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The extent of homelessness and barriers to prisoner reentry
are vast social problems, and Human Rights Watch believes that the U.S. must do far more to address them. Our recommendations, however, focus on the narrow
question of the exclusion of people with criminal records from federally-assisted
housing. If implemented, these recommendations would allow PHAs to pursue the
goal of safe housing without excluding those who pose no risk. Such careful
evaluations would afford people with criminal records a second chance.
To the U.S. Congress
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Repeal federal laws that impose outright bans on public housing
for certain types of offenders.
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Pass federal legislation that requires PHAs to conduct an
individualized evaluation of each applicant with a criminal record before
making a decision on the application.
-
Ratify the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and acknowledge the right of all residents of the United States to adequate housing that is decent, safe, and affordable.
To
the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Adopt policies that require individualized consideration of each
applicant with a criminal record, prior to making a decision on an application,
to determine whether he or she will pose a risk to existing housing tenants.
Require the following factors be included in the consideration: (1) evidence of
rehabilitation, either during incarceration or in the community; (2) the effect
of denial on minor children and efforts to reunify families; and (3) whether
denial will render the applicant homeless.
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Require PHAs to adopt admissions policies that ensure:
o criminal records that are more than ten years old do not prevent
admission, absent extraordinary circumstances;
o offenses upon which denials are based are relevant to being a
good tenant; and
o absent a pattern of continuing arrests, consideration of a
criminal record is limited to convictions.
-
Monitor denials of public housing to ensure that they are not
arbitrary, that they are based on reasonable and individualized determinations
of risk, and that they do not have a disproportionate and unjustifiable impact
on applicants from racial and ethnic minorities.
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Require PHAs to compile and make public on an annual basis the
number of applications made for public housing, the number of applicants denied
because of negative criminal history information, the number of those denied
who appeal, and the number of those challenging their denials who prevail
following administrative hearings.
-
Conduct expert and ongoing evaluations of whether policies
excluding people with criminal records from public housing have an effect on
crime patterns, public safety, and quality of life in public housing.
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Provide guidance and training to PHAs about how to conduct
individualized evaluations of applications for housing assistance.
-
Research the feasibility and design of expanded alternative
housing programs for people with criminal records who cannot be accommodated in
existing public housing models because of their criminal histories.
-
Adopt policies that require individualized consideration of each
applicant with a criminal record, prior to making a decision on an application,
to determine whether he or she will pose a risk to existing housing tenants.
Ensure that the following factors be included in the consideration: (1)
evidence of rehabilitation, either during incarceration or in the community;
(2) the effect of denial on minor children and efforts to reunify families; and
(3) whether denial will render the applicant homeless.
-
Adopt criminal record admissions screening polices that consider:
o only criminal records that are less than ten years old, absent
extraordinary circumstances;
o only those offenses that are relevant to being a good tenant; and
o only convictions, absent a pattern of continuing arrests.
-
Provide an administrative appeal process for those deemed
ineligible for public housing that ensures the full range of due process rights
including: adequate notice of the reason for denial; the opportunity to appear
with representation, to question witnesses and present evidence and testimony;
a written and publicly-available decision setting forth reasons for the
administrative decision; and a meaningful opportunity to appeal the
administrative decision to a court of law.
-
Advise applicants who are denied eligibility for public housing
of the availability of local legal assistance to represent them should they
choose to challenge their denials.
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Ensure that applicant criminal records are obtained from a
reliable source.
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Reconsider any policy or practice against providing legal
assistance to applicants who are denied admission to public housing and train
attorneys, paralegals, and law students to represent applicants in
administrative hearings.
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Monitor local PHA policies and practices to determine whether
they violate federal law or policy.
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Conduct outreach to ensure that applicants understand their right
to apply for public housing, to challenge their denials in administrative
proceedings, and to appeal adverse administrative decisions to courts of law.
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The Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights should issue
a comment on the human rights dimensions of government-assisted housing, with
particular attention to arbitrary criteria used to determine eligibility for
assistance and to whether denials of assistance result in outright
homelessness.
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The U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing
should report on the United States’ denial of housing assistance to individuals
because of their criminal histories.
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