Screen applicants the way your city requires, with the paperwork to prove it.

What’s in the kit

• Written screening criteria policy — income, credit, rental history and criminal history rules for your jurisdiction, in the order you apply them, with the fee limit and fair-housing statement.
• Application disclosures addendum — what you must tell applicants before you take a fee or run a check, with a signature line proving they got it.
• Conditional offer / prequalification letter — where criminal history may only be reviewed after one.
• Notice of opportunity to respond — the copy-of-report-plus-response-window letter, with your jurisdiction’s exact number of days.
• Individualized-assessment worksheet — the factors your law lists, a finding for each, and the legitimate-interest link a denial needs.
• FCRA adverse action letter — every item 15 U.S.C. § 1681m requires, plus anything your state or city adds.
• Listing language check — paste an ad, get flagged phrases and neutral rewrites.

The kit is built from our cited rules dataset, not written fresh by AI, so the same answers produce the same documents. It also checks your own numbers: a fee above your cap, or an income requirement above your city’s maximum, is flagged before you use it.

Jurisdictions covered

• California (state) — State fair-housing regulations bar blanket criminal-history bans and certain records outright, require a chance to present mitigating information, protect source of income, and cap application screening fees. (Cal. Code Regs. tit. 2, §§ 12264-12271)
• Berkeley, CA — Fair Chance Access to Housing: no criminal-history questions or third-party criminal checks, apart from a limited lifetime sex-offender registry check after a conditional offer and consent. (Berkeley Municipal Code ch. 13.106 (Ronald V. Dellums Fair Chance Access to Housing))
• Los Angeles County, CA — No county rental-housing fair-chance ordinance was found in official sources. The 2024 Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance covers employment. California's statewide rules apply.
• Oakland, CA — Fair Chance Access to Housing: you may not ask about or rely on criminal history at all, except a limited check of the state lifetime sex-offender registry after a conditional offer and consent. (Oakland Municipal Code ch. 8.25 (Fair Chance Access to Housing, Ord. No. 13581 C.M.S.))
• San Francisco, CA — San Francisco's Fair Chance Ordinance reaches housing only for affordable-housing providers. Private market landlords follow California's statewide rules. (S.F. Police Code Art. 49)
• Colorado (state) — Statewide limits: no arrest records, no convictions over 5 years old (with exceptions), income test capped at 2x rent, portable screening reports must be accepted, and source of income is protected. (C.R.S. § 38-12-904(1)(b) (SB23-184))
• Washington, DC — No criminal questions before a conditional offer; afterwards only listed offenses within 7 years, an individualized assessment, and written reasons. Application fee capped and specific pre-application disclosures required. (D.C. Code § 42-3541.02(b))
• Cook County, Illinois (incl. Chicago) — Just Housing Amendment: prequalify on non-criminal criteria first, then look only at convictions from the last three years with an individualized assessment, a copy of the report and 5 business days to respond. (Cook County Human Rights Ordinance § 42-38 (Just Housing Amendment, Ord. No. 19-2394))
• Detroit, MI — For buildings of five or more units: ask about conviction history only after a conditional lease, ignore listed records, and give a copy of the report plus 14 days to respond before any adverse action. (Detroit City Code § 26-5-5(1))
• Minneapolis, MN — Choose inclusive screening criteria (fixed limits on criminal, rental and credit history) or an individualized assessment with supplemental evidence. Publish criteria first; give written reasons within 14 days. (Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 244.2030 (renter screening))
• New Jersey — Statewide fair-chance law: no criminal-history questions until a conditional offer, fixed lookback periods after it, an individualized assessment before withdrawing, and a written notice of specific reasons. (N.J.S.A. 46:8-55 (§ 4a))
• New York (state) — State law caps what a landlord may charge for background and credit checks.
• New York City — Fair Chance for Housing Law: complete all other screening and make a written conditional offer before any criminal check, review only limited convictions, give 5 business days to respond, and revoke only with a written link to a legitimate business interest. (N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 8-107(5)(o))
• Portland, OR — FAIR ordinance: publish notice 72 hours before processing, review applications in order received, and either use the City's low-barrier criteria or do an individual assessment before denying. (Portland City Code § 30.01.086 (Ord. 189580), subsections E-F)
• Washington (state) — State law requires a written screening notice before you gather any information, limits screening fees to cost, prescribes the adverse action notice, and protects source of income.
• Seattle, WA — Fair Chance Housing: you may ask about criminal history but may not require an answer or take adverse action on it, except adult sex-offender registry information after a legitimate-business-reason analysis. First-in-time: publish criteria and offer the unit to the first qualified complete applicant. (Seattle Municipal Code ch. 14.09 (Fair Chance Housing))

Rules verified 2026-10-25 against the official sources cited on each answer.

What this is not

We do not screen applicants, run background checks, or make decisions. The kit is a set of documents and a checklist you use; you still decide each application. If your answers turn out not to fit your situation, email info@leaseagreementgenerator.com within 30 days for a refund.