| Entities | |
| Topics and Issues | Background checks (71) Residential/Tenant Screening (81) Second Chances (9) |
In April 2016, HUD’s Office of General Counsel issued Guidance on Application of Fair Housing Act Standards to the Use of Criminal Records by Providers of Housing and Real Estate-Related Transactions. As noted in the memo, the OGC issued
this guidance concerning how the Fair Housing Act applies to the use of criminal history by providers or operators of housing and real-estate related transactions. Specifically, this guidance addresses how the discriminatory effects and disparate treatment methods of proof apply in Fair Housing Act cases in which a housing provider justifies an adverse housing action – such as a refusal to rent or renew a lease – based on an individual’s criminal history.
The memo discusses “the three steps used to analyze claims that a housing provider’s use of criminal history to deny housing opportunities results in a discriminatory effect in violation of the Act [and how] a different analytical framework is used to evaluate claims of intentional discrimination.”