If we’ve said it once, then we have said it a million times: the rental housing industry is always getting new laws that can make the ground it stands on quite shaky. There’s something terrifying about the industry when you can wake up one day and what was legal and fine and safe suddenly transform into a legislative nightmare. On the bright side, you don’t always have to try and keep up with every single little, tiny law. It’s just a good idea to keep an ear out, and maybe keep track of the larger rental housing laws that can have a landslide of effects.
If we’ve said it once, then we have said it a million times: the rental housing industry is always getting new laws that can make the ground it stands on quite shaky. There’s something terrifying about the industry when you can wake up one day and what was legal and fine and safe suddenly transform into a legislative nightmare. On the bright side, you don’t always have to try and keep up with every single little, tiny law. It’s just a good idea to keep an ear out, and maybe keep track of the larger rental housing laws that can have a landslide of effects.
ApplyConnect is capable of keeping track of laws that may affect your specific properties’ background screening. This means you don’t have to study every law that passes by a congressman’s desk. ApplyConnect can help remove information that might be restricted for using in your decision within your state or county to make reviewing applications safer and simpler. In the meantime, let us update you on a couple of laws we feel are worth your while.
ApplyConnect is capable of keeping track of laws that may affect your specific properties’ background screening. This means you don’t have to study every law that passes by a congressman’s desk. ApplyConnect can help remove information that might be restricted for using in your decision within your state or county to make reviewing applications safer and simpler. In the meantime, let us update you on a couple of laws we feel are worth your while.
New York City’s Ban on Screening
This summer, 77 organizations and 80 individuals signed an open letter to the New York City Council and its speaker, urging them to hurry and pass Fair Chance for Housing Act, Intro 2047-2020 through. While this bill doesn’t specifically ban the act of screening an applicant, it would ban the act of making decisions based on a criminal or arrest records. It would also ban landlords and property managers from asking about criminal history during the entirety of the process.
New York City’s Ban on Screening
This summer, 77 organizations and 80 individuals signed an open letter to the New York City Council and its speaker, urging them to hurry and pass Fair Chance for Housing Act, Intro 2047-2020 through. While this bill doesn’t specifically ban the act of screening an applicant, it would ban the act of making decisions based on a criminal or arrest records. It would also ban landlords and property managers from asking about criminal history during the entirety of the process.
The claimed goal of the law would be to aid the ongoing homeless crisis in New York City. As over a tenth of the population has a criminal conviction, it makes for a large percentage to have an incredibly hard time finding housing when an arrest can immediately toss an application straight into the garbage bin. By making criminal and arrest records illegal in decision making, the New York City Council hopes to help lower the number of homeless people in the city’s boundaries as more people are able to apply and be accepted without a criminal history weighing them down. Naturally, if passed, it could be a great cause for concern to landlords as they struggle to make safe decisions regarding their properties. Blanket policies rarely result in fixing problems, and generally end up making them worse. In this situation it will force landlords to stay in the dark about potentially dangerous criminal histories that could truly impact the safety of the community.
The claimed goal of the law would be to aid the ongoing homeless crisis in New York City. As over a tenth of the population has a criminal conviction, it makes for a large percentage to have an incredibly hard time finding housing when an arrest can immediately toss an application straight into the garbage bin. By making criminal and arrest records illegal in decision making, the New York City Council hopes to help lower the number of homeless people in the city’s boundaries as more people are able to apply and be accepted without a criminal history weighing them down. Naturally, if passed, it could be a great cause for concern to landlords as they struggle to make safe decisions regarding their properties. Blanket policies rarely result in fixing problems, and generally end up making them worse. In this situation it will force landlords to stay in the dark about potentially dangerous criminal histories that could truly impact the safety of the community.
California Ends the Eviction Moratorium
With some bad news, let there be good. Although the Tenant Relief Act will continue and one cannot simply evict a tenant until March 31st, 2022, and must prove that they have applied for rental assistance before turning to eviction courts, the moratorium in California itself has ended. However, SB 747 does have COVID-related regulations. Until October, 2025, a landlord cannot evict a tenant due to COVID-19 related rental debt. It also provides public funds to assist such tenants and landlords with State Rental Assistance Program.
It can be difficult to try and keep up with everything that happens in legislation when it comes to the rental housing industry. While not impossible, it can be stressful to constantly read all the bills that enter the court rooms and try to figure out which may pass and which are being tossed out, and you may be worried about things constantly getting worse. On the bright side, there is good news and ApplyConnect is also happy to update on the larger bills that could impact you.
California Ends the Eviction Moratorium
With some bad news, let there be good. Although the Tenant Relief Act will continue and one cannot simply evict a tenant until March 31st, 2022, and must prove that they have applied for rental assistance before turning to eviction courts, the moratorium in California itself has ended. However, SB 747 does have COVID-related regulations. Until October, 2025, a landlord cannot evict a tenant due to COVID-19 related rental debt. It also provides public funds to assist such tenants and landlords with State Rental Assistance Program.
It can be difficult to try and keep up with everything that happens in legislation when it comes to the rental housing industry. While not impossible, it can be stressful to constantly read all the bills that enter the court rooms and try to figure out which may pass and which are being tossed out, and you may be worried about things constantly getting worse. On the bright side, there is good news and ApplyConnect is also happy to update on the larger bills that could impact you.
