NYC Fair Chance for Housing Act 2025: Landlords Can't Consider Criminal History Before a Conditional Offer

Landlords have to evaluate an applicant's qualifications unrelated to criminal history, such as income, credit, and references, and only "tentatively approve" that applicant before any criminal screening step can begin.

[Cite: NYC Local Law 24 of 2024]

A landlord who runs a single combined background check covering both financial qualifications and criminal history at the same time, rather than in this specific sequence, isn't following the law's required process, even if the applicant would have passed either check independently.

Before any criminal background inquiry can happen, the landlord has to provide the applicant with a conditional acceptance letter, a copy of the lease or contract, and notice of the Fair Chance Housing Law's requirements.

[Cite: NYC Local Law 24 of 2024]

That conditional offer isn't a formality; it's the specific legal trigger that opens the door to criminal history review, and skipping straight to a background check without first issuing it is a violation regardless of what the check eventually shows.

Before the conditional offer stage, landlords can't ask about criminal history in any form, including a general application question about prior convictions.

[Cite: NYC Local Law 24 of 2024]

A standard rental application template that still includes a checkbox asking "Have you ever been convicted of a crime?" is itself a compliance problem under this law if that question is presented before the conditional-offer stage.

Only specific categories qualify: registered sex offenses have no time limit, misdemeanors count only within 3 years of release or sentencing, and felonies count only within 5 years of completing incarceration or sentencing.

[Cite: NYC Local Law 24 of 2024]

A felony conviction from 8 years ago, with incarceration completed well outside the 5-year window, isn't reviewable criminal history under this law, even if a background check report still shows it; the landlord can't factor it into the decision.

The landlord has to give the applicant all the discovered information, allow 5 business days for the applicant to submit corrections or mitigating evidence, conduct an individualized review of what's submitted, and document in writing how the history relates to a legitimate business interest.

[Cite: NYC Local Law 24 of 2024]

Simply citing the existence of a conviction, or a general preference for tenants without criminal records, isn't sufficient written justification under this process; the law requires a specific, documented connection to a legitimate business interest.

The law doesn't apply to 2-family buildings where the owner lives on the premises, or to a room rented within an owner-occupied property.

[Cite: NYC Local Law 24 of 2024]

A landlord renting out a room in their own owner-occupied home, or a unit in a 2-family building they also live in, isn't bound by the 2-step screening sequence or the lookback limits that apply to larger or non-owner-occupied rental operations.

Covered entities that comply with this law's screening restrictions are shielded from liability if a resident is later harmed by a tenant with a criminal history.

[Cite: NYC Local Law 24 of 2024]

That protection offsets some of the exposure landlords might otherwise worry about when the law limits how much criminal history can factor into a leasing decision; following the law's process correctly carries its own legal protection, not just a compliance obligation.

The NYC Commission on Human Rights enforces this law, with fines of up to $250,000 per violation, civil liability, and the ability for applicants to file administrative complaints or pursue civil litigation directly.

[Cite: NYC Local Law 24 of 2024]

That per-violation fine structure means a landlord who mishandles multiple applications under the old, pre-2025 screening order faces exposure that compounds across each affected applicant, not a single flat penalty.

Since the law restricts when a background check can even be run, a landlord using a third-party screening company needs that vendor's process to match the required sequence, not just the vendor's own standard timeline.

[Cite: NYC Local Law 24 of 2024]

A landlord whose screening vendor automatically pulls a combined credit-and-criminal report at the start of every application is working with a process that doesn't match this law's required order, regardless of how the vendor's contract is otherwise structured.

Because the individualized assessment step specifically requires written documentation connecting any reviewable history to a legitimate business interest, a landlord's recordkeeping practices are now part of the compliance requirement itself, not just good practice.

[Cite: NYC Local Law 24 of 2024]

A landlord who denies an applicant based on reviewable criminal history but keeps no written record of that individualized analysis has a real exposure gap if the denial is ever challenged, even if the underlying decision was reasonable.

The practical starting point is auditing every application form and screening workflow to confirm criminal history questions and checks only happen after a conditional offer, not alongside standard financial qualification review.

For any applicant whose background does turn up reviewable criminal history, building a documented, written individualized-assessment step into the process, rather than relying on an informal judgment call, is what the law's own enforcement structure actually expects.