By Sarita Kelkar, NLIHC Policy Intern
Representatives Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) reintroduced on May 1 the “Housing for Formerly Incarcerated Reentry and Stable Tenancy Act,” or the “Housing FIRST Act.” Introduced previously in the 118th Congress, the bill would limit tenant screening criteria for criminal records in background checks, further transparency between consumers and consumer reporting agencies, and advance housing justice for people who are formerly incarcerated and have criminal histories. NLIHC endorsed this bill, and a summary of the text can be found here.
Formerly incarcerated and convicted people face a number of barriers to accessing both quality, affordable housing and employment, increasing their risk of housing instability, homelessness, and reincarceration. The United States is the world’s largest jailer, imprisoning nearly 2 million people, and bias inherent to the criminal-legal system has caused people with disabilities, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and people of color (particularly Black, Latino, and Native people) to experience higher rates of incarceration and be disproportionately impacted by the criminal-legal system. The collateral consequences of a conviction history make it more likely for formerly incarcerated and convicted people to be unfairly denied access to housing based on their conviction or arrest histories amidst an already difficult-to-navigate national housing shortage and affordability crisis.
These realities create the need for a critical eye when it comes to ensuring equitable access to housing for formerly incarcerated and convicted people (including victims and survivors)—a NLIHC policy priority—especially when public housing authorities (PHAs) and owners of federally assisted housing have broad discretion in screening applicants with records or precluding returning citizens from rejoining their families. With mandatory screening policies often acting as a floor, PHAs and owners have developed their own criteria for evaluating current and potential tenants, which may include unreasonable lookback periods, blanket conviction history policies, or ignoring mitigating circumstances. Although congressional efforts and HUD-issued guidance have typically pushed for comprehensive criminal legal reform and more equitable access to housing, HUD Secretary Scott Turner’s November 2025 letter to PHAs and owners of HUD-assisted multifamily housing, which walks back previous HUD guidance and contradicts best practices for conducting background screenings, underscores the importance of legislation like the “Housing FIRST Act” to codify needed protections into law.
Read the bill text, press release, and summary.
Learn more about “Housing Access for Formerly Incarcerated and Convicted People” through NLIHC’s Advocates’ Guide 2026.