Housing assistance is a critical resource, supporting hardworking Americans around the country. Amidst wage stagnation and a rising cost of living, subsidized housing offers support and stability for millions of Americans.
When formerly incarcerated people can’t find stable housing, they have a much harder time finding and keeping jobs, maintaining their health and pursuing educational opportunities — the very thing that makes recidivism less likely, communities safer, and keeps families connected.
We are the champions of change! Justice 4 Housing has made significant headway against these barriers in the Commonwealth. Since 2020 we have collaborated with housing authorities to update their administrative plans, advocated with legislators to remove barriers to housing, and directly supported over 300 constituents to find housing, gain employment, access health care and reunite with their families. Our work is proof that formerly incarcerated people can and want to rebuild their lives and contribute to their communities.
In April of last year, we were thrilled to see new proposed rules, Reducing Barriers to HUD-Assisted Housing, submitted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). We proudly supported these rules, which mirrored five of the 12 policy recommendations we published in our Far from Home Report in 2022. The five mirrored recommendations would be a significant step forward:
HUD’s proposal to limit lookback periods to no longer than three years following any particular criminal activity would help formerly incarcerated people access housing at a critical period during their reentry. Local housing authorities in Massachusetts and others around the country have already reduced lookback periods with no adverse consequences to go along with the undeniable benefits to reunited families and communities.
A requirement that housing authorities and assisted owners cannot make decisions based on criminal history that research indicates is not predictive of future criminal activity … or based on incomplete or unreliable evidence of criminal activity (e.g., arrests) would limit the opportunity for discrimination against formerly incarcerated people on unfounded bases. Research has clearly demonstrated that arrests are not predictive of future criminal activity, and it is only right that they be excluded from housing considerations. Many past convictions do not impact suitability as a tenant, and the success of our housing programs serve as proof of this fact. For over two years, we have provided housing to formerly incarcerated individuals — both through our own units and partnerships with housing authorities — including those who served more than 20 years in prison. Across all of our programs, tenants are reuniting with their families, finding employment, starting businesses, and volunteering in their communities. These successes reflect the long-term stability our programs help foster.
HUD also proposed an update to its definition of an individualized assessment to require holistic information of multiple points of information and allow relevant mitigating factors. Formerly incarcerated people are more than their records and should be treated as such. Many formerly incarcerated people have taken decisive action while incarcerated and after being released to prepare for their reentry. This should be considered so that people who are eager to contribute to their communities are not barred from doing so. This change is not only fair but necessary to allow formerly incarcerated people to move on from their past and productively rejoin their communities.
“No Visit No Reside” agreements, which prevent family members from visiting and living with each other, would also be given a time limit equivalent to the lookback period for the disqualifying action. Although preferable to an eviction, housing authorities often use these agreements without due consideration for their disruption to families and do not provide enough flexibility if the excluded family member proves that they are fit to return. This new rule would ensure that all families have a path to be reunited.
HUD also proposed that housing authorities and HUD-assisted housing providers must provide notice of proposed action and a copy of any relevant criminal record to the subject of the criminal record no less than 15 days prior to denial. Providing applicants advance notice allows them to fight for their housing before being denied by gathering evidence or mitigating factors to show they will be suitable tenants. This opportunity is often denied to formerly incarcerated people when they only receive a denial without clear options for advocating for themselves. We believe that this advance notice, along with clear and helpful instructions for what evidence to gather and how to submit it, will be crucial to ensuring that formerly incarcerated people can access subsidized housing.
The former administration announced on Jan. 16, 2025, that they withdrew this important rule. We urge the new HUD secretary to reverse course and formally adopt these rules, to help meet the stated administrative priority to enact criminal justice reform. We recognize other criminal justice efforts from the current administration, such as the enactment of the Second Chance Act, and hope that the administration continues to support this reform in housing.
Leslie Credle is the founder and executive director of Justice 4 Housing.
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