Public housing authorities (PHAs) have significant discretion in implementing federal housing laws at the local level. Blanket policies that deny decent, safe, and affordable housing to individuals with criminal records and their families for long periods create challenges not only for the returning individual and his or her family, but also for the community that must absorb the resulting criminal justice, shelter, and child welfare costs. Accordingly, PHAs should take advantage of their discretion by adopting fair and balanced admissions and eviction policies that consider individual circumstances. Such policies would reinforce national and community goals of encouraging successful reintegration of returning individuals into the community.

Example: Housing Authority of Portland (OR)

The Housing Authority of Portland (HAP) conducts state and county background checks in screening applicants for admission, but generally considers only convictions, rather than arrests, in making admissions decisions, unless an individual has a particularly large number of arrests. An individual who has been denied admission because of a criminal record has 10 days to request a formal hearing where he or she can present information about why the application should be approved. He or she may bring an advocate (usually a parole officer or a counselor) as well as any applicable evidence or good landlord references, to support his or her case. The decision made at the hearing is based on information provided at the hearing by both HAP and the applicant. An impartial Hearing Officer presides over the hearing.