How can my criminal record affect my chances of getting accepted into government-assisted housing?

When you apply to government-assisted housing through a Public Housing Authority (PHA) (see definition on PG. 340), the PHA runs a criminal background check on:

    You;
    Everyone currently living with you;
    Everyone 16 or older who might live with you;
    Any biological parent of any children who will be living in the household, even parents who do not plan to live with you and are not part of the application to the PHA.

The rules governing who may be denied are very broad. The PHA tries to exclude people it believes will “risk the health and safety of other tenants.” On the other hand, the PHA may choose to overlook your criminal convictions and accept your application, especially if they see evidence that you have changed since the time of your conviction.[1225]

Some cities in California are making an effort to make affordable housing more inclusive to people with criminal records. For example, in 2016, the city of Richmond approved a city ordinance to protect the housing rights of people in reentry.[1226] The “Fair Chance Access to Affordable Housing” ordinance will be added to the Richmond Municipal Code as Chapter 7.110 in 2017.[1227] San Francisco adopted a similar ordinance in 2014.[1228] For more information about San Francisco’s Fair Chance ordinance, see Appendix H on PG. 427.

IMPORTANT! There are a lot of rules about who can and cannot live in government-assisted housing. Every program has its own set of rules that you should be aware of BEFORE you apply. You want to know what laws or program policies might prevent you from living there because of a criminal conviction or other criminal history information, even if your family already lives there. Some bans are required by law, while others are allowed, but not required. These types of bans are up to the discretion and policies of the PHA and/or the owner of the government-assisted housing. You should look at the policies BEFORE YOU APPLY.

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  1. 1225

    See Know Your Rights: Housing and Arrests or Criminal Convictions, The Bronx Defenders (Oct. 2, 2010), http://www.bronxdefenders.org/housing-and-arrests-or-criminal-convictions/.

  2. 1226

    See Richmond City Council Adopts Fair Chance Housing Ordinance Press Release, Bay AreaLegal Aid (Dec. 21, 2016), https://baylegal.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Press_Release_Fair-Chance-Housing-Ordinance.pdf

  3. 1227

    See Special meeting of the Richmond Housing Authority, Richmond City Council (Dec. 20, 2016), http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/7683.

  4. 1228

    SF Human Rights Commission Fair Chance Ordinance, http://sf-hrc.org/fair-chance-ordinance.