New Jersey Fair Chance in Housing Act: what a landlord can ask and when
In New Jersey a landlord may not ask about criminal history, on the application or any other way, until after a conditional offer to rent. After the offer, only certain convictions inside set look-back periods can count, arrests and expunged records can never count, and a withdrawal needs a written notice and a six-factor assessment. Penalties are capped at $1,000 for a first violation and $10,000 for repeat violations.
Who does the Act cover?
The Fair Chance in Housing Act (P.L. 2021, c.110) took effect January 1, 2022. It covers a "housing provider," which includes a landlord, owner, lessor, sublessor, assignee or their agent. It applies to a rental unit offered for residential purposes but excludes units in owner-occupied premises with no more than four dwelling units (section 3, C.46:8-54). A small landlord living in a four-unit building is outside the Act, and a landlord with a rented house or a larger building is inside it.
When can you ask about criminal history?
Only after a conditional offer, which is an offer to rent that depends on a later criminal record check or other lawful eligibility criteria. Section 4a bars any criminal record inquiry, oral or written, before that point, and an application may not ask for criminal record information. There are two narrow exceptions for methamphetamine manufacturing convictions on federally assisted premises and for lifetime sex offender registration.
Before you accept an application fee, section 4b requires a written disclosure that says whether you review criminal history and that applicants can submit evidence of inaccuracies, rehabilitation or other mitigating factors.
In practice that sets the order of your process: take the application and check income and rental history first, make a conditional offer to the applicant who meets your written rule, and only then order the criminal portion of a background check.
Which records can you consider?
Section 5 never allows these: arrests or charges without a conviction, expunged, pardoned or vacated convictions, juvenile adjudications and sealed records. Everything else is limited by look-back period: the conviction must have been issued, or a resulting prison sentence concluded, within the stated years before the conditional offer.
| Conviction | How far back you can look |
|---|---|
| Murder, aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping, arson, human trafficking, sexual assault, certain child sexual offenses, or any offense that requires lifetime sex offender registration | No limit |
| First-degree indictable offense | 6 years (judgment issued, or any prison sentence concluded, within that period) |
| Second- or third-degree indictable offense | 4 years (same measure) |
| Fourth-degree indictable offense | 1 year (same measure) |
A lesser offense, such as a disorderly persons offense, is not on the list, so it cannot be the reason you withdraw the offer.
What must you do before withdrawing the offer?
You may withdraw a conditional offer because of a record only if you can show, by a preponderance of the evidence, that withdrawal is necessary to serve a substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interest. You also have to give written notice of the specific reasons and an opportunity to respond with evidence of inaccuracies, rehabilitation or other mitigating factors. The Act also has the Division on Civil Rights prepare a model disclosure statement that tells the applicant of the right to dispute a record within 10 days of receiving it.
- The nature and severity of the offense.
- The applicant's age when it happened.
- How much time has passed.
- Evidence of rehabilitation and good conduct.
- How much a repeat would affect the safety of other tenants or the property.
- Whether the offense happened on or was connected to property the applicant rented.
Those are the six factors the Act requires you to weigh, so write down how you weighed each one. If the applicant asks within 30 days of the notice, you must supply the information you relied on, free of charge, within 10 days of a timely request.
Example a made-up applicant receives a conditional offer in March 2027. The background check shows a third-degree conviction with a sentence that ended in 2018, about 9 years earlier. The look-back for that grade is 4 years, so the record cannot be the reason to withdraw, however the landlord feels about it.
What are the penalties?
Under section 12, complaints go to the Division on Civil Rights, which must offer mediation within 14 days of notice. Penalties are up to $1,000 with no other violation in the previous 5 years, up to $5,000 with one other violation in the previous 5 years, and up to $10,000 with two or more in the previous 7 years. The Director may order up to $1,000 of the penalty paid to the applicant.
If you also rely on a consumer report, the federal rules still apply: a decline based in whole or part on that report needs the adverse action notice in the FCRA guide.
How DoorKeeping handles it
DoorKeeping runs screening through Checkr, and where your state's cap allows it the applicant pays Checkr on Checkr's own page, so DoorKeeping never sees a Social Security number. You write one screening rule for the property, nothing is decided automatically, and you approve or decline every applicant yourself with one tap. In New Jersey, put the order of your steps in your written rule so the criminal check only follows a conditional offer. DoorKeeping gives general information, not legal advice. Check the current statute and talk to a local attorney if a case is contested.
Sources
- P.L. 2021, c.110, Fair Chance in Housing Act (New Jersey Legislature), read Oct 31, 2026
Questions
- Can a New Jersey landlord ask about criminal history on a rental application?
- No. The Act bars any criminal record question, oral or written, until after a conditional offer, apart from two narrow exceptions.
- Can a landlord use an arrest in New Jersey?
- No. Arrests and charges without a conviction, expunged, pardoned or vacated convictions, juvenile adjudications and sealed records may never be considered.
- Does the Act apply to a landlord who lives in the building?
- Units in owner-occupied premises with no more than four dwelling units are excluded. A rented house or a larger building is covered.