Understanding Discrimination: Intro to Just Housing Amendment and Prior Criminal History
The Just Housing Amendment to the Cook County Human Rights Ordinance protects Cook County tenants from discrimination based on their criminal history (arrests, sealed or expunged records, or juvenile records). The law recognizes that people who have been in prison or have a criminal record often have a difficult time finding a place to live, which can lead to homelessness and other problems.
The amendment prohibits landlords from using criminal history as a blanket policy to deny housing. Instead, landlords must evaluate each applicant on a case-by-case basis.
The Just Housing Amendment prohibits the following:
Landlords cannot ask about or inquire into an applicant's criminal history until after a conditional offer of housing has been made. This helps to ensure that landlords are not making decisions based on a person's criminal history before they have had the opportunity to evaluate the applicant's overall qualifications.
A landlord cannot consider:
- Arrests, charges, and citations
- Participation in diversion or deferral of judgment program
- Sealed/expunged records
- Juvenile records
- Criminal history that is more than three years old.
Exceptions to the Just Housing Amendment:
Yes. A landlord may deny an applicant for a new lease or lease renewal of residential properties based on any of the following:
• The applicant or a household member is a current sex offender required to register under the Sex Offender Registration Act (or similar law in another jurisdiction);
• The applicant or a household member is a current child sex offender under residency restriction; or
• The applicant or a household member has a criminal conviction from the past three years. Before denying the application, the landlord must first perform an individualized assessment, and show that denial based on a criminal conviction is necessary to protect against a clear risk to personal safety and/or property.
For federally subsidized housing, the Just Housing Amendment excludes:
- Current use of illegal drugs
- Individuals who were evicted from subsidized housing in prior 3 years for drug-related illegal activity
- Manufacturing methamphetamine in federally subsidized housing
- Lifetime requirement to register for past sex offenses
So what does the landlord need to do?
If you believe that you have been discriminated against based on your criminal history, you have the right to file a complaint and protect your rights. To read more about next steps, click here. A tenant can also consider contacting Uptown People's Law Center by phone (773-769-1411) or online.
The above article provides information about legal issues but is not the same as legal advice. Legal advice is when a lawyer applies the law to your specific situation. The information in this article does not replace the advice or representation of a licensed attorney. Law Center for Better Housing cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information in this article and is not responsible for any consequences that may result from using it. You should consult with a licensed attorney to ensure the information in this article is appropriate for your specific situation. Using the information in this article does not create a relationship between Law Center for Better Housing and you as your attorney