California county bans landlords from conducting prison background checks for housing

A county in California has handed an ordinance banning landlords from conducting prison background checks on potential tenants.

The Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 on Tuesday to undertake the Truthful Likelihood Housing Ordinance. 1 member withdrew.

The ordinance is a part of a package deal of tenant safety payments.

This measure prohibits each non-public and public landlords from requiring candidates to reveal arrest or convictions. It additionally prohibits advertisements that discourage individuals with prison data from making use of for housing.

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Aerial view of Oakland, California in Alameda County. County leaders handed a invoice this week that might ban landlords from conducting prison background checks on potential tenants.
(Reuters/Stephen Lam)

The ordinance applies to most residential models within the unincorporated communities of Ashland, Castro Valley, Cherryland, Fairview, San Lorenzo and Sunol, Fox San Francisco reported. That comes at a time when the Bay Space is going through skyrocketing housing prices and a homelessness disaster.

The California Condo Affiliation criticized the transfer, saying Alameda County wanted extra models, not “paperwork or legal guidelines.”

“Fairly than specializing in constructing inexpensive housing and lifting moratoriums on evictions, the county will shield tenant rights and undertake new limits on landlords’ means to supply high quality housing. We’re losing our time doing this,” the group mentioned in an announcement to Fox Information Digital.

“Earlier than imposing new rules on housing suppliers, the oversight board ought to carry the COVID-era eviction moratorium, which inspires tenants to not pay hire, even when they’ve by no means skilled COVID-related difficulties. “As a substitute of losing time on insurance policies that do not actually clear up the housing disaster, Alameda County ought to observe different cities throughout the state and finish the outdated and legally problematic eviction moratorium.” is.”

Fox Information Digital additionally reached out to supporters of the ordinance.

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The brand new regulation will take impact when the county’s pandemic eviction moratorium expires on the finish of April.