So you want to add a felon to your rental lease. Maybe it’s a family member getting out of prison, a new romantic partner with a record, or a friend down on their luck. Adding a felon to my lease is tricky, but often possible if you go about it the right way.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about the process. First we’ll define some key terminology around landlords, tenants, and rental criteria. Next, I’ll overview the various laws and regulations that come into play when renting to someone with a criminal history.
From there, we’ll go step-by-step through the application and screening process most landlords use to evaluate tenants. Finally, I’ll give you some proven tips and strategies for overcoming stigma and objections to get a felon approved to join your lease.
Let’s get started!
Defining Key Terms
Before we dive in too deep, we should define some of the key concepts and players involved when adding a felon to my lease.
What is a Felon?
A felon refers to someone convicted of a felony crime. Felonies are more serious criminal offenses that carry a punishment of over 1 year in prison. Some examples include murder, rape, robbery, felony assault, arson, large-scale fraud or theft, and high-level drug charges.
The specific classification of felonies versus misdemeanors varies by state. But in general, felonies represent the highest tier of crimes short of treason. They come with long-lasting consequences even after a sentence is served.
Overview of Rental Leases
A rental lease or rental agreement is a binding legal contract between a landlord/property owner and a tenant renting a housing unit. The lease spells out details like:
- Duration of agreement
- Monthly rent amount
- Utility responsibilities
- Use restrictions
- Maintenance expectations
- Grounds for eviction
Landlords and tenants both take on various rights and responsibilities by signing a rental contract.
Landlord and Tenant Rights
Landlords hold legal title to the property and must comply with laws around sanitation, safety, discrimination and more. They’re allowed to screen prospective tenants and deny certain risky applicants.
Tenants gain exclusive access to the unit along with quiet enjoyment and habitability. They must pay rent on time and avoid damage or nuisance behavior per the lease.
Adding an additional adult tenant like a felon typically requires landlord consent via an application process. Let’s look closer at the regulations around that.
Laws Regarding Renting to Felons
Several laws come into play when adding a felon to your lease from both landlord and tenant perspectives. While felons don’t enjoy protected class status, there are still certain fairness standards landlords must follow.
Fair Housing Act Guidance
The federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) prohibits housing discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability and familial status. It applies to both property sale and rental housing.
In 2016, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released guidance clarifying how the FHA treats criminal records in tenant screening. Specifically, HUD said blanket policies refusing any applicant with a criminal history likely violate the FHA on the basis of disparate impact.
Instead, landlords must make individualized assessments looking at the nature, severity and recency of convictions plus any mitigating factors. Outright bans against felons may be illegal discrimination without proper risk analysis.
State and Local Laws
Beyond federal rules, your particular state and city may have additional laws regarding the use of criminal records in making tenant decisions. For example, some states outright ban consideration of arrests without conviction. Others restrict lookback periods on background checks.
It’s important to review the latest housing ordinances in your area when navigating the tenant application process. Local non-profits can also advise if you feel you were denied housing solely due to felony status.
Assessing Risk
Landlords do maintain broad discretion when screening tenants to minimize risks like:
- Safety issues for other residents
- Potential property damage
- Non-payment of rent
- Nuisance complaints
While a criminal record alone shouldn’t lead to automatic denial, legitimate risk factors associated with certain felony convictions may rightly prompt extra scrutiny or requirements like an additional security deposit.
The Rental Application Process
To formally add a felon to your apartment lease, you’ll need to submit an application on their behalf just like any new tenant. Here’s an overview of what that entails:
Rental Criteria
Most landlords judge prospective renters across a defined set of criteria commonly included in their posted rental policy. Typical checks include:
- Criminal history
- Credit score
- Income level
- Rental history
The exact thresholds that lead to automatic denial versus conditional approval vary widely depending on the property. Felons don’t have many protections here, so you’ll want to probe the policy upfront.
Background Checks
Submitting a rental application triggers the landlord to run background checks on the applicant. This usually involves a criminal history search plus civil court records pull centering on evictions.
Background screening fees range from $25 on the low end to $75+ for deep multi-state checks. As the current leaseholder, you may have to foot the bill for any applicant attempts.
What Landlords Look For
Landlords screen tenants in order to minimize risks to their property and community. Specifically, some concerning red flags they look for include:
- Recent violent felony convictions
- Registered sex offenders
- Prior evictions
- Terrible credit indicating financial irresponsibility
Mitigating factors like employer references, counseling records, eviction alternatives and sufficient income can offset negative records.
Financial Requirements
Adding another tenant often means heightened income requirements to support higher rent. Expect a landlord to verify current household income can cover 2-3x the monthly rent. Pay stubs, tax returns or bank statements provide documentation here.
A record of on-time payments to previous landlords also demonstrates reliability despite past mistakes. We’ll talk more next on getting approved despite red flags.
What Are the Legal Implications of Adding a Felon to My Lease?
Adding a felon to your lease can have serious legal implications. Landlords may have the right to deny or terminate a lease if they discover a tenant has a felony record. It’s crucial to understand the laws in your state regarding this matter before switching apartment units after lease signing.
Strategies for Adding a Felon to Your Lease
Just because someone has made mistakes doesn’t mean they deserve to be homeless. With some finesse and understanding from landlords, renting to felons can give them a second chance while still protecting property interests.
Here are some top tips for overcoming stigma and objections when adding a felon to your apartment lease:
Check Your Current Lease First
Before even attempting to add a new tenant like a felon friend or family member to your apartment, carefully review your existing lease agreement. Verify whether you need to obtain advance consent from the landlord before allowing another adult to occupy the unit.
Doing this the wrong way by moving someone in without approval may constitute a lease violation. That could potentially prompt penalties or even eviction putting your own housing at risk unnecessarily.
Tread cautiously here and follow proper procedures even if it means some extra effort.
Provide Evidence of Rehabilitation
To ease any concerns about safety or relapse risks, equip the felon applicant with evidence demonstrating personal reform. Useful items include:
- Letter of recommendation from parole officer highlighting progress
- Certificate of rehabilitation where eligible
- Proof of counseling, drug treatment or other accountability efforts
- Statement of remorse and personal responsibility
- Employer references vouching for work ethic
Any artifacts illustrating self-improvement since release can reduce perceived recidivism risk in the eyes of property owners.
Offer Additional Security Deposit
Sweetening the deal financially can also sway certain landlords who remain hesitant about a dicey background. Proactively offering to put down an additional 1-2 months rent upfront as a security deposit helps guarantee your rent obligations.
Landlords reserve the right to retain security deposits if any lease terms get violated. More skin in the game offsets their concerns about problem tenants. Especially with smaller independent building owners, the deposit incentive can work wonders to secure an approval.
Ask for Reasonable Accommodation
If disability factors contribute to past offenses, make sure to request reasonable accommodation for housing in your application. This could mean waiving certain eligibility barriers that unfairly discriminate against protected disabilities.
For example, leniency around credit requirements for those unable to work or manage finances due to psychiatric disorders or conditions like bipolar disorder. Submit evidence from doctors along with your reasonable accommodation appeal.
Seek Individual Landlords, Not Big Companies
Major property management corporations take a mostly automated, black-and-white statistical approach to applicant screening. They won’t hesitate to instantly disqualify anyone with a felony conviction per corporate policy.
However, smaller independent landlords with a single property or two tend to apply more human judgment and flexibility around tenant selection. Focus your housing search on non-corporate apartment options ideally owned by understanding individuals.
In-person meetings can also allow you to make a more compelling case to these decision-makers who rely more on gut feel versus rigid statistical scores. Bring the felon applicant along to put a redeemable face behind the unfortunate record.
Leverage Felon Re-entry Programs
Various government and non-profit programs exist expressly to help ex-convicts transition back into society. This can include assistance locating felon-friendly housing options as well as other re-integration services like job placement.
In particular, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides housing assistance grants to eligible felons meeting income requirements through partnerships with local Public Housing Authorities (PHAs).
Be Upfront in the Application
Trying to hide a felony record is futile since background checks will expose it anyway in most all cases. Instead, get ahead of it from the very start by proactively mentioning the conviction in your initial housing inquiry.
Frame the context in the best possible light focusing on extenuating circumstances, personal growth and rehabilitation efforts since release. This shows honesty while also painting an empathetic narrative that preempts callous assumptions.
Understand Potential Bases for Denial
Rather than playing guessing games, ask landlords directly about any past felony disqualifications for other applicants. Inquire specifically:
- What types of convictions prompt automatic denial?
- How far back do background checks reach?
- What rehabilitation benchmarks would demonstrate applicant stability?
These answers help refine your efforts where landlords leave room for exceptions with compelling enough evidence of transformation.
Appeal Blanket Denial Decisions
Should an application get denied explicitly and solely because of a prior felony without proper individualized assessment, politely appeal the decision. Reference the Fair Housing Act guidance requiring holistic review of criminal record impacts.
Offer to provide additional mitigating materials or alternative screening approaches to approximate actual risk levels beyond the knee jerk reaction to a basic background check. Framing this as an appeal rather than confrontation preserves goodwill on both sides.
Conclusion
As we’ve covered, adding a felon to your apartment lease rests heavily on the property owner’s discretion but should allow for reasonable review of rehabilitation evidence. The keys come down to transparent communication, financially appeasing incentives and highlighting personal growth.
While you may face extra obstacles compared to traditional tenants, housing opportunities exist especially amongst compassionate small-scale landlords. Arm the applicant with reference letters from employers, counselors and parole officers demonstrating stable behavior.
Be upfront about the past while emphasizing positive progress. Offer larger security deposits when possible and seek individual landlords rather than big corporations.
With some hustle and thick skin, the previously incarcerated can overcome stigma to secure quality housing critical for getting back on their feet after doing their time. Move forward one landlord at a time until finding the right fit.