court issued an opinion denying Defendants’ motion for summary judgment on Plaintiffs’ disparate impact claim and allowing that claim to proceed to trial. Pending.
  • New York City Commission on Human Rights v. PRC Management, LLC: The Commission initiated an investigation against PRC Management, LLC after a Hispanic tenant reported that she was denied housing because of a background report the company obtained that erroneously reported her criminal history. During its investigation, the Commission found that PRC Management, LLC had a blanket policy of denying housing to prospective tenants with criminal histories without considering the nature, severity, or date of their arrest or criminal conduct, and had denied housing to as many as 10 other applicants of color because of their criminal histories. Settlement reached in 2018.