Enacted in 1968 in Congress, the Fair Housing Act was introduced to ensure equal housing opportunities for all people (The Fair Housing Act). It prohibits “racial discrimination in the sale, rental, or financing of home,” and it also prohibits discrimination based on national origin, religion, sex, family status, and disability (Equal Justice Institute; Fair Housing for People with Criminal Records). This act has been cited as a way to make housing more accessible for all, yet there have been loopholes that housing providers have exploited: not providing accurate information about housing options and availability to certain people, directing Black people to certain areas, and local governments have even participated in denying zoning changes for housing development to purposely deny housing to Black residents (U.S. Department of Justice).
In 2016, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released an addition to the Fair Housing Act; this addition made discrimination in housing based on criminal records illegal as Black and Hispanic people are “disproportionately arrested, convicted, and incarcerated” (Equal Justice Institute). This addition was to add more protections against racial discrimination in housing as it recognizes the racialized policing and justice in the U.S., yet it has exceptions. Federal law does not prohibit criminal background screening in housing applications, which has often been used to determine qualified applicants, and this addition does not change that—it instead asks landlords to consider criminal records based on the severity of the crime and the length of time since the person committed the crime (Fair Housing Center for Rights and Research). To eliminate personal biases, the addition included a guidance paper that asks landlords to consider facts and evidence (Fair Housing Center for Rights and Research). A recent 2022 announcement from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development includes a memo to clarify the 2016 addition, and the government goes as far as recommending that private housing providers avoid criminal history screening in applications (Fair Housing Center for Rights and Research).
These additions have been an amazing change in housing protections, and they have provided a chance for formerly incarcerated people to acquire stable, safe housing. Blanket bans on anyone with a criminal record are now prohibited, and housing providers cannot conduct background checks only on certain people (Fair Housing Center for Rights and Research). Any housing denials on the basis of a criminal record are only legal if it makes the applicants dangerous and a risk to others, but these denials must have legitimate, nondiscriminatory evidence (Fair Housing Center for Rights and Research). Yet this policy falls short in a crucial area: drug arrests. Landlords can legally deny housing to those convicted of drug manufacturing or distribution (Equal Justice Institute; NPR). In spite of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development making the 2016 addition to address how Black and Hispanic people are disproportionately arrested, it falls short in making any progress due to the lack of protection for those convicted of drug crimes. The War on Drugs undeniably targeted Black communities. To then exclude those with a criminal drug history denies what government officials have claimed the 2016 and 2022 additions aim to do: prevent racial discrimination in any manner in the field of housing (Equal Justice Institute). This oversight provides ample opportunity for racial discrimination to continue, despite the act aiming the provide “fair housing.”
With the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s ability to recognize how policing and the justice system unfairly target Black and Hispanic people, it still manages to not fully deliver on the 2016 addition. Grossly disproportionate arrests and convictions against Black people occurred due to the War on Drugs, and leaving these crimes out of federal protections does not address this. For an act that claims to prohibit discrimination for protected groups in housing, including the prohibition of racial discrimination, the Fair Housing Act needs complete protection for previously incarcerated people that applies to drug crimes as well.
Comentários