Criminal Records, Expungement Is it legal to pull criminal records search for our coop?

C

coopowner

New Member
Jurisdiction
New York
I am a new board member in a coop building in New York City and we do allow rentals. One of the main concerns has been about the background of people renting and assurance that they won't be a problem to the building and the residents, such as having a record of felony crimes. Concerns about violent crimes are top priority as is theft. We don't have a doorman and packages are left in a certain area that we realize we need to better secure given how much theft is going on. I have heard people say that you can't really get criminal records legally with many of these online services but I know that it is done by larger companies. Does anyone have information about this process? I would really appreciate it.
 
As I stated on the other forum where this was posted: An internet forum is not where the board of a coop should be seeking legal advice. Speak to the board's legal counsel (i.e. the board's attorney). If the board doesn't have legal counsel, then the board needs to get it.
 
coopowner said:
Does anyone have information about this process?
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The following article reports that NYC has enacted new law limiting criminal background checks on tenants stating in 2025. Limiting, not prohibiting. Current law likely does not limit criminal background checks but you'll need to verify that.

Article:

therealdeal.com

City Council limits criminal background checks for tenants

New York City Council approved a bill that limits a landlord’s ability to reject rental applications based on past convictions.
therealdeal.com

Text of the new law:

The New York City Council - File #: Int 0632-2022

Title: A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to prohibiting housing discrimination on the basis of criminal history.
legistar.council.nyc.gov
 
adjusterjack said:
Looking up stuff for posters is not the same as giving legal advice.
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True, but to SOME of our posters, he or she tends to believe otherwise.
 
adjusterjack said:
Looking up stuff for posters is not the same as giving legal advice.
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The board of a business entity shouldn't be asking random strangers from the internet for either legal advice or to do web searches.
 
Zigner said:
The board of a business entity shouldn't be asking random strangers from the internet for either legal advice or to do web searches.
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The board of a coop (or any other business) is made up of people who are just as unknowledgeable as anybody else who posts here.

If we're not going to help them with advice and resources, we might as well shut down the site and find something else to do with our time.
 
Your problem is that legislation adopted in NY state last year makes it illegal to discriminate against a tenant or applicant solely based on their criminal records. NYC this year makes it illegal to even get the criminal records until after all the other steps that the proposed renter needs to do are completed and a preliminary decision has been made. Moreover, other than in the case of sex offenders, for a denial based on a criminal record the landlord must be able to show a connection between the crime committed and some legitimate need of the landlord. This is just a very brief summary of these two laws and both contain a lot more detail than this. The co-op board needs to see an attorney who practices in the area of landlord-tenant relations and often advises and represents landlords to find out exactly what you need to comply with those laws and how best to document that your co-op complied with those laws. The issue is too important for any landlord or co-op board to simply rely on advice given by strangers on the internet.
 

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