As you may be aware, the New York legislature passed legislation entitled “NY Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019,” which impacts the rental housing industry within New York. A link to the NY Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act can be found below. Links are provided for convenience only.

One component of this legislation indicates use of prior tenant-landlord actions, including evictions cannot be used in tenant screening. Due to the requirements of the legislation, effective January 4, 2022, Trans Union will no longer return evictions records for rental applicants at properties located in the State of New York.

An excerpt:

09 Denial on the basis of involvement in prior disputes prohib-

10 ited. 1. No landlord of a residential premises shall refuse to rent or

11 offer a lease to a potential tenant on the basis that the potential

12 tenant was involved in a past or pending landlord-tenant action or

13 summary proceeding under article seven of the real property actions and

14 proceedings law. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a person

15 is in violation of this section if it is established that the person

16 requested information from a tenant screening bureau relating to a

17 potential tenant or otherwise inspected court records relating to a

18 potential tenant and the person subsequently refuses to rent or offer a

19 lease to the potential tenant.

This means the existing AMS Ties Value Package cannot provide the eviction information for screening NY tenants because the online eviction records will not be offered by Trans Union. If your applicant comes from a state other than NY - the online eviction records are available.

Below is information regarding the processing of employment background checks in New York. We recommend that you review the legislation and confer with your counsel to review the legislation and to develop a strategy in the best interest of your operations.

As you may be aware, the New York Legislature passed bill Int 1314-2018. This bill may impact the way employers use criminal data during the application and hiring processes.

Int 1314-2018 – Per the New York City Council Website:

This legislation appears to effective 10/18/2021. *The following is a summary prepared by state of New York, available on the legislation website, legistar.council.nyc.gov:

This bill would extend employment protections for individuals with pending adjournments in contemplation of dismissal (ACDs) and convictions for violations prior to sealing by adding unsealed violations and ACDs to the category of dispositions that may never be considered for the purpose of making employment-related decisions. The bill also prohibits discrimination in licensing against applicants with convictions for violations, even prior to sealing. Additionally, this bill would clarify protections for applicants and employees with pending criminal cases by explicitly requiring an employer to make an individualized assessment of the relationship between the charged conduct and the job, much like what is required for consideration of an individual’s conviction history.