Rental housing unlawful housing practices: applications: criminal records.

Existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, generally prohibits housing discrimination with respect to the personal characteristics of race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of income, disability, veteran or military status, or genetic information. This bill would make it an unlawful housing practice for the owner of a rental housing accommodation to inquire about, or require an applicant for a rental housing accommodation to disclose, a criminal record during the initial application assessment phase, as defined, unless otherwise required by state or federal law. After the successful completion of the initial application assessment phase, the bill would permit an owner to request a criminal background check of the applicant and consider an applicant's criminal record in deciding whether to rent or lease to the applicant. The bill would require an owner who is considering denying an application on the basis of the applicant's criminal record to, within 5 days of receiving the information that is the basis of the possible denial, provide the applicant with a written statement listing the reasons for the possible denial before making a final decision. If, within 3 days of receipt of the written statement of the possible denial, the applicant provides the owner notice of evidence demonstrating the inaccuracy of the item or items within the applicant's criminal record or evidence of rehabilitation or other mitigating factors, as specified, the bill would require the owner to reconsider their decision for a specified time, and would require the owner to provide written notification to the applicant of the owner's final decision to deny the application. The bill would prohibit the owner, in a rental application or as otherwise part of the application process, from seeking, considering, using, or taking an adverse action based in whole or in part on specified information or occurrences, including, among others, arrests that did not result in conviction, convictions that have been voided, and juvenile justice determinations. The bill would also require an owner to provide an applicant notice, as specified, in the application itself and before requesting a criminal background check. The bill would provide that its provisions do not apply under specified circumstances, including if the rental housing accommodation is a single-family home, duplex, triplex, or accessory dwelling unit in which the owner occupies a unit or bedroom as a principal residence. The act provides that, in connection with specified unlawful practices related to housing discrimination, proof of a violation causing a discriminatory effect is shown if an act or failure to act has the effect, regardless of intent, of unlawfully discriminating on the basis of any of the personal characteristics described above. The act provides that a business establishment whose action or inaction has an unintended discriminatory effect shall not be considered to have committed an unlawful housing practice in violation of the act if the business establishment can establish that the action or inaction is necessary to the operation of the business and effectively carries out the significant business need it is alleged to serve. This bill would instead provide that a business establishment whose action or inaction has an unintended discriminatory effect shall not be considered to have committed an unlawful housing practice in violation of the act if the business establishment can establish that the action or inaction is necessary to achieve one or more substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory business interests and effectively carries out the significant business interest it is alleged to serve. The act establishes the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, under the direction of an executive officer to, among other things, receive, investigate, conciliate, mediate, and prosecute complaints alleging practices made unlawful under the act. The act establishes procedures for the prevention and elimination of discrimination in housing made unlawful under its provisions, including authorizing any person claiming to be aggrieved by an alleged violation of specified provisions to file a verified complaint in writing with the department. The act requires the department to investigate an alleged violation and, in the case of failure to eliminate a violation that has occurred, or is about to occur, through conference, conciliation, mediation, or persuasion, requires the director to file a civil action in the name of the department on behalf of that person. This bill would extend the application of those enforcement procedures to the above-described unlawful housing practices.