Relates to the disclosure of tenant screening criteria

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Jamaal Bailey says this is needed

Applicants deserve to know the standards they are judged against when applying for housing. Under current law, landlords can tell applicants if they use tenant-screening reports and, when denying an application, must inform the applicant that the denial was based on such a report. But they are not required to disclose what criteria they use to evaluate the applicant in the first place. This gap leaves tenants guessing about opaque standards and allows land- lords to rely on inconsistent, unclear, or discriminatory criteria behind closed doors. A Denial Tactics report by Unlock NYC report (August 2024) confirms that discriminatory screening practices remain widespread in New York City. These practices disproportionately harm tenants with housing vouchers, families with children, and Black and Latino applicants, who report being evaluated with criteria never disclosed at the outset. Requiring landlords to clearly list their screening criteria before collecting any fee or reviewing any application ensures that applicants know the rules from the start. This transparency also reduces the like- lihood that landlords will use subjective, arbitrary, or discriminatory standards, especially those that disproportionately affect protected classes or voucher holders, as documented throughout the report's find- ings. This bill strengthens fairness for all renters, closes a known loophole in existing disclosure law, and improves accountability in a market where denial tactics have grown more sophisticated each year. In a tight housing market, with applicants already burdened by high costs and limited availability, the least landlords can provide is an honest explanation of what they are looking for.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.