The Seattle City Council passed the “Fair Chance Housing” ordinance in 2017 and one of key components of the legislation was to restrict the ability of rental property owners from asking prospective tenants about previous criminal convictions.

Several landlords and trade groups sued Seattle claiming that the law violated the free-speech and due-process rights of the property owners.

Common sense says that a property owner needs to know who is renting their property, but the City of Seattle disagreed.

March 21, the 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned part of the Fair Chance Housing law, previously upheld by a lower court. The court ruling concluded that it was unconstitutional to prevent a property owner from asking about the criminal history of a potential tenant.

The Washington Policy Center highlighted the problems with the Fair Chance Housing law in 2021 and the potential impact it would have on increasing rents and rental property availability. Over the last two years, both rents have increased, and rental property availability has decreased, in some measure to the law being in effect.

The law puts property owner in a position where they are unable to determine if the renter is a good, or potentially a bad tenant, effecting not just the landlord’s rental property but those of properties in the same area as the rental unit. Each renter situation is unique, and a failed background check doesn’t necessarily mean a renter will be denied a rental. It does, however, allow the property owner to make an educated decision on the risk that is assumed for each renter in the property.

A background check that shows a renter has caused property damage or has been delinquent in paying rent in the past clearly is a higher risk tenant. It also would show if a tenant, that has had a spotty rental history, has worked to subsequently repair that history.

While the case is likely to be appealed, for now, property owners can at least check the criminal backgrounds of prospective tenants, helping to keep rental costs down.