NJ Fair Chance in Housing Act: a guide for agents handling rentals

What the Fair Chance in Housing Act does

The Fair Chance in Housing Act is P.L. 2021, c.110, approved June 18, 2021 and in effect since January 1, 2022. It is codified at N.J.S.A. 46:8-52 to 46:8-64. The Division on Civil Rights (DCR) enforces it, and its rules are N.J.A.C. 13:5, adopted at 54 N.J.R. 76(a) and effective January 3, 2022.

The core idea is timing. A rental applicant is judged first on everything else: income, references, rental history and any other lawful criteria. Only after the housing provider makes a conditional offer may it look at the applicant's criminal record, and even then only at certain convictions inside set time windows. Taking the offer back because of a record takes a documented, case-by-case review.

This is a rental screening law. It is not the same thing as the Real Estate Commission's character review of license applicants, which runs under different rules. If that is what you came for, read NJ real estate license with a criminal record instead.

Who is covered, and the four-unit exemption

The Act applies to a "housing provider", which the statute defines as a landlord, owner, lessor, sublessor or assignee, "or their agent", plus anyone entitled to receive rent for the unit. A licensee who takes rental applications, writes ads or relays screening decisions for a landlord falls inside that definition. You cannot pass the responsibility to the owner by saying you only followed instructions.

It covers any "rental dwelling unit" offered for residential purposes, with one exclusion written into the definition: a unit in an owner-occupied premises of not more than four dwelling units. The statute and rules state no other exemption, and the rules say the Act's exceptions are construed narrowly. Sales are not covered at all; the Act is about rentals.

Before the conditional offer: what you may not ask

Until a conditional offer is made, the provider may not use an application form that asks about criminal records and may not make any oral or written inquiry about them. That includes the question at a showing, a checkbox on the application and a background report pulled early. Under N.J.A.C. 13:5-1.8 the provider may not consider any criminal record before the offer.

There are two exceptions, and only two. Before the offer, a provider may consider whether the applicant has ever been convicted of manufacturing or producing methamphetamine on the premises of federally assisted housing, and whether the applicant is subject to a lifetime registration requirement under a state sex offender registration program.

Before taking any application fee, the provider must tell the applicant in writing whether it will review criminal history, and that the applicant may submit evidence of inaccuracies, rehabilitation or other mitigating factors. DCR publishes a Model Disclosure Statement for this. Under N.J.A.C. 13:5-1.5, the disclosure is a standalone document in at least 12-point type with an acknowledgment of receipt, and a completed, signed copy of DCR's model form satisfies the rule. N.J.S.A. 46:8-57 requires the model form to tell applicants they may dispute the relevance and accuracy of any criminal record within 10 days of receiving the statement itself, and DCR's form adds that evidence of rehabilitation or other mitigating factors may be submitted at any time, including after those 10 days.

The conditional offer and what may be considered after it

A conditional offer is an offer to rent the unit that depends on a later look at the applicant's criminal record, or on other lawful eligibility criteria. Once it is made, the provider may consider only the records the Act allows.

Each window runs back from the date the conditional offer is issued. The statute measures it from when the conviction was issued or, if the conviction led to a prison sentence, from when that sentence concluded. The rules add that equivalent federal and out-of-state offenses are treated the same way. A common misreading is that every window runs from release; it runs from release only where there was a prison sentence.

If a screening company runs the check, the provider must take reasonable steps to make sure the vendor follows the Act. When a vendor report shows a record that may not be considered, the provider has to show it did not rely on it (N.J.A.C. 13:5-1.8(c)). Ask your broker which vendor the office uses and whether its New Jersey reports filter out records the law excludes.

Withdrawing an offer: the individualized assessment

A provider may withdraw a conditional offer because of an allowed record only if, by a preponderance of the evidence, withdrawal is necessary to fulfill a substantial, legitimate and nondiscriminatory interest. The rules say "substantial" means a core interest directly related to the provider's function. A blanket policy will not meet that test, because the decision has to come out of an individualized assessment of these six factors:

1. The nature and severity of the offense.
2. The applicant's age when the offense happened.
3. How much time has passed since the offense.
4. Any evidence of rehabilitation and good conduct since then.
5. Whether a repeat of the offense would affect the safety of other tenants or the property.
6. Whether the offense happened on, or was connected to, property the applicant rented or leased.

The withdrawal must be in writing and state the reasons with specificity, and it must give the applicant a chance to appeal with evidence of inaccuracies, rehabilitation or other mitigating factors. DCR's Model Notice of Withdrawal covers these points. If the applicant sends evidence, the provider must review it and reconsider, and the rules say a determination should follow within 30 days. Separately, the applicant may ask within 30 days of the withdrawal notice for copies of everything the provider relied on, including the criminal record, and the provider must send it free of charge within 10 days.

The applicant does not have to request the assessment. It is a step the provider must complete before any withdrawal based on a record.

Ads, applications and your role as a licensee

N.J.S.A. 46:8-58 bars a provider from knowingly or purposefully publishing an ad that says it will not consider applicants who have been arrested or convicted. The rules go further: no advertising or statement that discourages people with records from applying. Lines like "no criminal records", "no felons" or "clean background required" do not belong in a covered listing. The two pre-offer exceptions are the only stated carve-outs. For the broader rules on rental and sales ads, see NJ real estate advertising rules.

The Act also bars requiring drug or alcohol tests, or asking for consent to obtain drug treatment records. It bars sharing an applicant's record with anyone not expected to use it lawfully, and it bars retaliation against anyone who exercises these rights, with each retaliatory act a separate violation.

These steps are our suggestions for a licensee who handles rental applications for a landlord:

1. Before you take the listing, ask whether the owner lives in the building and how many units it has. Write it down.
2. Strip criminal history questions from the application and any pre-screen questionnaire, and keep the ad free of record-based language.
3. Hand the Model Disclosure Statement, signed and acknowledged, to every applicant before you collect an application fee.
4. Screen income, credit and references first. Put the conditional offer in writing and date it, since the lookback windows run from that date.
5. Run the criminal check only after the offer, and only through a vendor your broker has vetted.
6. If the owner wants to withdraw, make sure the six-factor assessment and the written notice happen, and keep copies. Bring in your broker before anything goes out.

If an owner tells you to skip these steps, treat it the way you would an instruction to discriminate under the LAD: explain the law, put it in writing and involve your broker. The Act's fair-housing cousins, such as steering, are covered in steering vs blockbusting vs redlining.

Three scenarios

Complaints and penalties

No one may sue in court under the Act. Applicants and prospective applicants file with DCR, and the rules require filing within 180 days of the alleged violation. For an applicant's complaint, DCR first offers the provider a chance to mediate and cure within 14 days. A provider that cures the problem in mediation avoids a penalty. If the complaint is substantiated and not resolved, the Director may issue a penalty, and the provider may appeal a final decision to the Appellate Division.

Under N.J.S.A. 46:8-63 the Director can also order the provider to stop the practice, notify its employees and agents of their duties in writing, report on compliance for up to two years, return the application fee unless housing is provided, and pay the applicant up to $1,000 out of the penalty. N.J.A.C. 13:5-2.6 adds training for employees and agents. A provider with at least one other violation in the prior five years can be ordered to make a conditional offer for the unit or a comparable one. The Act does not take away rights under other laws, including the LAD. For the fair housing basics, the Law Against Discrimination study guide is the next stop.

The Act also gives landlords something in return. N.J.S.A. 46:8-59 makes a covered landlord immune from civil liability for renting to a person with a conviction or for choosing not to run a criminal background check at all. As of October 27, 2026, we found no amendment to the Act or its rules since they took effect.