Posted by A county in California has passed an ordinance banning landlords from conducting criminal background checks on prospective tenants.
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 on Tuesday to adopt the Fair Chance Housing Ordinance. 1 member withdrew.
The ordinance is part of a package of tenant protection bills.
This measure prohibits both private and public landlords from requiring applicants to disclose arrest or convictions. It also prohibits ads that discourage people with criminal records from applying for housing.
SAN BERNARDINO ends 10 years of bankruptcy
Aerial view of Oakland, California in Alameda County. County leaders passed a bill this week that would ban landlords from conducting criminal background checks on prospective tenants.
(Reuters/Stephen Lam)
The ordinance applies to most residential units in the unincorporated communities of Ashland, Castro Valley, Cherryland, Fairview, San Lorenzo and Sunol, Fox San Francisco reported. That comes at a time when the Bay Area is facing skyrocketing housing costs and a homelessness crisis.
The California Apartment Association criticized the move, saying Alameda County needed more units, not “bureaucracy or laws.”
“Rather than focusing on building affordable housing and lifting moratoriums on evictions, the county will protect tenant rights and adopt new limits on landlords’ ability to provide quality housing. We are wasting our time doing this,” the group said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“Before imposing new regulations on housing providers, the oversight board should lift the COVID-era eviction moratorium, which encourages tenants not to pay rent, even if they have never experienced COVID-related difficulties. “Instead of wasting time on policies that don’t really solve the housing crisis, Alameda County should follow other cities across the state and end the outdated and legally problematic eviction moratorium.” is.”
Fox News Digital also reached out to supporters of the ordinance.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The new law will take effect when the county’s pandemic eviction moratorium expires at the end of April.
