Atlanta has joined a growing list of cities and states considering a “Tenant’s Bill of Rights.” Contrary to the claims of the proponents of such laws, the proposed law is more accurately a bill of wrongs. Among the provisions in Atlanta’s bill of wrongs are:
- A right to counsel in eviction hearings
- Rent “stabilization,” also known as rent control
- Protection from discrimination based on previous evictions (a form of “ban the box”)
“Ban the box” is a campaign to remove a check box from hiring applications that asks the applicant if he has a criminal record. Many housing advocates want to extend this prohibition to housing, and they want to include previous evictions.
Screening tenants is a difficult process, and it is filled with risks. A landlord wants some assurance that a tenant will pay the rent and not destroy the property. One way to obtain that assurance is by evaluating the applicant’s past behavior—criminal record and eviction record.
An individual with a criminal record has committed some act that the government deemed worthy of arrest and conviction. Similarly, an individual with an eviction has committed some transgression—such as failure to pay rent or otherwise breaking the lease—that required government intervention. Yet, “ban the box” prohibits a landlord from considering the government’s actions when screening an applicant.
I have rented to individuals with criminal records and past evictions. I don’t immediately disqualify individuals for having a record or eviction. Context matters. A conviction for possession of pot twenty years ago is much different than a conviction for armed robbery last year. The same holds true of evictions. If an individual had an eviction ten years ago and a clean record since, I will not hold the eviction against him. However, if the eviction was last year, I will be very hesitant to overlook the eviction.
There are many landlords who immediately disqualify those with a criminal record or eviction. Landlords should be free to do so. Each property owners should be free to determine the level of risk he is willing to accept.
Landlords are not the only victims of “ban the box” laws. If property owners cannot consider criminal records or evictions, then those with such transgressions are treated the same as those with a clean record. A landlord must treat the responsible and the irresponsible equally. This is an unearned reward for the irresponsible and an undeserved penalty for the responsible.