Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) is representing landlords who are fighting a local housing ordinance that forces them to accept potentially violent criminals, including sex offenders, as residential tenants. The Fair Chance Housing Ordinance of 2017 prevents landlords from considering applicants’ criminal histories, declaring that it is an unfair practice for landlords and tenant screening services to “require disclosure, inquire about, or take an adverse action against a prospective occupant, a tenant, or a member of their household, based on any arrest record, conviction record, or criminal history.” Landlords, however, are arguing that the Fair Chance ordinance violates the due process and free speech provisions of both the Washington State and U.S. Constitutions.
