Formerly incarcerated people in the United States are almost 10 times more likely to be homeless than the general public. That’s partially driven by the fact that, in many states — like New York — property owners are allowed to reject potential tenants based solely on their criminal records.

To remedy this, Governor Kathy Hochul has included a provision in her proposed budget legislation for next fiscal year that she says would prohibit landlords from “automatically” denying housing to people with criminal convictions.

Her proposal, however, contains large loopholes that would allow landlords and real estate brokers to continue to reject potential tenants because they were convicted of any of a vast array of crimes.

Hochul’s proposed law would make it illegal to deny someone housing because they have a criminal conviction — but with two exceptions: if any of the offenses “involved physical danger or violence to persons or property,” or if they “had an adverse effect on the health, safety and welfare of other people or property.”

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“These exceptions would preclude most, if not all, of our clients who experience conviction-based housing discrimination,” said Alexandra Dougherty, senior attorney and policy counsel with the Brooklyn Defenders Service’s civil justice practice. She asserted that the caveats render the proposed legislation “virtually meaningless.”

View the full New York Focus article here.