A new ordinance will make it difficult for Minneapolis landlords to reject tenants because of their criminal history, past evictions or credit scores. Passed unanimously by City Council, a number of other cities also have adopted tenant screening protections, such as Seattle, Portland, and Washington, D.C. Some tenants, however, feel that taking away their decision to screen tenants will lead to higher rents. But advocacy groups argue that people with evictions or criminal convictions have few choices beyond predatory landlords or dilapidated homes. Under the ordinance, landlords can’t deny an applicant on the basis of a misdemeanor if the conviction is older than three years and felonies older than seven years. Landlords can still deny applicants who are convicted of distributing or manufacturing controlled substances and anyone on the lifetime sex offender registration.
