Landlords and property sellers in Cook County may not discriminate against potential tenants or buyers based on their criminal record. A law called the Just Housing Amendment prohibits such discrimination. There are some exceptions. This article goes over the rules under that law.

Read the text of the amendment, and the rules for enforcing it.

VIDEO: Learn about the Just Housing Amendment.

What does the Just Housing Amendment (JHA) do?

The Just Housing Amendment (JHA) prohibits anyone from doing any of the following, based on a peron’s criminal record:

• Ask about or consider a person’s criminal record in a rental application process, unless the person has already been found to be qualified,
• Change the price, terms, conditions, or privileges of a sale or rental agreement,
• Put up an ad for a sale or rental property that indicates discrimination based on criminal record,
• Refuse to allow a person to see a property for sale or rent,
• Tell someone property isn’t for sale or rent when it is, or
• Offer to buy property based on the fact that its value is going down because people with a criminal record are moving in (“blockbusting”).

What types of criminal record are included?

A criminal record includes any information about a person’s:

• Arrest, charge, citation, or conviction for an offense,
• Juvenile record,
• Record of an offense that has been sealed, expunged, or pardoned, or
• Participation in a diversion or deferral of judgment program.

Are there exceptions?

Yes. A landlord can reject a rental application based on conviction(s) from the past 3 years. They must first consider all of the relevant factors.

Relevant factors

The landlord must consider each applicant as a whole before rejecting them based on their past conviction. They must consider all of these factors:

• The conduct that led to the conviction,
• How severe the conduct was,
• How recent the conduct was,
• The sentence,
• The number of convictions,
• The amount of time since the most recent conviction,
• The applicant’s age at the time of the most recent conviction, 
• The applicant’s history as a tenant, 
• Whether the conviction was related to the applicant’s disability, and
• If the applicant has a disability, whether the landlord could make a reasonable accommodation for them.

The landlord must also consider the applicant’s conduct since the conviction. They must consider whether it shows the applicant has improved them self. This is called “evidence of rehabilitation” and it includes:

• Following the rules of their sentence; 
• Certificates of good conduct; 
• Employer recommendations;
• Education or job training; 
• Treatment; and 
• Letters from people who have been around the applicant since their conviction.

The landlord must focus on whether the evidence shows that the applicant is likely to follow the rules of the lease.

Sex offense

A landlord can also reject an applicant if they are: 

• Restricted on where they can live because of a past conviction for a sex offense, or 
• Rquired to register because of a past conviction for a sex offense.

What is the process a landlord must follow?

The landlord cannot consider a conviction record until they have determined that the applicant meets other criteria. For example, the ability to pay rent. 

If the landlord considers the conviction, they must allow the applicant to show why the record does not impact the applicant’s ability to be a good tenant. 

Here is a breakdown of the specific steps a landlord must follow:

Step #1: Inform applicant of selection process

The landlord must give the applicant information about how they select tenants. In other words, what type of information they will consider. 

If they consider convictions, it must be related to protection of personal safety or property. It cannot be based on stereotypes about people with conviction records.

The landlord must also inform the applicant that they have the right to:

• Tell the landlord about wrong information on their criminal background check, and
• Provide evidence of their “rehabilitation,” such as letters and other documents (see above).

Finally, the landlord must provide a copy of the Just Housing Amendment rules.

The landlord may not take an application fee until giving all of this information.

Step #2: Pre-qualify

At this stage, the landlord cannot consider the applicant’s conviction record to deny them. The landlord must decide whether to allow the applicant to continue the application process based on other information.

To continue considering the applicant, the landlord must now notify them that they are going to run a criminal background check on them.

Step #3: Run criminal background check 

The landlord may now run a criminal background check on the applicant. 

Within 5 days of receiving it, they must give a copy to the applicant. They can do this in one of 3 ways:

• By hand,
• Through certified mail, or
• Through electronic communication (like email or text message).

The tenant has 5 business days to dispute any information in the report. They can also argue that the information is not relevant to their being able to be a good tenant.

Step #4: Consider criminal record

The landlord may now consider the applicant’s criminal record as part of their selection process. The landlord must:

• Only consider at convictions less than 3 years old, and
• Consider all of the relevant factors (see above).

The landlord may not consider:

• Arrests, dismissed charges, or citations that did not result in a conviction,
• Juvenile records
• Sealed or expunged records,
• Records of an offense that has been pardoned, or
• Participation in a diversion or deferral of judgment program.

Step #5: Approve or deny

The landlord must tell the applicant their decision within 3 business days of receiving information from the applicant disputing the report, or arguing it’s not relevant.

If it is a denial, and it is based on their criminal record, the denial must be in writing. The written denial also must:

• Explain why denial is necessary to protect against risk of harm to personal safety or property, and
• Include a statement informing the applicant that they can file a complaint with the Cook County Commission on Human Rights.

If the applicant has a disability, the decision must be based on objective evidence. It must also be based on a decision that the risk cannot be reduced or removed by making a reasonable change to accommodate them.

Can a landlord share the background check with others?

No. A landlord must keep the information in the background check confidential. 

What can I do if someone breaks the rules?

You can file a complaint with the Cook County Commission on Human Rights.