The Fair Chance in Housing Act

The Fair Chance in Housing Act is a landmark bill that tackles the continuing problem of housing discrimination by limiting the ability of landlords to use criminal background checks as a pretext to deny housing to Black and brown New Jerseyans.

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It strikes a delicate balance between keeping our communities safe and giving people a second chance. 

Landlords will still be able to screen tenants for certain violent crimes. But they’ll be prevented from using years-old nonviolent crimes as a pretext for keeping out Black and brown residents.

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This legislation has passed out of committee in both the New Jersey General Assembly and the state Senate. But the New Jersey Apartment Association, backed by powerful corporate landlords, are pulling out all the stops to prevent the bill from getting to Governor Murphy’s desk. And they want to weaken key provisions by preventing the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office from holding landlords who violate the law accountable. 

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They want to continue discriminating.

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Our elected officials need to hear from us. They need to stand on the side of their constituents — and not their big corporate donors.