By Kelsie Chesnut, Celia Strumph, Faiza Chappell, Ari Kotler, John Bae

A person’s conviction history should never be a barrier to housing. Housing provides a foundation to engage in opportunities such as education and employment, making it a critical piece of one’s life, especially after release from incarceration. Formerly incarcerated people point to housing as one of the most important factors in helping them stay out of prison after release. Despite research finding that a conviction history does not predict a person’s housing success, some landlords fear that people with conviction histories will pose a threat to safety and property. The barriers to housing that people with conviction histories face place emotional and financial strain on families and destabilize communities. Because people leaving incarceration are regularly denied access to safe and affordable housing due to their conviction histories, they often rely on their families as the primary source of stable housing after release. But they are four to seven times more likely to be unemployed compared to members of the general public, so they often can’t make enough money to contribute to the household. As a result, people leaving incarceration often face homelessness and housing instability. Approximately one-third of formerly incarcerated people lack stable housing after release. People who experience homelessness have frequent interactions with police, who arrest them for misdemeanors often associated with homelessness, such as sleeping in public spaces and trespassing, reinforcing a cycle of homelessness and incarceration. Moreover, housing restrictions based on landlords’ reluctance to accept tenants with conviction histories also force people who are otherwise qualified for housing to resort to more precarious housing settings such as shelters, placing undue stress on systems and agencies that are already overburdened and have limited resources. People will continue to face barriers absent protections that end housing discrimination for people with conviction histories. To ensure that people are able to access housing after criminal legal system involvement, the Vera Institute of Justice (Vera) is advancing policy changes in several states, building on emerging lessons from the field. This research brief sheds light on how the passage of fair chance housing laws has impacted communities in Cook County (Illinois), New Jersey, and Washington, DC. Vera interviewed policy advocates, housing providers, enforcement agencies, policymakers, and other stakeholders to determine if people’s ability to secure housing has changed, the impact on housing provider operations, and the factors required to ensure that policies work.

New York: Vera Institute of Justice, 2025. 17p.