New York City Council Majority Leader Keith Powers introduced the Fair Chance for Housing Act Thursday, which would prohibit landlords from discriminating against potential tenants based on their criminal record. 

“New Yorkers who have paid their debts still experience severe discrimination, no matter how minor the offense or how long ago,” Powers wrote in a statement. “The Fair Chance for Housing Act will finally give these folks a place to sleep a night—and the opportunity to rebuild their lives.”

Two formerly incarcerated New Yorkers, Hilton Webb and Kandra Clark, sat down with Errol Louis on “Inside City Hall” Thursday to discuss the importance of the bill.

Webb, a social worker and member of the Fair Chance for Housing Coalition, said that he’s been upfront with landlords about his history and they would tell him they’re not interested because he was formerly incarcerated. 

“The reality is, the chances of somebody who’s served their time in prison, who’s been released, they’re looking for a stable home as well,” he said. 

Under the current law, landlords, brokers and other housing providers have the right to deny housing to an individual on the basis of a criminal background.

Clark — the vice president of policy and strategy for an organization that works with people impacted by the justice system, Exodus Transitional Community, Inc. — said the law would allow landlords to vet potential tents based on financial history, references and interviews; not through criminal records, which she said “is from their past.”

“My crime happened over 30 years ago,” Webb said. “Exactly how much longer do I have to pay for it? And that’s what’s unfair.”

As of 2019, there were close to 750,000 New York City residents with a conviction history, according to a press release sent out by Powers and other Council members.

According to Webb, about 36 million children in U.S. have at least one parent with a conviction record. “So you’re kicking kids out of housing. You’re keeping wives, husbands, daughters, sons out of housing,” he continued. 

Clark said that more real estate, developers, brokers, landlords and service organizations are on their side than opposed.

“I think that is something that was kind of missing from the previous years,” she said.

The Fair Chance for Housing Act has significant support on the City Council with 34 co-sponsors, the city comptroller, four borough presidents, the public advocate, and Mayor Eric Adams, according to Webb.

"No one should be denied housing because they were once engaged with the criminal justice system, plain and simple," the mayor's office wrote in a statement. "We look forward to reviewing the details of the introduced legislation, and we will work closely with our partners in the City Council to ensure it accomplishes that goal."

“Formerly incarcerated New Yorkers deserve a fair chance — truthfully, often a first chance — and in too many areas, their past record leads to discrimination and barriers rising to interfere with re-adjusting and increase recidivism,” Public Advocate Jumaane Williams wrote in a statement.

But some landlords are opposed.

“While everyone deserves a second chance, it defies all logic to prohibit building owners from utilizing criminal background checks - the single-most important variable whose relevant and appropriate information enables them to meet their legal and moral responsibility of providing safe housing for existing tenants,” Joseph Strasburg, president of a landlord group, the Rent Stabilization Association, wrote in a statement.

With the amount of support the bill has among city policymakers, landlord opposition may not matter.

“We’re very confident that we’ll be able to get it passed this year,” Clark said.