Criminal History-Based Housing Policies and Practices

Criminal History-Based Housing Policies and Practices
Do's	Don'ts
Create tailored criminal history-based policies/practices.	Don’t create arbitrary or overly-broad criminal history-based policies/practices.
Be sure to have clear, specific reasoning for the criminal history-based policy/practice that can be supported by evidence.	Don't maintain a policy/practice, or any portion thereof, that does not serve a substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interest.
Exclude individuals only based on criminal convictions that present a demonstrable risk to resident safety or property.	Don’t create exclusions based on arrest records alone.
Consider the nature and severity of an individual’s conviction before excluding the individual based on the conviction.	Don't create a blanket exclusion of any person with any conviction record.
Consider the amount of time that has passed since the criminal conduct occurred.	Don't provide inconsistent explanations for the denial of a housing application.
Consider criminal history uniformly, regardless of an individual’s inclusion in a protected class.	Don't use criminal history as a pretext for unequal treatment of individuals of a protected class.
Treat all applicants for housing equally, regardless of protected characteristics.	Don't use comparable criminal history differently for individuals of protected classes.
Conduct individualized assessments that take into account mitigating factors, such as facts and circumstances surrounding the criminal conduct, age at the time of the conduct, evidence of good tenancy before/after conduct, and rehabilitative efforts.	Don't make exceptions to a policy or practice for some individuals, but not make the same exception for another individual based on the individual’s inclusion in a protected class.
Housing providers may exclude persons convicted of the illegal manufacture or distribution of a controlled substance.2	Don't include a blanket prohibition against individuals convicted of drug possession.

http://www.realtor.org/articles/fair-housing-act-criminal-history-based-practices-and-policies