Bill > A05108

This bill establishes the Housing for an Equitable Reentry and Opportunity (HERO) Act, which aims to prohibit housing discrimination based on an individual's "criminal legal system involvement." The bill defines this term broadly to include information about a person's conviction, arrest, charge, citation, participation in diversion programs, sealed or expunged records, youthful offender adjudications, and juvenile delinquency determinations. Specifically, the legislation amends the executive law to make it unlawful for housing providers to refuse to sell, rent, or lease housing, or to discriminate against someone, based on their criminal legal system involvement. This means landlords, property owners, and housing managers cannot deny housing, impose different terms or conditions, or make discriminatory statements or applications that take into account a person's criminal justice history. The bill adds criminal legal system involvement to the existing list of protected characteristics in housing discrimination laws, which already include race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, and other factors. The law will take effect 180 days after it becomes law, and includes a severability clause to ensure that if any part of the act is found invalid, the rest of the law remains in effect.

Government Affairs

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A5108