Can Landlords Do Criminal Background Checks on Prospective Tenants?

Tenants complain vociferously about how New York’s policies about rental real estate cause financial hardship, and they often take their grievances to the ballot box.  Economic conditions mean that landlords cannot afford to make repairs, but tenants cannot afford to move out of poorly maintained apartments due to financially burdensome security deposits and broker fees.  This is assuming that they can get approved for the apartments they can move into.  Getting approved for an apartment is so difficult that numerous housing voucher recipients see their vouchers expire simply because they could not successfully complete the application and approval process for a new apartment.  Housing discrimination still exists.  Meanwhile, the current laws also impose financial burdens on landlords; it is time-consuming and expensive to evict a troublesome tenant.  It is hard enough when the tenant is destructive or commits crimes that endanger other tenants, putting the landlord at risk of lawsuits from crime victims.  New York’s laws on criminal background checks for housing purposes offer landlords some protection against the risks of renting to tenants with a prior criminal history.  To find out more about New York’s laws about running criminal background checks for housing purposes, contact a Bronx real estate attorney.

Why Did New York Adopt Ban the Box Laws?

“Ban the Box” laws prohibit landlords from including questions on rental applications where tenants must indicate whether they have a criminal history or prior convictions.  These laws also tend to prohibit landlords from running criminal background checks.  These background checks reveal an applicant’s history of interactions with the criminal court system, including not only convictions but also cases that ended in acquittals or the court dropping the charges, or even arrests that never led to formal charges.  At their worst, these background checks can lead to discrimination against tenants who were arrested decades ago and have never been convicted of a crime.

When Is It Still Legal for Landlords to Run a Criminal Background Check?

Pursuant to the Fair Chance Housing Law, landlords have the right to run criminal background checks on prospective tenants in certain circumstances.  Specifically, the applicant must pass the first stage of the approval process; after reviewing the application, the landlord must be ready to offer the tenant a lease, pending the results of a background check.  The landlord must provide written notices to the applicant about which records give the landlord the right to rescind the housing offer.  In general, misdemeanor convictions do not disqualify the tenant, but the landlord may rescind the offer if the tenant has felony convictions.  The notices must also inform the applicant about protections against housing discrimination and describe the appeal process for denial of housing applications.

Schedule a Confidential Consultation With a Bronx Real Estate Attorney

A real estate lawyer can help you exercise your rights as a landlord regarding criminal background checks as part of the lease application process.  Contact Cavallo & Cavallo in the Bronx, New York to set up a consultation.

Source:

law360.com/real-estate-authority/articles/2329178