City votes to ban criminal background checks

Joining just a few other cities around the country, Berkeley city leaders this week voted to bar landlords from conducting criminal background checks of potential renters and asking about their records.

The move was hailed by tenant advocates, who say such checks and questions long have made it difficult for formerly incarcerated people to find housing, leaving some to sleep on the streets instead. A survey conducted by UC Berkeley last year found that more than half of Alameda

County residents who have spent time behind bars had been denied housing or prevented from moving in with family members because of their criminal records.

“Structural barriers faced by formerly incarcerated people continue to exist, with the persistent use of criminal records blocking housing opportunities for many,” wrote Mayor Jesse Arreguin and several of his City Council colleagues in a report. “A lack of access to stable housing increases the risk of recidivism, furthering the cycle caused by an inequitable criminal justice system.”

Locally, San Francisco and Richmond have passed ordinances that apply to affordable housing. Oakland in January moved to ban criminal background checks in both public and private housing. Seattle and Portland, Oregon, also have similar policies in place.

In Berkeley, landlords also won’t be able to word apartment ads in a way that excludes those with a criminal history. If landlords violate the rules, residents will be able to file complaints with the city or sue in court.

Tenants applying to housing funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will be subject to checks on two crimes because federal rules don’t permit renters who are on the lifetime sex offender registry and those who have cooked methamphetamine at a home subsidized by the government.

And the policy will carve out a few exemptions, including for accessory dwelling units, single-family homes, duplexes and triplexes where the owner also lives on the property.

Landlords also still will be able to check whether an applicant is a registered sex offender. If they find that someone is a sex offender, they can deny him housing but must give the applicant a chance to provide mitigating information.

Landlords will get a sixmonth grace period, meaning they will not be liable for violations during the first 180 days the ordinance is in effect. And they still will have the ability to use credit checks and references to decide whether a potential tenant is a good fit.

Though some property owners have expressed concerns the ordinance could lead to their properties being less safe, the head of the Berkeley Property Owners Association ultimately backed the idea, in part, she told the council, because her group was invited to discuss the proposal before it came up for a vote.

“We as an industry recognize the inequities in our justice system,” said Krista C. Gulbransen, the executive director of the association.

John Jones, of the organization Just Cities, which pushed for the ordinance, said it would give people like him, who have been incarcerated, a valuable opportunity.

“We want to to be a part of this community,” Jones said. “We’re just asking for a fair chance.”