HUD is making it easier for Americans with a criminal record to find housing and are producing new guidelines and model documents, such as leases to people in need.
This impacts all federally funded housing programs, including public housing authorities and rental assistance voucher programs and could have widespread implications for the nearly one in three Americans who have records.
HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge said they were looking at policies that may “pose barriers to housing for persons with criminal histories or their families” and correcting them.
Some federal laws ban people convicted of certain crimes from accessing publicly funded housing programs. HUD wants to help people of color who have been historically overrepresented in the criminal justice system and who are discriminated against because they have a record.
HUD aims to “make our policies as inclusive as possible” for people who were previously incarcerated and face barriers to housing access. Oversight and screening policies by federally funded housing providers can disproportionately harm Black and brown people and housing is such an important component to recovery from the mark of a criminal history and getting back on your feet.
Still, criminal records should be considered to the extent that applicants who pose a current risk to people or property are weighed against other factors.
Landlords also need more technical assistance and support to deal with the specific needs of previously incarcerated people and HUD must implement sweeping reforms and create new programs to help.
In the past, HUD properties were some of the first to discriminate against those with convictions and arrests, and now they could reverse course by eliminating these discriminatory practices and building out special vouchers to address the unique housing needs of incarcerated people.
