The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Minnesota, and civil rights and criminal justice organizations sent a letter to the office of Attorney General Keith Ellison today, urging him to issue guidance to local municipalities on the harms caused by so-called “Crime-Free Housing Ordinances” (CFHOs). Many renowned organizations joined in this request, including HOME Line, Housing Justice Center, Jewish Community Action Minnesota, Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, Minneapolis NAACP, Minnesota Public Defender, and Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services.
Multiple cities throughout Minnesota have passed ordinances requiring landlords to conduct criminal records screening that effectively bars applicants with a wide variety of criminal records from housing, and encouraging or requiring the eviction of tenants based on alleged criminal activity and calls for emergency services. These ordinances often target and disproportionately harm people of color, survivors of gender-based violence, and people with disabilities in violation of state and federal housing discrimination laws, the Due Process and Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Minnesota Constitution.
“CFHOs are a nefarious way for communities to resist the reality of the demographic changes in our state and should be seen for what they are – racist policies aimed directly at people of color,” said Catherine Ahlin-Halverson, staff attorney at the ACLU of Minnesota.
CFHOs and their implementation harm people because:
- They mandate criminal records screening that lock people with a range of criminal history out of housing without individualized consideration despite the fact that there is no empirical evidence that justifies such broad exclusions. Landlords often rely on databases and reports for criminal records screening that are plagued with errors and inaccuracies, and contain outdated and irrelevant information, including arrests. These policies often turn landlords into agents of the police and require them to notify police of tenant’s outstanding warrants. Landlords are also required to maintain and make available to police a list of tenants and people in their homes.
- They encourage or require evictions based on alleged criminal activity. CFHOs often prohibit vague activity like “disorderly conduct” from tenants, their family members, their guests, and others “affiliated” with them both on and off the property, and authorize eviction based solely on alleged behavior. Some jurisdictions allow for eviction proceedings based on “probable cause” that such behavior has occurred, even going so far as to explicitly state that criminal charges are not necessary to support such a determination and that a dismissal or acquittal from a criminal charge should not discourage a landlord from seeking eviction. In effect, an arrest alone can serve as justification for eviction.
- They penalize landlords for having tenants that call for emergency assistance. This endangers tenants and their families while interfering with their rights to seek police or medical assistance in emergencies.
The consequences for landlords who do not comply with CFHOs include the imposition of fines, the restriction on their ability to rent property within the municipality, and even criminal prosecution. The danger and likely unconstitutionality of such CFHOs is obvious. The City of Faribault settled a claim brought by several families for over $685,000 when it was found their CFHO discriminated against Somali and Black residents of Faribault." Other cities, like Anoka, have had their CFHOs face similar scrutiny.
The letter urges the office of the Minnesota Attorney General to, at minimum, issue guidance to jurisdictions on the ways in which these CHFOs harm communities and protected groups, and how they may violate state and federal law. The letter also asks Ellison’s office to investigate municipal CFHO policies that are currently enforced in a manner that may target or disproportionately harm BIPOC and other protected groups.
"The Attorney General has the authority and responsibility to ensure that local jurisdictions understand the discriminatory impact of Crime-Free Housing Policies and their potential violation of state and federal laws,” said Amanda Meyer, senior staff attorney in the ACLU Racial Justice Program. “Clear guidance is critical to prevent the implementation and enforcement of these policies in a way that harms BIPOC communities, survivors of gender-based violence, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups.”