Rhode Island House Bill H7034

Rhode Island 2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/9/26
• Refer: 1/9/26

Caption

RELATING TO PROPERTY -- RHODE ISLAND FAIR HOUSING PRACTICES ACT

Summary

H7034 amends the Rhode Island Fair Housing Practices Act to add “incarceration status” to the list of protected characteristics in housing transactions. The bill prohibits owners, landlords, agents, and lenders from asking about an applicant’s prior incarceration, from refusing to sell, rent, lease, or otherwise provide housing because of prior incarceration, and from issuing advertisements or using application practices that indicate a preference or limitation based on incarceration history. It also bars related discrimination in the terms, conditions, privileges, or services connected with housing and housing-related financial assistance. The bill also makes a narrower but explicit change to application practices by prohibiting inquiries into an applicant’s former address of residence, including through rental applications. At the same time, it preserves existing fair housing exceptions and clarifies that landlords may still ask whether an applicant is at least 18 years old and may evaluate lawful income sources and housing subsidies under nondiscriminatory standards. The measure takes effect upon passage.

Impact

This bill would amend state fair housing law in Chapter 34-37 to expand protected status to include prior incarceration, thereby limiting housing screening, advertising, and decision-making by landlords, property managers, and housing lenders. It would create a new statutory prohibition on asking about an applicant’s former residence and would make incarceration-based discrimination unlawful in the sale, rental, leasing, and financing of housing accommodations. The bill would also affect enforcement of housing discrimination claims and could require landlords and housing providers to revise applications, screening policies, and advertising language.

Sentiment

The available context suggests generally favorable sentiment toward the bill’s purpose, which is framed as preventing housing discrimination against people who have been released from prison. The bill’s caption and explanatory note emphasize fair housing access and the removal of barriers for returning citizens. No committee transcript or recorded vote is provided, so there is no evidence in the supplied materials of organized opposition or formal debate, but the measure appears to be presented as a targeted civil-rights and reentry policy change.

Contention

The main point of contention is likely to be the balance between fair housing protections for people with prior incarceration and landlords’ interest in screening tenants for risk. The bill directly limits questions about criminal history and former addresses, which may concern housing providers who rely on background screening practices. At the same time, the bill preserves existing exceptions for age verification, lawful income verification, and other nondiscriminatory standards, indicating an effort to narrow the change to incarceration status rather than broadly restricting tenant screening.