Oakland may ban tenant criminal background checks

In a move supporters say will help ease the city’s growing homelessness crisis, Oakland on Tuesday will weigh a new ordinance that would make it easier for people with criminal records to secure housing.

The Fair Chance Access to Housing Ordinance, which the City Council is set to vote on Tuesday evening, would prohibit landlords from rejecting a potential tenant because of his or her prior conviction. If the ordinance passes, landlords would not be allowed to ask about an applicant’s criminal history, or require the applicant to disclose it through a background check. Supporters say the measure will help ensure residents coming home from prison are able to reintegrate back into society, hold down a job and provide for their families, instead of adding to Oakland’s homeless population.

“We’re here to make sure that once you’ve served your time, you’re no longer going to be punished. You’re going to be welcomed back into our society,” Councilman Dan Kalb, one of the measure’s sponsors, said during a news conference Tuesday at Oakland City Hall.

Currently, background checks are a standard part of applying for an apartment, and applicants with a criminal record often are denied. That can make it next to impossible for those who have been incarcerated to find housing, especially in the Bay Area’s cutthroat housing market.

If passed, Oakland’s ordinance would be the strictest of its kind in the state. It would be the only measure in California to prohibit discrimination against formerly incarcerated tenants across all types of housing — public and private. Richmond has a similar ordinance that applies only to subsidized housing. The Berkeley City Council is set to vote on a similarly strict ordinance next month, and supporters plan to start work shortly on similar measures in Emeryville and Alameda County.

Under the Oakland ordinance, single-family homes, duplexes, triplexes and in-law units would be exempt if the owner is living on the property. Likewise, tenants seeking to add or replace a roommate would be exempt. Landlords would be allowed to use the state’s sex offender registry, but they would be required to provide a conditional offer to the prospective tenant first, before consulting the registry. If the applicant is on the registry, he or she would be given a chance to provide additional information about the crime.

The new ordinance also would exempt owners of government-subsidized affordable housing, including Section 8 units, who are required to exclude certain renters based on their criminal records. Currently, the federal government requires landlords to reject potential tenants who have been convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine or are on the lifetime sex offender registry.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.