The synopsis of the legislation indicates that it establishes certain housing rights of persons with criminal records. It also includes many requirements regarding the use of criminal records in tenant screening for example, it includes time frame requirements based upon the degree of the offense. Criminal record data provided for New Jersey does not presently include the degree of the offense. Due to the requirements of the legislation and limitations of the data, effective January 4, 2022, TransUnion will discontinue providing criminal reports for tenant screening queries associated with rental applications to properties located in the state of New Jersey.
This means the existing AMS Ties Value Package would NOT include the instant national criminal database report. Our expectation at this point is that we will replace this with the online sex offender database only. According to the process outlined in the new law, once a conditional offer of housing is made to a potential tenant, you may then make an inquiry into the criminal history of the applicant. We can do a manual search of the NJ Statewide Records because Trans Union will not be allowing their online database access for tenant screening purposes. How that information is used is outlined in the link above and we also encourage you to have this process reviewed by your attorney.
If you choose to order this report, the additional manual search of criminal records in the state of NJ would require a $15.00 additional fee (this reflects a $10.00 discount under value package pricing). An additional form that your applicants would sign granting permission will be provided and/or the Disclosure and Release form will be amended.
