HOUSE BILL NO. 6242
An act to prohibit landlords from requiring certain disclosures from certain applicants for rental units or denying rental applications based on certain disclosures; to provide exceptions; to require the promulgation of rules; to provide remedies; to prescribe civil sanctions; and to provide for the powers and duties of certain state and local governmental officers and entities.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 1. This act may be cited as the "Michigan fair chance access to housing act".
(a) "Adverse action" means any of the following:
(i) A refusal to engage in or negotiate a rental unit transaction.
(ii) Denying a rental application.
(iii) Falsely representing that a rental unit is not available for rent or lease.
(iv) Applying different terms or conditions to a rental unit transaction.
(v) Making a rental unit unavailable.
(b) "Applicant" means an individual that submits a rental application to rent or lease a rental unit.
(c) "Arrest record" means information that indicates that an individual has been questioned, apprehended, taken into custody or detention, held for investigation, arrested, charged, indicted, or tried for any felony, misdemeanor, or other offense by a law enforcement agency.
(d) "Background check report" means a report by a law enforcement agency, court, consumer reporting agency, or tenant screening agency regarding an applicant's criminal history.
(e) "Bona fide purchaser" means a person that in good faith makes a purchase without notice of any outstanding rights of others.
(f) "Conditional offer" means an offer to rent or lease a rental unit made by the landlord that is conditioned on the result of any of the following:
(i) The landlord's inquiry into the applicant's arrest record or criminal history.
(ii) The applicant's background check report.
(g) "Conviction" means a judgment entered by a court on a plea of guilty, guilty but mentally ill, or nolo contendere, or on a jury verdict or court finding that a defendant is guilty or guilty but mentally ill.
(h) "Criminal history" means information transmitted orally, in writing, or by any other means, and obtained from any source, including, but not limited to, the individual to whom the information pertains, a government agency, or a background check report, regarding any of the following:
(i) A conviction.
(ii) An arrest record.
(iii) A sealed, dismissed, or vacated conviction.
(iv) An expunged, voided, or invalidated conviction.
(v) A conviction rendered inoperative by judicial action or by statute.
(vi) A determination or adjudication in the juvenile justice system.
(vii) A matter considered in or processed through the juvenile justice system.
(viii) Participation in or completion of a diversion program.
(ix) A deferral of a diversion program.
(i) "Department" means the department of civil rights.
(j) "Landlord" means any of the following:
(i) The owner, lessor, or sublessor of a rental unit or the property of which it is a part.
(ii) A person authorized to exercise any aspect of the management of the premises, including a person that directly or indirectly acts as a rental agent, or receives rent, other than as a bona fide purchaser, and has no obligation to deliver the rent payments to another person.
(k) "Law enforcement agency" means the police department of a city, township, or village, the sheriff's department of a county, the department, the department of state police, or any other governmental law enforcement agency of this state.
(l) "Rental unit" means a structure or part of a structure used as a home, residence, or sleeping unit by a single person or household unit, or any grounds, or other facilities or area promised for the use of a residential tenant. Rental unit includes, but is not limited to, apartment units, boarding houses, rooming houses, mobile home spaces, and single- and 2-family dwellings.
Sec. 5. (1) Except as otherwise provided in section 7, a landlord shall not do any of the following:
(a) Inquire about an applicant's criminal history or arrest record.
(b) Require an applicant to disclose the applicant's criminal history or arrest record.
(c) Require an applicant to authorize the release of the applicant's background check report.
(2) A landlord shall not print, circulate, post, mail, or otherwise cause to be published a statement, advertisement, notice, or sign that indicates that a rental application will be denied based solely or in part on an individual's criminal history or arrest record.
Sec. 7. Notwithstanding section 5 and subject to section 9, this act does not apply to either of the following:
(a) Criminal history or arrest record disclosures that are required under a federal or state law.
(b) Disclosure about whether the applicant is an individual who is required to register as a sex offender under the sex offenders registration act, 1994 PA 295, MCL 28.721 to 28.730.
Sec. 9. (1) Before inquiring or requiring disclosure of any information required under section 7, the landlord shall do all of the following:
(a) Determine whether the applicant is qualified to rent or lease a rental unit by reviewing the applicant's rental application.
(b) Provide written notice to the applicant that does all of the following:
(i) Explains the disclosures required under section 7.
(ii) Lists the reasons the applicant's rental application may be denied.
(iii) Includes a provision, signed or initialed by the applicant, requesting that the applicant may elect to do any of the following:
(A) Provide written consent to the landlord to obtain a background check report that is limited to the disclosures required under section 7.
(B) Withdraw the rental application.
(c) Give the applicant a conditional offer if the landlord determines under subdivision (a) that the applicant is qualified to rent or lease a rental unit.
(2) If the applicant elects to provide written consent as provided under subsection (1)(b)(iii)(A), the landlord shall obtain a background check report that is limited to the disclosures required under section 7.
Sec. 11. If the landlord decides to take an adverse action against the applicant after obtaining the applicant's written consent as provided under section 9(1)(b)(iii)(A) and a background check report as described under section 9(2), the landlord shall send a copy of the background check report obtained pursuant to section 9(2) and a written notice to the applicant. The written notice required under this section must include all of the following:
(a) The reason for the adverse action.
(b) A statement that the applicant may respond with rebutting or mitigation evidence before the denial of the applicant's rental application.
(c) A statement that the applicant's response described under subdivision (b) must be received within 7 days of the receipt of the landlord's written notice.
(d) Instruction on how to file a complaint with the department.
Sec. 13. (1) An applicant may file a complaint with the department for a violation of this act. The complaint may be submitted in person, by mail, or electronically and must include all of the following information:
(a) The name, address, telephone number, or email address of the applicant.
(b) The name, address, telephone number, or email address of the landlord.
(c) A detailed description of the circumstances surrounding the alleged violation of this act.
(2) On receipt of an applicant's complaint, the department shall investigate the allegations in the complaint. The department may do any of the following:
(a) Send a copy of the complaint to the landlord and request the landlord to file a response to the complaint.
(b) Request that the landlord produce books, papers, records, or documents that are relevant to an alleged violation of this act.
(c) Conduct a hearing.
(3) If the department requests the landlord to file a response, the response must be filed within 7 days of the receipt of the department's request.
(4) The department may, after the investigation of the complaint, file a petition in the district court in which the rental property is located, seeking appropriate temporary relief against the landlord pending final determination of the matter. Temporary relief sought pursuant to this subsection includes, but is not limited to, an order or decree restraining the landlord from denying the applicant's application for a rental unit.
(5) The district court may grant temporary relief or a restraining order as it considers just and proper. The relief or order must not extend beyond 14 days except with the consent of the landlord, or after hearing upon notice to the landlord and a finding by the court that there is reasonable cause to believe that the landlord violated this act.
(6) Notwithstanding subsection (4), if before or after the conclusion of the investigation of the complaint the parties reach a resolution that is satisfactory to the department and enter into a conciliation agreement, the department shall dismiss the applicant's complaint.
Sec. 15. (1) If, after a hearing, the department determines that the landlord did not violate this act, the department shall state its findings of fact and conclusions of law and issue a final order dismissing the applicant's complaint.
(2) If, after a hearing, the department determines that the landlord violated this act, the department shall state its findings of fact and conclusions of law and may issue a final order that does any of the following:
(a) Requires the landlord to cease and desist from violating this act.
(b) Imposes civil fines for a violation of this act.
(c) Requires the landlord to pay the applicant for damages for any injury or loss caused by a violation of this act, including reasonable attorney fees.
(d) Requires the landlord to pay all or a portion of the applicant's costs for maintaining the action before the department, if the department determines that the award is appropriate.
(e) Imposes other relief the department considers appropriate.
(3) The department shall send a copy of the final order issued pursuant to this section to the applicant, landlord, and court.
Sec. 17. (1) An applicant and a landlord have a right of appeal from a final decision of the department issued pursuant to this act. An appeal must be initiated before the circuit court for the county in which the alleged violation occurred, where the landlord resides, or where the landlord has his or her principal place of business. An appeal initiated pursuant to this subsection is de novo.
(2) An appeal must be filed within 30 days after receipt of the final order issued by the department.
(3) If an appeal is not filed within the 30-day period required under subsection (2), the department may obtain a decree for the enforcement of its final order from the circuit court that has jurisdiction of the appeal.
(4) The final judgment of the circuit court on the appeal is subject to review by appeal in the same manner and form as other appeals from that court.
Sec. 19. (1) A record submitted to or obtained by the department that contains the criminal history or arrest record of an applicant is confidential unless disclosure is required under the freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 to 15.246.
(2) The department shall retain a complaint and response filed pursuant to this act for at least 3 years.
Sec. 21. (1) Not more than 90 days after the effective date of this act, the department shall create a form that contains all of the following information:
(a) A summary of an applicant's rights under this act.
(b) A list of legal resources that are available to an applicant who alleges that a landlord violated this act.
(2) The department shall have copies of the form available in its office and make the form easily accessible on its website.
(3) Beginning 30 days after the department creates the form required under subsection (1), all of the following apply:
(a) The form must be attached as an addendum to a lease agreement provided to a tenant in this state.
(b) The form must be attached to a rental application and must be signed or initialed by the applicant.
(c) A landlord shall post the form in a common area on the rental property. As used in this subdivision, "common area" means a portion of a rental property that is generally accessible to all occupants of the rental property. Common area includes, but is not limited to, a hallway, stairway, laundry and recreational room, mailbox room, playground, community center, or garage.
Sec. 23. The department may promulgate rules in accordance with the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328, to implement this act.