When government moves beyond its proper purpose of protecting individual rights, the law often becomes a morass of confusion and contradiction. A law recently passed in Montgomery County, Maryland illustrates this point.
The Housing Justice Act was unanimously approved by the county council in an effort to reduce homelessness in the county. The law prohibits certain inquiries regarding criminal histories while screening rental housing applicants. Among the crimes included in this prohibition are trespassing, misdemeanor theft, and indecent exposure.
Consider what this law means: In Montgomery County, it is now a crime to ask about certain crimes. A landlord who simply inquires about certain criminal convictions becomes a criminal himself. A property owner who includes convictions for misdemeanor theft or indecent exposure in his background check of an applicant will be treated like a thief or an exhibitionist.
Government will arrest and perhaps incarcerate someone for engaging in certain actions, such as trespassing, misdemeanor theft, and indecent exposure. In Montgomery County, government may arrest and perhaps incarcerate a landlord for even asking if an individual has been charged with those crimes.
In prohibiting landlords from doing thorough background checks on applicants, the law prevents landlords from making fully informed decisions about prospective tenants. And this could expose landlords to additional liability, a fact that is acknowledged in the “Economic Impact Statement” prepared by the Montgomery County Office of Legislative Oversight for the county council:
Housing providers currently face tort liability in certain circumstances when the criminal behavior of residents imperils other residents and may be subject to legal risks associated with potential tort liability if their property is deemed a public nuisance or danger to the neighborhood…. This legislation [the Housing Justice Act], and any resulting change to the practices of housing providers regarding criminal background checks, may result in additional legal risk for housing providers.
On the one hand, government holds landlords liable for many of the actions of tenants. On the other hand, government is prohibiting landlords from obtaining the information necessary to properly screen tenants. In Montgomery County, landlords are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. Landlords can be thrown in jail for inquiring about a potential tenant’s criminal record, and if they rent to a tenant who later endangers others, that same landlord can be sued. This is the kind of contradiction that results when government exceeds its legitimate purpose.
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