Safety, Crime, Reentry & Legal Help · Surprise rank #308
Criminal Record? NYC Fair Chance Rules Limit When Employers and Housing Providers Can Use It
NYC Fair Chance laws generally make covered employers wait until a conditional job offer before asking about criminal history, and since 2025 covered housing providers that use background checks must first decide general eligibility and make a conditional housing offer.
Who
Job applicants and housing applicants in New York City dealing with employers or housing providers covered by the City Human Rights Law.
Where: New York City.
What to do
Start here: If criminal history was requested or used too early, save the application, messages, screening report and decision notice, then contact the NYC Commission on Human Rights or file a discrimination complaint.
Eligibility: Coverage depends on the employer or housing provider and statutory exemptions. The employment and housing rules have different exceptions and review procedures.
What you get
The employment law delays criminal-history inquiries until after a conditional job offer and requires a fair-chance process before adverse action. The housing law similarly restricts when and which criminal history covered housing providers may review.
Benefit: A legal right to be evaluated first on job or housing qualifications, with notice and procedural protections before covered criminal history can be used against you.
Possible value: Not a cash benefit; it can preserve access to employment or housing that might otherwise be screened out prematurely.
Good to know
Important: These laws do not erase a criminal record or ban every background check. Covered employers/providers can consider certain history after the required conditional-offer process, and some housing/employment settings are exempt.
Availability: Active NYC protections; Fair Chance Housing Law effective January 1, 2025.
Why people miss it: People with records often self-reject from jobs or apartments because they assume a background check can legally happen at the start of every application.
Sources reviewed: Aug 10, 2026