How will my criminal record affect my eligibility and application to different types of housing?

Whether you are looking at short-term/transitional or long-term housing, the impact of your criminal record on your application depends on whether that housing is PRIVATE or GOVERNMENT-ASSISTED. In this Chapter, when we talking about government-assisted housing, we are talking about housing that gets money from the federal government to make it more affordable for low-income people. The federal government has created many laws that control government-assisted housing, including who is allowed to live there.

In this Chapter, we will explain how your CRIMINAL RECORD affects your application to both private housing and government-assisted housing; whether or not a Public Housing Authority (PHA) or owner can refuse to rent to you, what you can do to strengthen your application, and how you can challenge a denial that you believe is illegal.

HOW CAN I FIGURE OUT IF I AM APPLYING TO/LIVING IN PRIVATE OR GOVERNMENT-ASSISTED HOUSING?

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Did you apply for the housing through a PHA?If yes, the rules and criminal record exclusions that apply to federal government-assisted housing apply to you.Do you have a “Section 8” Housing Choice Voucher? If yes, the rules and criminal record exclusions that apply to federal government-assisted housing apply to you.Look up the property online at: http://www.hud.gov/apps/section8/index.cfmIf you still don’t know, ask the OWNER of the property.

Sometimes it’s clear that you live in government-assisted housing because you had to apply for the housing unit or program through a local Public Housing Authority (PHA) or your landlord is the PHA itself. Other times, it’s unclear that you live in government-assisted housing because the owner gets a special benefit directly from the government, and you didn’t know it. The hints above will help you figure out if you are living in government-assisted housing, but you can also ask the owner (the landlord) of the property.