The motions were introduced by Councilmen Mike Bonin and Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Councilwoman Nithya Raman.
The first motion would have the council instruct the city attorney to prepare an ordinance within 45 days that would prohibit landlords or their agents from inquiring about a prospective tenants’ failure to pay rent or bills during the COVID-19 emergency period, prior or current participation in a rental assistance program, eviction history, or credit history in the evaluation of their rental application.
Raman noted that people can be penalized by credit checks for prioritizing their rental payments above all else, causing problems when they look for housing in the future despite not missing rent payments. The second motion seeks an ordinance presented to the City Council within 60 days to require landlords to disclose in writing to prospective applicants the screening criteria they use to evaluate and select tenants. Landlords would also be required to tell rejected tenants why they were not successful in renting the unit.Bonin spoke about unhoused people who receive emergency housing vouchers from the federal government, but cannot find a landlord to accept the voucher.
The third motion seeks a prospective ordinance within 45 days to prohibit landlords from inquiring directly or indirectly about a rental applicant’s criminal history, or if the information is received, from using it in their evaluation about the application. That ordinance would be modeled after similar “Fair Chance Housing Ordinances” in Oakland and Berkeley.