The City of Seattle is has a draft ordinance relating to fair chance housing but the proposal is wrong on three counts, as CDIA noted in a letter. First, the proposal could make apartment communities more susceptible to crime by arbitrarily assigning a mythical point of redemption at two years. Second, the bill takes away the ability of a landlord or property manager to consider arrests with pending charges, which threatens safety. Third, the proposal incorrectly measures the timeframe in which a landlord cannot consider convictions. The time should be measured from the date of release from incarceration, not from the date of disposition.

Eric J. Ellman is Senior Vice President for Public Policy and Legal Affairs at the Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA) in Washington, DC. He also served for eight months as Interim President and CEO of the Association. More