STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5108 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 12, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SOLAGES, TAYLOR -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to prohibiting housing discrimination based on criminal legal system involvement The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "housing 2 for an equitable reentry and opportunity (HERO) act". 3 § 2. Section 292 of the executive law is amended by adding a new 4 subdivision 42 to read as follows: 5 42. The term "criminal legal system involvement" shall mean informa- 6 tion regarding an individual's conviction, arrest, charge, or citation 7 for an offense, participation in a diversion or deferral of judgment 8 program, record of an offense that has been sealed, expunged, vacated, 9 or pardoned, a youthful offender adjudication, or a juvenile delinquency 10 determination. 11 § 3. Paragraphs (a), (b), (c), and (c-1) of subdivision 2-a of section 12 296 of the executive law, as separately amended by chapters 202 and 748 13 of the laws of 2022, are amended to read as follows: 14 (a) To refuse to sell, rent or lease or otherwise to deny to or with- 15 hold from any person or group of persons such housing accommodations 16 because of the race, creed, color, disability, national origin, citizen- 17 ship or immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or 18 expression, military status, age, sex, marital status, status as a 19 victim of domestic violence, lawful source of income, criminal legal 20 system involvement or familial status of such person or persons, or to 21 represent that any housing accommodation or land is not available for 22 inspection, sale, rental or lease when in fact it is so available. 23 (b) To discriminate against any person because of [his or her] race, 24 creed, color, disability, national origin, citizenship or immigration 25 status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD09108-01-5
A. 5108 2 1 status, age, sex, marital status, status as a victim of domestic 2 violence, lawful source of income, criminal legal system involvement or 3 familial status in the terms, conditions or privileges of any publicly- 4 assisted housing accommodations or in the furnishing of facilities or 5 services in connection therewith. 6 (c) To cause to be made any written or oral inquiry or record concern- 7 ing the race, creed, color, disability, national origin, citizenship or 8 immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, 9 membership in the reserve armed forces of the United States or in the 10 organized militia of the state, age, sex, marital status, status as a 11 victim of domestic violence, lawful source of income, criminal legal 12 system involvement or familial status of a person seeking to rent or 13 lease any publicly-assisted housing accommodation; provided, however, 14 that nothing in this subdivision shall prohibit a member of the reserve 15 armed forces of the United States or in the organized militia of the 16 state from voluntarily disclosing such membership. 17 (c-1) To print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any 18 statement, advertisement or publication, or to use any form of applica- 19 tion for the purchase, rental or lease of such housing accommodation or 20 to make any record or inquiry in connection with the prospective 21 purchase, rental or lease of such a housing accommodation which 22 expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or 23 discrimination as to race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or 24 immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, 25 military status, sex, age, disability, marital status, status as a 26 victim of domestic violence, lawful source of income, criminal legal 27 system involvement or familial status, or any intent to make any such 28 limitation, specification or discrimination. 29 § 4. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 5 of section 296 of the executive 30 law, as separately amended by chapters 202 and 748 of the laws of 2022, 31 is amended to read as follows: 32 (a) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for the owner, 33 lessee, sub-lessee, assignee, or managing agent of, or other person 34 having the right to sell, rent or lease a housing accommodation, 35 constructed or to be constructed, or any agent or employee thereof: 36 (1) To refuse to sell, rent, lease or otherwise to deny to or withhold 37 from any person or group of persons such a housing accommodation because 38 of the race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration 39 status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military 40 status, sex, age, disability, marital status, status as a victim of 41 domestic violence, lawful source of income, criminal legal system 42 involvement or familial status of such person or persons, or to repre- 43 sent that any housing accommodation or land is not available for 44 inspection, sale, rental or lease when in fact it is so available. 45 (2) To discriminate against any person because of race, creed, color, 46 national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, 47 gender identity or expression, military status, sex, age, disability, 48 marital status, status as a victim of domestic violence, lawful source 49 of income, criminal legal system involvement or familial status in the 50 terms, conditions or privileges of the sale, rental or lease of any such 51 housing accommodation or in the furnishing of facilities or services in 52 connection therewith. 53 (3) To print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any 54 statement, advertisement or publication, or to use any form of applica- 55 tion for the purchase, rental or lease of such housing accommodation or 56 to make any record or inquiry in connection with the prospective
A. 5108 3 1 purchase, rental or lease of such a housing accommodation which 2 expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or 3 discrimination as to race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or 4 immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, 5 military status, sex, age, disability, marital status, status as a 6 victim of domestic violence, lawful source of income, criminal legal 7 system involvement or familial status, or any intent to make any such 8 limitation, specification or discrimination. 9 (4) (i) The provisions of subparagraphs one and two of this paragraph 10 shall not apply (1) to the rental of a housing accommodation in a build- 11 ing which contains housing accommodations for not more than two families 12 living independently of each other, if the owner resides in one of such 13 housing accommodations, (2) to the restriction of the rental of all 14 rooms in a housing accommodation to individuals of the same sex or (3) 15 to the rental of a room or rooms in a housing accommodation, if such 16 rental is by the occupant of the housing accommodation or by the owner 17 of the housing accommodation and the owner resides in such housing 18 accommodation or (4) solely with respect to age and familial status to 19 the restriction of the sale, rental or lease of housing accommodations 20 exclusively to persons sixty-two years of age or older and the spouse of 21 any such person, or for housing intended and operated for occupancy by 22 at least one person fifty-five years of age or older per unit. In deter- 23 mining whether housing is intended and operated for occupancy by persons 24 fifty-five years of age or older, Sec. 807(b) (2) (c) (42 U.S.C. 3607 25 (b) (2) (c)) of the federal Fair Housing Act of 1988, as amended, shall 26 apply. However, such rental property shall no longer be exempt from the 27 provisions of subparagraphs one and two of this paragraph if there is 28 unlawful discriminatory conduct pursuant to subparagraph three of this 29 paragraph. 30 (ii) The provisions of subparagraphs one, two, and three of this para- 31 graph shall not apply (1) to the restriction of the rental of all rooms 32 in a housing accommodation to individuals of the same sex, (2) to the 33 rental of a room or rooms in a housing accommodation, if such rental is 34 by the occupant of the housing accommodation or by the owner of the 35 housing accommodation and the owner resides in such housing accommo- 36 dation, or (3) solely with respect to age and familial status to the 37 restriction of the sale, rental or lease of housing accommodations 38 exclusively to persons sixty-two years of age or older and the spouse of 39 any such person, or for housing intended and operated for occupancy by 40 at least one person fifty-five years of age or older per unit. In deter- 41 mining whether housing is intended and operated for occupancy by persons 42 fifty-five years of age or older, Sec. 807(b) (2) (c) (42 U.S.C. 3607 43 (b) (2) (c)) of the federal Fair Housing Act of 1988, as amended, shall 44 apply. 45 § 5. Severability. If any provision of this act, or any application of 46 any provision of this act, is held to be invalid, that shall not affect 47 the validity or effectiveness of any other provision of this act, or of 48 any other application of any provision of this act, which can be given 49 effect without that provision or application; and to that end, the 50 provisions and applications of this act are severable. 51 § 6. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 52 it shall have become a law.