Attachment B
Comparison of Example Criminal History Lookback Periods For City Council use in comparison, the following table presents a few examples of lookback periods.
Jurisdiction Lookback
Period
Notes
HUD Proposed Rule 1 3 years (longer
lookback
period
presumed
unreasonable)
Would have required HUD-assisted
housing providers to establish
lookback periods, with anything
longer than 3-years deemed
presumptively unreasonable. A
longer period could be justified with
empirical evidence for certain crimes.
Illinois
(Public Housing Access Bill) 2
6 months for
criminal
activity prior to
a rental
housing
application
Lookback period of 6 months for
criminal activity prior to application,
with exceptions for federal
requirements.
New Jersey
(Fair Chance Housing Act) 3
1 year for 4th
degree
indictable
offenses,
4 years for 2nd
or 3rd degree
offenses,
6 years for 1st
degree
offenses
Shorter or longer lookback periods
for convictions based on offense
severity.
Colorado
(Rental Application Fairness Act) 5
5 years Landlords cannot consider
convictions older than 5 years, with
exceptions for serious crimes (e.g.,
meth-related offenses, sex offender
registry, homicides).
Berkeley, CA 6 - Does not have a lookback period, as
the Ordinance does not allow
inquiries about criminal history
unless required by State or Federal
law.
Oakland, CA 7 - Does not have a lookback period, as
the Ordinance does not allow
inquiries about criminal history
unless required by State or Federal
law.
Richmond, CA 8 2 years Landlords of affordable housing
cannot consider convictions older
than 2 years from the date of
sentencing.
San Francisco, CA 9 7 years Applicable to affordable housing in San Francisco. Affordable housing
providers cannot consider
convictions older than 7 years old.
Cook County, IL 10 3 years Applicable to persons engaged in “real estate transactions.” Real
estate transactions include the sale,
rental, lease, and sublease renewal
of residential properties. Requires an
individualized assessment if criminal
history within the past 3 years is
considered.
New York City, NY 11 3 years for
misdemeanors;
5 years for
felonies
The 3 or 5 years is measured from
release or sentencing date,
regardless of probation or parole
status. Applicable to all brokers,
licensed salespeople, housing
owners, property managers, and all
individuals with the authority to
approve or deny the rental or sale of
housing, as well as their agents and
employees apart from narrow
exceptions.
Additional California Context for Reference:
California Investigative Consumer
Reporting Agencies Act
(ICRAA) 12
7 years Prohibits consumer reporting
agencies from reporting arrest,
indictment, or conviction records
older than 7 years, with exceptions
for certain crimes (e.g., serious
offenses).
California Clean Slate Act (SB 731) 13 Sealing after
completion of
sentence
Seals certain non-violent criminal
records automatically after sentence
completion and meeting
rehabilitation criteria (usually 1–5
years post-sentence, depending on
the offense).
Sources:
1 Federal Register, Reducing Barriers to HUD-Assisted Housing A Proposed Rule by the Housing and Urban Development Department, April 10, 2024, Accessed March 24, 2025:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/04/10/2024-06218/reducing-barriers-to-hud- assisted-housing.
See also Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), FR-6362-N-02 Reducing Barriers to HUD-Assisted Housing; Withdrawal, January 16, 2025, Accessed March 24, 2025:
https://www.regulations.gov/document/HUD-2024-0031-1298. 2 Illinois Public Act 103-0215 (2023), https://ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/101/PDF/101-0659.pdf. 3 Fair Chance in Housing Act, NJ ST 46:8-52 (2021), https://www.njoag.gov/wp- content/uploads/2021/12/Fair-Chance-in-Housing-Act_NJSA-46-8-52-et-seq.pdf. 5 Colorado HB 19-1106 (2020), https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/2019a_1106_signed.pdf. 6 City of Berkeley Municipal Code, Chapter 13.106 Prohibiting the Use of Criminal History in Housing Decisions, Accessed March 12, 2025: https://berkeley.municipal.codes/BMC/13.106.
See also City of Berkeley, Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board, Fair Chance Housing FAQ for Rental Property Owners and Managers, Accessed March 12, 2025:
https://berkeleyca.gov/sites/default/files/2022-
01/Fair%20Chance%20FAQ%20for%20Rental%20Property%20Owners%20and%20Managers.pdf. 7 Oakland Municipal Code Chapter 8.25,
https://library.municode.com/ca/oakland/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT8HESA_CH8.25ROV .DESISHFACHACHOOR.
See also, City of Oakland, Fair Chance Access to Housing Ordinance, Accessed March 12, 2025:
https://www.oaklandca.gov/resources/fair-chance-access-to-housing-ordinance; City of Oakland, Housing and Community Development Department, Ronald V. Dellums and Simarashe Sherry Fair Chance Access to Housing Ordinance NO. 13581 C.M.S Frequently Asked Questions, Accessed March 12, 2025: https://cao-94612.s3.us-west-
2.amazonaws.com/documents/Fair-Chance-FAQ.pdf.
8 City of Richmond, Ordinance No. 20-16 N.S AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
RICHMOND REQUIRING PROVIDERS OF PUBLIC OR SUBSIDIZED HOUSING TO ENSURE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR HOUSING APPLICANTS WITH PAST CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS, Accessed March 12, 2025: https://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/49090/20-16-NSChapter-7110-Fair- Chance-Access-to-Affordable-Housing.
9 City of San Francisco Police Code, ARTICLE 49: PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDERING ARRESTS AND CONVICTIONS AND RELATED INFORMATION IN EMPLOYMENT AND HOUSING DECISIONS, Accessed March 12, 2025: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/san_francisco/latest/sf_police/0-0-0-8603.
See also City of San Francisco, Accessed March 12, 2025: https://www.sf.gov/information--affordable- housing-protections-people-criminal-history.
10 Cook County Commission on Human Rights, Just Housing Amendment, Accessed March 24, 2025:
https://www.cookcountyil.gov/content/just-housing-amendment-human-rights-ordinance; https://cook-county.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3893091&GUID=069CAF13-32BF-46D4- AD80-829C9E2B2ED8&Options=Advanced&Search=&FullText=1;
https://library.municode.com/il/cook_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIGEOR_CH42HU RE_ARTIIHURI_S42-38HO.
See also Cook County Commission on Human Rights, Just Housing Amendment Frequently Asked Questions for Landlords, Accessed March 24, 2025:
https://www.cookcountyil.gov/sites/g/files/ywwepo161/files/documents/2024- 01/jha_faq_for_landlords_updated_1.29.24%20%281%29.pdf.
Cook County Commission on Human Rights, 2024 Just Housing Amendment Evaluation and Report Issued on November 19, 2024, Accessed March 24, 2025:
https://www.cookcountyil.gov/sites/g/files/ywwepo161/files/documents/2025- 01/JHAEvaluation_2024%20%281%29.pdf.
Cook County Commission on Human Rights, Just Housing Amendment Interpretive Rules (added 12/13/19; amended 12/9/21), Accessed March 24, 2025:
https://www.cookcountyil.gov/sites/g/files/ywwepo161/files/documents/2021- 12/Just%20Housing%20Rules%20Effective%20December%209%202021.pdf. 11 New York City Administrative Code, Accessed March 24, 2025:
https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:33c0fd72-0aec-4f44-b43a-d2045361f20f.
See also New York Commission on Human Rights, Fair Chance Act in Housing, Accessed March 24, 2025: https://www.nyc.gov/site/cchr/media/fair-chance-housing-campaign.page. 12 CA Civ Code § 1786.18.
13 California Legislative Information, California Clean Slate Act (SB 731) (2021-22), Accessed March 12, 2025: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB731.
See also The Clean Slate Initiative, New Research: Impacts of California’s Clean Slate Law, October 25, 2024, Accessed March 12, 2025: https://www.cleanslateinitiative.org/updates/new-research-impacts- california-clean-
slate#:~:text=California%20passed%20a%20series%20of,based%20process%20for%20potential%20rel ief.
Skog, Castellanos, Lacoe, and Pickard, California Policy Lab, Who Benefits from Automatic Record Relief in California?, October 2024, Accessed March 12, 2025: https://cdn.prod.website- files.com/6706c50505f0ff8dbeaf5682/67ca5375a6982860d5f1e809_Automatic-Record-Relief-in- California.pdf.