Former prisoners have a better chance of finding rental housing in Texas, thanks to a new state law.
The new law exempts landlords from civil liability for renting to people with criminal records, the Austin Chronicle reported in January.
Even with the help of HB 1510, formerly incarcerated people find it difficult to attain housing because of housing shortages. Landlords can still deny people with criminal histories without violating the Fair Housing Act according to the newspaper.
Testifying for the bill, Douglas Smith of the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition said he had a criminal record and recounted a conversation he had with a landlord:
“I asked if they ever made exceptions. He said, ‘No! If we made an exception for you, a White person, and not someone else, then we’d be violating the Fair Housing Act.’ I was shocked.”
Smith paroled in 2014 and reported he had been living in his parents’ garage apartment.
City Councilman Greg Casar said increasing more Accessory Dwelling Units would improve affordable housing opportunities for everyone.
“We’re in a landlord’s market,” said Casar. “If we don’t have more than enough housing, landlords are going to have that advantage. It’s really important for us to have more than enough housing for our population so that landlords have to compete for tenants.”
Isa Arizola said she had rented an Accessory Dwelling Unit with her family without incident until the new landlord asked her to file a new application in which Arizola’s criminal record was revealed. At that point, she and her family were asked by the landlord to move out .
“My kids are suffering the consequence of what I did several years later,” Arizola said.
