Racism in Housing and Criminal History: Impact and Guidance
Explore the issues of racism in housing affecting Black and Brown communities, with a specific focus on the disproportionate impact of criminal history screenings. Learn about solutions like fair housing training and avoiding blanket criminal history policies to promote equality in housing access.
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Presentation Transcript
RACISM & HOUSING Presented by the Fair Housing Center of Washington Adria Buchanan, Executive Director
BROAD PROBLEM: RACISM IN HOUSING PROBLEM: PROBLEM: Racism against Black and Brown communities continues to exist at multiple points in the cycle to obtain and enjoy housing. EFFECT: EFFECT: Black and brown individuals are being denied the ability to obtain and equally enjoy housing at a higher rate than their counterparts. SOLUTION(s): SOLUTION(s): 1. Encourage all housing providers to receive implicit bias and fair housing training. 2. Become a tester. Help us uncover discriminatory treatment. https://fhcwashington.org/tester-job-description/
SPECIFIC PROBLEM: CRIMINAL HISTORY SPECIFIC PROBLEM: CRIMINAL HISTORY PROBLEM: PROBLEM: The criminal justice system has a disproportionately negative impact on black and brown individuals. EFFECT: EFFECT: Black and brown individuals are more likely to be negatively impacted by criminal background screenings, and denied, when applying for rental housing.
CRIMINAL HISTORY GUIDANCE UNDER FAIR CRIMINAL HISTORY GUIDANCE UNDER FAIR HOUSING LAW HOUSING LAW Outside of Seattle: Outside of Seattle: You can deny for any criminal conviction in either section 8 or non-section 8 housing that is listed on your screening criteria, subject to the disparate impact analysis to determine if you have a legitimate business reason for the denial To determine such an interest, a landlord must demonstrate, through reliable evidence, a nexus between the policy or practice and resident safety and/or protecting property, in light of the following factors: A. The nature and severity of the conviction; B. The number and types of convictions; C. The time that has elapsed since the date of conviction; D. Age of the individual at the time of conviction; E. Evidence of good tenant history before and/or after the conviction occurred; and F. Any supplemental information related to the individual's rehabilitation, good conduct, and additional facts or explanations provided by the individual, if the individual chooses to do so. For the purposes of this definition, review of conviction information is limited to those convictions included in registry information.
CRIMINAL HISTORY GUIDANCE UNDER FAIR CRIMINAL HISTORY GUIDANCE UNDER FAIR HOUSING LAW HOUSING LAW Why the guidance? What this means: Arrest records cannot be considered. No blanket policies. Applicants can only be denied if they specifically pose a threat to property or persons. Disparate impact on African-American and Hispanic populations. Source (and further reading): Source (and further reading): Report to the UN on Racial Disparities in the U.S. Criminal Justice System SOLUTION: SOLUTION: Encourage landlords to refrain from blanket criminal history screening policies and follow fair housing guidance and issue a written decision to the tenant for not only why their application was denied but where they obtained the information and a timeframe to appeal the decision.
CONTACT US Fair Housing Center of Washington Serving 23 counties www.fhcwashington.org Adria Buchanan, Executive Director abuchanan@fhcwashington.org
