Understanding the Ongoing Debate About Tenant Background Checks

Should landlords be free to run tenant background checks and make decisions based on details such as criminal history? This question is central to a contentious, ongoing debate in the rental housing community. 

Several progressive legislators and city councils have recently taken steps to curb the use of criminal history information in housing-related decisions. Landlords have objected to these laws and ordinances, arguing that the government should not meddle in affairs that involve the profitability of renting their private property. 

Seattle Fair Chance Housing Ordinance

Seattle ignited debate in 2017 with its Fair Chance Housing Ordinance. This law aimed to prevent discrimination against renters with criminal records by barring landlords from inquiring about their criminal history when selecting tenants. Exceptions exist for landlords sharing living spaces, like those renting a single room or accessory dwelling units like a ‘granny flat.’

Seattle also maintains a first-in-time law, which requires landlords to offer the rental unit to the first qualified applicant. Landlords have criticized—and legally challenged—both laws, arguing that the restrictive legislation is an example of government overreach and suggesting that it might drive them to remove their properties from the rental market entirely. 

New York State and the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA)

Seattle isn’t the only place where these debates continue. New York State recently passed the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA). It aims to balance the needs of tenants by safeguarding them from unfair practices while also introducing limitations on how landlords can manage tenant applications. 

One restriction is that landlords can’t charge their prospective tenants more than $20 each to cover the cost of tenant background checks. Another is that landlords cannot use previous eviction data to disqualify a prospective tenant. Landlords must now give tenants 14 days to vacate a property instead of the former three-day requirement. Landlords have argued that the stipulations make it more challenging to profit from rental properties. 

Ban the Box for Berkeley, California

Officials in Berkeley, California, are considering banning the box for rental applications—a policy that major cities such as Chicago have already implemented. Kansas City, Missouri, is mulling a “Tenant Bill of Rights,” which would protect tenants against discrimination for past criminal history and limit security deposits. Spokane, Washington, is considering a similar Tenants Bill of Rights law, which critics have argued would make housing less affordable. 

Minimizing Recidivism

Proponents of criminal justice reform have plenty of evidence that barring ex-criminal offenders from housing employment boosts recidivism. However, landlords do have rights, and many property owners claim that these new “tenant rights” laws directly infringe upon those rights, such as the right to conduct tenant background checks.

As discussed in this article, the rapidly growing regulatory burdens and general confusion on the subject forced a change at backgroundchecks.com. Effective September 2024, we discontinued tenant screening and related credit report services. Regardless, the information in the article above may offer some guidance.