Current State
Current State
Young people and their families experience high rates of housing discrimination from landlords and sometimes significant barriers to accessing public housing or housing supports due to a variety of prejudices including, but not limited to: racism, ageism, ableism, sexism, homophobia and heteronormativism, transphobia, classism, xenophobia, and discrimination based on housing status or source of income.
Federal, state, and local laws and policies often allow landlords to discriminate based on: prior evictions, regardless of the legality of those evictions; prior convictions, regardless of the circumstances or outcome; and sources of income (including housing vouchers, Social Security, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families assistance, and other types of rental assistance). These policies leave young people and their families highly vulnerable to experiencing homelessness or needing to double up or move between staying with different friends and family, or “couch surfing.”
Landlords can reject housing applications based on prior evictions and accusations or convictions of crime, despite the fact that these dynamics are often cyclical: insufficient income, unforeseen financial crises or even relatively small unforeseen expenses like vehicle repairs can lead people to fall behind on rent. The lack of affordable housing nationwide, compounded by the features of structural racism embedded in all of our public service systems, perpetuates or starts cycles of housing instability, criminal or juvenile legal system involvement, and homelessness. Once in this cycle, it is difficult for young people and their families to regain the stability they need to thrive.
Public education systems also perpetuate these cycles. By charging parents fines or fees when children are unable to attend school, even for matters beyond their control, education systems perpetuate the criminalization of poverty. Furthermore, employers discriminate against parents and young people when familial obligations impede their work. Law enforcement exacerbates the challenges that young people and their families may be facing by using noise and nuisance complaints and rules to over-police low income and BIPOC communities.
The dynamics outlined above are facets of structural racism and must be dismantled in order for young people and their families to have the opportunity to thrive, unencumbered by systems bent on their oppression.
Federal statutes and regulations require that public housing agencies and some federal assisted housing programs cannot accept applicants who have been convicted of methamphetamine production, who are registered sex offenders, and those with previous evictions for drug-related criminalized activity. (1) While these laws were designed to protect and promote safety, they systematically perpetuate the structural racism embedded in the criminal legal system and exacerbate the challenges of finding affordable housing for young people and their families. (2)
(1) The registration requirements lengths for each tier of sex offense are as follows: Tier 1 requires registration for 15 years, Tier 2 requires registration for 25 years, and Tier 3 requires registration for life. PHAs must consult state law to determine the length of time an applicant is required to register under state law and, if the applicant is subject to a lifetime registration requirement under state law, the applicant cannot be admitted to HUD assisted housing even if the applicant’s sex offense is a Tier 1 or Tier 2 offense. State Registered Lifetime Sex Offenders in the Housing Choice Voucher and Public Housing Programs FAQ
(2) Federally Assisted Housing and Previously Incarcerated Individuals