How can I find out the criminal record policies of my local Public Housing Authority (PHA) or of the owner of government-assisted housing?

REMEMBER THAT THESE “CATCH-ALL” BANS ARE NOT REQUIRED: This “catch-all” category is NOT a required ban. The PHA or owner is allowed to exclude you only if they can show that your criminal history poses a current threat to the health, safety, or peace of other residents, the owner, or PHA staff or agents/contractors. It’s recommended that they consider mitigating information and proof of your rehabilitation—and in the case of the Public Housing program, the PHA must consider this extra information!

Each local PHA and owner of government-assisted housing will have different rules about what criminal history information they will ignore and what they will consider. By law, the PHAs and owners of government-assisted housing MUST put their policies in writing and make them available to applicants.[1250]

The rules and policies of each local PHA and owner of government-assisted housing MUST not violate the legal protections discussed on PG. 379. Furthermore, the PHA must follow its own rules and policies.

You may want to consider talking to an advocate/lawyer about whether or not a particular PHA’s policies to exclude people with certain criminal records could be violating the law. (See PG. 1127 for a list of legal aid providers across California).

IMPORTANT: Want to learn how to challenge a denial from a PHA or owner of government-assisted housing? Go to PG. 364 to learn more!

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  1. 1250

    24 C.F.R. § 960.202.