As explored in a Contemporary Information Corp (CIC) article, the United States is evolving into a renter-friendly country with its rental laws. This compels rental property investors and credit-reporting agencies to shift their approach to contractual decisions as tenant-screening laws shift. One element involved in ensuring smart and prudent leasing rental decisions, protected from litigation, is screening potential tenants for sex-offender status.
Spurred by California’s Megan’s Law and adopted by other states nationwide, the sex-offender registry is a unique criminal-record database. Such records are classified according to three levels. Only those designated Level Three Sex Offenders have their names made available to the public, with lower-level offenders reported privately at county levels only. Being assigned that third level depends on factors such as risk of repeat offense, age, and potential danger to the public.
Having such data at hand helps provide assurance of a safe, responsible living experience for all community members. It fulfills the obligations of property owners to make informed decisions on whom to rent to. Contemporary Information Corp collects data in the sex-offender registry and from courts at all levels across the country, including Native Tribes Washington DC. This ensures that all information is current and actionable.
Understanding the specific rules and regulations of various jurisdictions is critically important, as states and municipalities use unique laws or interpretations of statutes. For example, Seattle’s Fair Chance Housing Ordinance prevents landlords from “categorically excluding” any applicant with a record, including sex offenders.
Missouri has exceptions related to “Romeo and Juliet” laws. This means sex-offender registration is expunged after two years, in cases where one had consensual physical relations with a person over the age of 14.
Each state also has different rules that sex offenders must live by. For example, in California one faces fees of as much as $10,000 when listed on the sex-offender registry. In Illinois, fines extend as high as $25,000, and there are also $100 initial registration and $100 annual registry fees. Sex offenders in California must disclose social media identifiers, while those in Illinois are not allowed social media at all while on probation or parole. In California sex offenders cannot come within 2,000 feet of a school, while in Illinois this distance is 500 feet. Finally, California sex offenders need to report to authorities within five days of any residential move, while those in Illinois must report within three days.
One major question mark landlords face is how to comply with Megan’s Law while also following HUD mandates under the Fair Housing Act, prohibiting the refusing to rent to someone with a prior arrest or criminal conviction. The key is never doing anything “as a policy” but rather looking at the individual, the facts of the crime, and how long ago the conviction occurred.
Instead of relying on broad stereotypes, the landlord assesses whether the applicant poses an immediate threat to guests, tenants, and employees. In practical terms, a case of statutory rape two decades ago, with no criminal convictions since, often counts less against the applicant than a recent, non-consensual incident.
