Housing is a basic need and a human right. Cities across the country are facing unprecedented housing and homeless crises. Discrimination exacerbates this crisis for marginalized and vulnerable populations.
That is why in 2019, I proposed and passed Fair Access in Renting (FAIR), a groundbreaking screening criteria and security deposit reform policy package that will remove discriminatory barriers and increase access to housing. FAIR changes the criteria that can be used to screen potential tenants and regulates the security deposit process.
The heart of FAIR is about addressing the criteria that continue to be used in as a proxy for race, which includes criminal records, income requirements, and credit scores which leads to discrimination and disparate outcomes.
FAIR was the culmination of 2 years of work—we conducted extensive community outreach and honed FAIR into the strongest policy we could accomplish. I do not claim that the Fair Access in Renting package solves all our problems, but together, we built the most comprehensive screening criteria reform policy in the country, and I am proud of how we did it and why.
FAIR goes into effect in March of 2020.