New Jersey law provides our state residents with even more protections than federal law, but many New Jerseyans may be unaware of this. (Dana DiFilippo | New Jersey Monitor)
Housing discrimination is an unfortunate reality in New Jersey.
Thankfully, federal law protects anyone treated differently by a housing provider, realtors, and landlords because of their race, color, familial status —meaning pregnancy or children under the age of 18 — disability, national origin, religion, or sex.
New Jersey law provides our state residents with even more protections, but many New Jerseyans may be unaware of this. People who have criminal records or court involvements, and people who receive government assistance for housing, are often discriminated against but have additional protections under New Jersey law.
Fair Chance
New Jersey’s landmark Fair Chance in Housing Act, which was signed into law in 2021, bars housing providers from asking applicants about their criminal history on housing applications in most instances. It is the first state law in the country to do so.
Housing providers can’t ask about criminal history on applications or during interviews, and they can’t advertise their housing as available only to those without criminal histories. The Fair Chance in Housing Act also prohibits housing providers from requiring drug and alcohol testing as part of the application process.
There are two exceptions to the criminal history rule. Housing providers can ask if an applicant has ever been convicted of drug-related criminal activity for the manufacture or production of methamphetamine on the premises of federally assisted housing. They can also ask if an applicant has any conviction that requires them to register as a sex offender for life.
New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination
As someone who works for a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-designated fair housing investigation agency, I help provide fair housing counseling for people who have faced housing discrimination. One of the most common incidents involves people applying for housing in New Jersey who are told this: “We can’t take anyone who gets Section 8. They’re usually trouble.”
Section 8 refers to the federal government’s voucher program for assisting very low-income families, the elderly , and people with disabilities to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market. In New Jersey, housing providers are not allowed to reject applicants for this or any other lawful source of income or housing assistance.
New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination, for the most part, mirrors federal housing discrimination laws. But it’s also more robust. It protects against discrimination not only for lawful sources of income but also for military status and marital status.
Click here to learn more about the Fair Chance in Housing Act and click here to learn more about the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.
To contact New Jersey Citizen Action about fair housing issues and discrimination, call us at 732-246-4772 Ext. 115 or email us at fhintake@njcitizenaction.org .
To find other HUD-designated fair housing investigation agencies and learn more about fair housing in general, visit www.hud.gov/fairhousing .
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