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The Fair Chance in Housing Act would prevent most landlords from collecting information regarding a potential tenant’s criminal history upfront. It's up for a vote soon in the Legislature and should pass, say Rabbi Benjamin David, Judge Peter Buschbaum and Nilene Evans, all members of the New Jersey Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism Core Team.

Arrests and convictions can keep potential tenants from renting homes years or decades after their release. N.J. could be the first state to limit how landlords can use background checks.

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A New Jersey single father of two convicted of drug offenses has been sober for almost two years and has been out of prison for about three. The man, who is in his 30s, has a stable job working for a union and has enough money for a security deposit and to make rent payments.

Fair Share Housing Center thanks Speaker Coughlin and Chairman Wimberly, working with the other sponsors and legislative leaders, for significantly strengthening the Assembly’s version of the New Jersey Fair Chance in Housing Act today by adopting a floor amendment that provides a remedy for individuals who suffer from housing discrimination.

Frank Argote-Freyre, chair of the Latino Action Network Foundation, says just as a formerly incarcerated person finds a possible home in which to rebuild his or her life, the system slams the door in their face. The Fair Chance in Housing Act is the solution to this problem, he says, and encourages legislators to pass it and for the governor to sign it.

Fair Share Housing Center Executive Director Adam Gordon has issued the following statement in response to the Assembly Housing Committee’s passage yesterday afternoon of A1919, the Fair Chance in Housing Act, a landmark criminal justice reform bill that would limit the ability of landlords to discriminate against Black and brown New Jerseyans on the basis of prior criminal records.

New Jersey lawmakers and social-justice advocates launched a push Tuesday for legislation to help the formerly incarcerated rent an apartment by curtailing the ability of landlords to deny housing to some people based on their criminal histories.

As our elected leaders fight to address generations of systemic racism that mar communities like Paterson, no issue is more important than eliminating housing discrimination.

Legislation sponsored by Senator Troy Singleton (D-Burlington) to provide certain housing rights for people with criminal records was cleared by the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee on July 16.

Fair Share Housing Center Director of Racial Justice Policy James Williams issued a statement in response to the Assembly Housing Committee’s decision to advance A1919, the New Jersey Fair Chance Housing Act, without key protections.

Fair Share Housing Center Director of Racial Justice Policy James Williams issued a statement hailing the passage of S250 through the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee. The legislation would prohibit housing discrimination on the basis of prior criminal records.

Though he peppered Jersey City landlords with a flurry of applications, future restaurant owner Candido Ortiz couldn’t find a place to live in the same city where he worked. Once landlords ran a background check, he would routinely be denied, or not hear back.