- Hosted by Nation Outside and the Vera Institute of Justice, rallyers gathered at the Capitol to push for the passing of House Bill 4878
- This bill would prohibit landlords from evaluating rental applications based on an applicant’s criminal record
Transcript:
Rallyers gathered at the State Capitol on Tuesday to push for housing security for people with past criminal records.
The Fair Chance Access to Housing Rally brought people together to urge legislators to pass a bill that would prohibit landlords from evaluating rental applications based on an applicant’s criminal record, excluding sex offender registration, and certain crimes required to be disclosed federally.
I talked to one advocate who explained her own struggles in housing due to a criminal record.
"I have a college degree, a great credit score, a great job, income," Jessica Henry of Nation Outside said. "The landlords are not taking that into account because they look at the application, they see that it says, yes, I've been convicted of a felony, and they don't read it anymore."
But there is another side here. I spoke with Douglas Marcum, President of the Property Management Association of Michigan to ask him what concerns landlords may have.
"What about the individual that maybe has a track record of violent offenses, assaults, things like that," he explained. "We would want to know to determine whether that would be a safe fit for not only the rest of the residents in that building, but also the staff."
And in a statement from Michigan Representative Alicia St. Germaine (R), she said, “A landlord is operating business, and should have the right to make informed decisions on who they want to do business with to protect themselves and others.”
Reporting from the capitol, I’m john hart
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