Let us start the article by considering the Fair Housing Act. The Act plays an important role in making sure that a host of potential clients are not discriminated against.
However, the Fair Housing Act fails to make any provisions for safeguarding the individuals who are discriminated against for having a felony on their criminal records. It is easy to see that committing a felony could leave a stain that is more or less permanent.
But, it is important to note that despite committing a felony, you’d still get several opportunities to find housing. In this article, we will go about the steps an ex-felon needs to follow for renting an apartment.
In general, when anyone shares an application to rent an apartment, he is immediately brought under the microscope. In all aspects, your life is examined and scanned. With a felony on the criminal record, one can expect the examination process to be more thorough.
In a nutshell, an ex-felon can rent an apartment.
A part of the process that is difficult to avoid is the landlord scrutinizing the application. He expects the tenants to be model citizens. In most cases, there will be several behaviors that will be unacceptable to the landlord.
If they feel that the tenant is going to demonstrate any of the following behaviors, they may choose to deny the application.
- Having a sub-standard character
- Unclear job status
- Iterative late payments
- Property damage
- The premises being used for conducting illegal activities
It becomes easy to see that making a great impression on your landlord is a matter of great significance. It is possible that if the apartment is in demand, your landlord may choose to reject your application upon seeing a felony on your records.
On the other hand, landlords are more flexible when it comes to renting their property when they are desperate to rent it and the demand for the unit is limited.
A research in the favor of ex-felons
A study was conducted by the University of Minnesota in the 1960s and it was based on criminal activity. The findings of the study demonstrated that if one commits a crime but does not conduct a crime for the seven years that follow, the person is not any more likely to commit a crime again, as compared to someone who has never committed a crime.
Put your expression in writing
Written letters are not as common these days as they earlier used to be. So, upon receiving a written letter, the recipient is going to pay more heed to it than he earlier would have.
It hence becomes a recommendable practice, here, to jot down a message for your landlord that expresses your remorse and defines the type of person that you are. This boosts the chances of your landlord renting the apartment to you.
Contact ReeCareers for information on any felon housing programs. We also offer resources on rehabilitation programs for felons and jobs hiring felons.
