New Jersey-2020-S250-Introduced

An Act concerning the housing rights of persons with criminal records and supplementing P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-1 et seq.).

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Fair Chance in Housing Act."

2. As used in this act:

"Applicant" means any person considered for, who requests to be considered for, or who requests to be considered for tenancy within a rental dwelling unit.

"Conditional offer" means an offer to rent or lease a rental dwelling unit to an applicant that is contingent on a subsequent inquiry into the applicant's criminal record, or any other eligibility criteria that the housing provider may lawfully utilize.

"Criminal record" means information collected by criminal justice agencies on individuals consisting of identifiable descriptions and notations of arrests, detentions, indictments, or other formal criminal charges, and any disposition arising therefrom, including acquittal, sentencing, correctional supervision, release or conviction, including, but not limited to, any sentence arising from a verdict or plea of guilty or nolo contendere, including a sentence of incarceration, a suspended sentence, a sentence of probation, or a sentence of conditional discharge.

"Housing provider" means a landlord, an owner, lessor, sublessor, assignee, or their agent, or any other person receiving or entitled to receive rents or benefits for the use or occupancy of any rental dwelling unit.

"Pending criminal accusation" means an existing accusation that an individual has committed a crime, lodged by a law enforcement agency through an indictment, information, complaint, or other formal charge.

"Rental dwelling unit" means a dwelling unit offered for rent by a housing provider for residential purposes, other than a dwelling unit in an owner-occupied premises of not more than three dwelling units.

3. a. (1) A housing provider shall not require an applicant to complete any housing application that includes any inquiries regarding an applicant's criminal record prior to the provision of a conditional offer.

(2) A housing provider shall not make any oral or written inquiry regarding an applicant's criminal record prior to making a conditional offer.

(3) An applicant may provide evidence to the housing provider demonstrating inaccuracies within the applicant's criminal record or evidence of rehabilitation or other mitigating factors.

b. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection a. of this section, if an applicant discloses any information regarding the applicant's criminal record, by voluntary oral or written disclosure, prior to the conditional offer, the housing provider may make inquiries regarding the applicant's criminal record prior to making the conditional offer.

c. Prior to accepting any application fee, a housing provider shall disclose in writing to the applicant:

(1) Whether the eligibility criteria of the housing provider include the review and consideration of criminal history; and

(2) A statement that the applicant, pursuant to subsection a. of this section, may provide evidence demonstrating inaccuracies within the applicant's criminal record or evidence of rehabilitation or other mitigating factors.

d. After the issuance of a conditional offer to an applicant, a housing provider may only consider a criminal record in the applicant's history that:

(1) has occurred within the 10 years immediately preceding the issuance of the conditional offer; and

(2) consists of a pending criminal accusation or a criminal conviction that, pursuant to subsection b. of N.J.S.2C:52-2, is not eligible for expungement.

e. (1) A housing provider may withdraw a conditional offer based on an applicant's criminal record only if the housing provider determines, on balance, that the withdrawal achieves a substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interest.

(2) The housing provider's determination of a nondiscriminatory interest shall be reasonable in light of the following factors:

(a) The nature and severity of the criminal offense;

(b) The age of the applicant at the time of the occurrence of the criminal offense;

(d) Any information produced by the applicant, or produced on the applicant's behalf, in regard to the applicant's rehabilitation and good conduct since the occurrence of the criminal offense;

(e) The degree to which the criminal offense, if it reoccurred, would negatively impact the safety of the housing provider's other tenants or property; and

(f) Whether the criminal offense occurred on or was connected to property that was rented or leased by the applicant.

f. (1) If a housing provider withdraws a conditional offer, the housing provider shall provide the applicant with written notification that includes, with specificity, the reason or reasons for the withdrawal of the conditional offer and a notice that advises the applicant of the applicant's right to file a complaint with the Attorney General pursuant to section 6 of this act.

(2) (a) The applicant may request, within 20 days after the housing provider's notice of the withdrawal, that the housing provider afford the applicant a copy of all information that the housing provider relied upon in considering the applicant, including criminal records.

(b) A housing provider shall provide the information requested under subparagraph (a) of this paragraph, free of charge, within l0 days after receipt of a timely request.

g. Nothing set forth in this act shall be construed to prohibit a housing provider from requiring an applicant to complete a housing application that includes any inquiries regarding an applicant's criminal record after the conditional offer is provided or from making any oral or written inquiries regarding an applicant's criminal record after the conditional offer is provided. The provisions of this section shall not preclude a housing provider from refusing to provide housing to an applicant based upon the applicant's criminal record, unless the criminal record or relevant portion thereof has been expunged or erased through executive pardon, provided that such refusal is consistent with other applicable laws, rules and regulations.

4. Unless otherwise permitted or required by law, a housing provider shall not knowingly or purposefully publish, or cause to be published, any housing advertisement that explicitly provides that the housing provider will not consider any applicant who has been arrested or convicted of one or more crimes or offenses.

5. This act shall not apply:

a. If a federal law or regulation requires the housing provider to consider an applicant's criminal records for residential leasing purposes; or

b. If a federal law or regulation otherwise allows for the denial of an applicant due to certain criminal convictions.

6. a. A person claiming to be aggrieved pursuant to this act may file a complaint or action with the Division on Civil Rights or in the Superior Court of New Jersey alleging a violation of the "Law Against Discrimination," P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-1 et seq.).

b. Any housing provider who violates this act shall be liable for a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $1,000 for the first violation, $5,000 for the second violation, and $10,000 for each subsequent violation collectible by the Attorney General in a summary proceeding pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).
7. In accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), the Attorney General may adopt the rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.

8. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month next following the date of enactment, but the Attorney General may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes the "Fair Chance in Housing Act," and provides certain housing rights of persons with criminal records.

This bill would restrict a housing provider from requiring a housing applicant to complete any housing application that includes any inquiries regarding the applicant's criminal records prior to the provision of a conditional offer. The bill does not apply to dwelling units that consist of owner-occupied premises of not more than three dwelling units, and defines a "housing provider" as a landlord, owner, lessor, sublessor, assignee, or their agent, or any other person receiving or entitled to receive rents or benefits for the use or occupancy of any residential dwelling unit. The bill defines a conditional offer as an offer to rent or lease a dwelling unit to an applicant that is contingent on a subsequent inquiry into the applicant's criminal records, or any other eligibility criteria that may be lawfully utilized.

Prior to accepting any application fee, the bill requires a housing provider to disclose, in writing, whether or not the eligibility criteria includes the review and consideration of criminal history, and supply the applicant with a statement that the applicant may provide evidence demonstrating inaccuracies within a criminal record or evidence of rehabilitation or other mitigating factors.

After the issuance of a conditional offer, the bill only would allow a housing provider to consider a criminal record in an applicant's history that:

(1) has occurred within the last 10 years; and

(2) consists of a pending criminal accusation or a non-expungable criminal conviction.

The bill allows a housing provider to withdraw a conditional offer based on an applicant's criminal record only if the housing provider determines, on balance, that the withdrawal achieves a substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interest. The bill requires the housing provider's determination of a nondiscriminatory interest shall be reasonable in light of the following:

(1) The nature and severity of the offense;

(2) The age of the applicant at the time of the offense;

(3) The time elapsed since the offense;

(4) Any information produced regarding rehabilitation and good conduct since the occurrence of the offense;

(5) The degree to which the offense, if it reoccurred, would negatively impact the safety of other tenants or property; and

(6) Whether the offense occurred on or was connected to property that was rented or leased by the applicant.

If a housing provider withdraws a conditional offer, the bill requires the housing provider to provide the applicant with written notification that includes the reason for the withdrawal and a notice that advises the applicant of the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General.

The bill allows the applicant to request, within 20 days after the housing provider's notice of the withdrawal, that the housing provider afford the applicant a copy of all information relied on in considering the applicant, including criminal records. The bill requires the housing provider to provide this information free of charge, within l0 days after receipt of a timely request.

The bill would not prohibit the housing provider from inquiring into the applicant's criminal record prior to making the conditional offer, if the applicant first discloses any information regarding the applicant's criminal records, by voluntary oral or written disclosure.

The bill would not prohibit a housing provider from requiring an applicant to complete a housing application that inquires into the applicant's criminal records after the conditional offer is provided or from making other inquiries into those records at that time. The bill would not preclude a housing provider from refusing to provide housing to an applicant based upon the applicant's criminal records, unless the criminal records or relevant portions thereof have been expunged or erased through executive pardon.

Unless otherwise permitted or required by law, the bill prohibits a housing provider from knowingly or purposefully publishing, or causing to be published, any housing advertisement that explicitly provides that the housing provider will not consider any applicant who has been arrested or convicted of one or more crimes or offenses.

The bill would not apply if a federal law or regulation requires the housing provider to consider an applicant's criminal records for the purposes of leasing a residential dwelling unit, or if a federal law regulation otherwise allows for the denial of an applicant due to certain criminal convictions.

The bill allows a person claiming to be aggrieved to file a complaint or action with the Division on Civil Rights or in the Superior Court of New Jersey alleging a violation of the "Law Against Discrimination," P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-1 et seq.). The bill would make any housing provider in violation of its provisions liable for a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $1,000 for the first violation, $5,000 for the second violation, and $10,000 for each subsequent violation collectible by the Attorney General in a summary proceeding pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).

The bill would take effect on the first day of the seventh month next following the date of enactment.