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Criminal history and rental applicants: how to apply a fair policy

DoorKeeping team

4 min read

A landlord may consider criminal history, but a blanket "no criminal record" rule is risky under HUD's guidance on the Fair Housing Act. An arrest alone does not prove someone committed a crime. A fair policy looks at convictions, the nature and recency of the offense, and whether it bears on safety or property, applies the same way to every applicant, and is written down before applications come in.

What HUD says about criminal records

In April 2016 HUD's Office of General Counsel issued guidance on the Fair Housing Act and criminal records. Its main points are worth knowing, even if you rent only one or two homes.

  • Having a criminal record is not a protected class by itself. But criminal records are not spread evenly across racial and ethnic groups, so a policy that excludes everyone with any record can have a disparate impact, which the Fair Housing Act can treat as discrimination.
  • A policy that is used to deny housing must serve a substantial, legitimate interest, such as the safety of residents and property, and be no broader than needed to serve it.
  • An arrest that did not lead to a conviction is not proof of criminal conduct, and a denial based on the arrest record alone is hard to justify.
  • A blanket ban on all convictions, whatever the offense or how long ago, is unlikely to meet that standard.

The guidance is not a statute, and a court or your state may look at the issue differently. Several states and cities also have their own laws that limit when and how a landlord may ask about or use criminal history. Check your location before you set a policy.

What a fair, written policy includes

Write the policy before you take applications, so you decide the standard before you know who applied.

  1. Which records you consider: for example, convictions, not arrests without a conviction.
  2. Which offenses relate to housing safety or property, and which do not.
  3. How far back you look, with a reason for the number you choose.
  4. Whether you will review the applicant's own explanation, proof of rehabilitation or other facts such as time since the offense.
  5. Who makes the decision, and that every applicant is treated the same way.

Keep the policy next to your rental criteria for income and credit. The guide on written screening criteria shows how to set that up.

Look at the individual, not only the check

The strongest approach is an individualized look: what the offense was, when it happened, what has happened since, and whether it relates to being a good tenant. A decade-old, non-violent offense and a recent violent one are not the same risk, and your policy should say so.

Example a made-up policy says you will not accept applicants with a conviction for a violent felony in the past seven years, or a conviction for arson at any time, and that you will not consider arrests that did not end in a conviction. Two applicants have records. One has a seven year old conviction for a drug offense, which the policy does not exclude. The other has a conviction from last year for assault, which it does. The same written policy gives each a clear answer.

If you use a screening report

If you get the record from a consumer reporting company, the Fair Credit Reporting Act applies. You need the applicant's written permission, and if you deny someone or charge a higher deposit because of what the report says, you must send an adverse action notice. The FTC explains the steps in Using Consumer Reports: What Landlords Need to Know. Our guide on adverse action notices walks through it.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Advertising "no felons" or "no criminals". It signals a blanket policy and can draw a complaint.
  • Applying the check to some applicants and not others.
  • Using a record you cannot read or verify, or one that may belong to someone with a similar name.
  • Telling the applicant the real reason informally but writing a different one in your notes.
  • Ignoring state laws that limit when you may ask.

How DoorKeeping handles it

DoorKeeping does not run criminal checks or screen applicants. It keeps the documents you decide to hold, such as your written criteria and any adverse action letter you send, filed against the property so you can show the same standard was used each time. Emails to an applicant are filed with their date.

If you ask Claude or ChatGPT to help word a denial letter, you read it first and approve it, and DoorKeeping gives no legal advice about whether your policy complies with your state.

Sources

  1. HUD: Guidance on the Fair Housing Act and criminal records, April 2016, read Oct 30, 2026
  2. FTC: Using Consumer Reports, What Landlords Need to Know, read Oct 30, 2026
  3. Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. 3604 (Cornell Legal Information Institute), read Oct 30, 2026

Questions

Can a landlord deny someone for a criminal record?
Often yes, if the policy serves a legitimate safety or property interest, is no broader than needed and is applied equally. A blanket ban is risky under HUD guidance, and some states limit it further.
Can I deny an applicant because of an arrest?
An arrest without a conviction does not prove the person committed a crime, and HUD guidance says denying on that alone is hard to defend. Check your state, since some restrict it by law.
Do I have to tell the applicant why I denied them?
If the decision rests in part on a consumer report, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires an adverse action notice that names the reporting company and explains the applicant's rights.

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