NLIHC Releases New Report on Expanding Access to Housing for Formerly Incarcerated and Convicted People
Oct 29, 2026
Washington, D.C. – The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) has released “The State of Reentry Housing Policy: A Partnership for Just Housing Convening Report,” a compilation of lessons learned from enacting and implementing state and local fair chance housing policies, which aim to increase housing access for formerly incarcerated and convicted people.
In June 2026, the Partnership for Just Housing (PJH)—a national collaborative of directly impacted leaders and other advocates working to end housing discrimination against people impacted by the criminal-legal system—convened to discuss reentry housing legislation that can be implemented at local, state, and federal levels. The report includes key findings and recommendations from this convening on creating, enacting, and implementing fair chance housing policies that protect and expand housing opportunities for formerly incarcerated and convicted people and their families. Some of the takeaways in the report include:
- Ensuring formerly incarcerated and convicted people are at the table when designing fair chance housing and other reentry housing policies. Formerly incarcerated and convicted people are also vital messengers in helping build public support for fair chance housing policies.
- Treating housing as a key part of reentry planning. Ensuring people exiting incarceration are connected to housing as part of their pre-release planning is crucial to ending the cycle of incarceration, homelessness, and reincarceration.
- Fostering partnerships to help expand capacity and build support. Building coalitions with local housing and criminal legal system reform advocates, cross-sector and national partners.
- Including education, enforcement, and evaluation mechanisms in legislation. Education, enforcement, and evaluation provisions help ensure the law is effective, build evidence on the impact of fair chance housing policies, and identify needed improvements.
- Providing funding for implementation and enforcement. Dedicating a source of funding specifically to fair chance housing implementation and enforcement, including tenant education and outreach, legal aid, and program evaluation.
“After decades of enacting and enforcing barriers to housing access with punitive and destructive policies for formerly incarcerated people, policymakers at all levels have an opportunity to implement fair chance housing legislation that can help to provide long-term housing stability and expanded successful reentry opportunities for formerly incarcerated and convicted people and their families,” said Kim Johnson, NLIHC Senior Director of Policy and author of the report. “‘The State of Reentry Housing Policy: A Partnership for Just Housing Convening Report’ outlines a clear path to a possible future where advocates and policymakers can work together to advance effective reentry housing legislation.”
“‘The State of Reentry Housing Policy: A Partnership for Just Housing Convening Report’ is a timely resource that helps to pull back the curtain on the challenges returning citizens face in accessing safe, stable, and affordable housing, and the policy changes needed to address those barriers,” said Renee M. Willis, NLIHC President and CEO. “The takeaways from a convening of advocates who successfully passed fair chance housing policies in their communities show that in order to advance meaningful reentry housing legislation, we cannot work in silos. Directly impacted people play an important role in implementing these policies. Collaboration between the formerly incarcerated community, the government sector, and housing providers is essential for building and supporting effective change.”
“The State of Reentry Housing Policy: A Partnership for Just Housing Convening Report” can be downloaded here: https://nlihc.org/resource/now-available-state-reentry-housing-policy-partnership-just-housing-convening-report
###