Establishes the housing for an equitable reentry and opportunity (HERO) act to prohibit housing discrimination on the basis of criminal legal system involvement; defines criminal legal system involvement.
A05108, titled the “housing for an equitable reentry and opportunity (HERO) act,” would amend New York’s Human Rights Law to add “criminal legal system involvement” as a protected characteristic in housing. The bill defines that term broadly to include convictions, arrests, charges, citations, participation in diversion or deferred judgment programs, and records that have been sealed, expunged, vacated, or pardoned, as well as youthful offender adjudications and juvenile delinquency determinations.
The measure would prohibit landlords, owners, managing agents, and other housing providers from refusing to sell, rent, lease, or otherwise deny housing because of a person’s criminal legal system involvement. It would also bar discriminatory terms, conditions, or privileges in housing, and would prohibit written or oral inquiries, advertisements, or application language that express or imply such discrimination. The bill applies these protections to both private housing and publicly assisted housing, while preserving existing exemptions in the law for certain small-owner-occupied buildings, same-sex room rentals, and age-restricted housing.
The bill would amend sections 292 and 296 of the Executive Law, expanding New York’s existing housing discrimination protections under the Human Rights Law. It would make criminal legal system involvement a protected class in housing transactions and housing-related services, and would require housing providers to avoid inquiries and advertising practices that discriminate on that basis. The bill also includes a severability clause and would take effect 180 days after becoming law, affecting landlords, tenants, housing applicants, and public housing providers statewide.
No committee transcript or vote record is provided, so there is no documented floor or committee debate to gauge formal sentiment. Based on the bill text and caption, the measure appears to be framed as a reentry and fair-housing reform intended to reduce barriers for people with past justice-system contact. The absence of recorded votes or discussion means there is no evidence here of organized support or opposition beyond the bill’s introduction.
The main policy tension is likely to be between fair-housing and reentry advocates, who would support limiting housing discrimination based on past justice involvement, and housing providers or opponents concerned about screening practices, tenant safety, and landlord discretion. Another possible point of contention is the breadth of the definition, which covers arrests, citations, sealed or expunged records, youthful offender adjudications, and juvenile delinquency determinations, not just convictions. The bill also preserves several existing exemptions, which may reduce but not eliminate disputes over how far the new protections should extend.