Felon (Charge vs. Conviction) (Tampa: real estate, apartments, renters)

[lwilson80]

Hello,

I know that a felony charge (drug possession) is usually severe, however, mynephew was charged with a felony about six years ago here in Tampa but notconvicted. In addition, to the felony charge, he has a few misdemeanors fordriving without a licenses. Nevertheless, in reference to his felony charge andthe little time he did spend in county jail, should he still check the box"yes" for convicted on job applications, not to mention, will it be difficultfor him to rent an apartment?

Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!

[KPB]

If it asks "were you convicted?" and he wasnt then he shouldnt say he was.
Some apartments are stricter than others. Some are not so strict. If it was a simple possesion charge and not a trafficking charge he should be able to easily find an apartment.

[lwilson80]

Originally Posted by KPB

If it asks "were you convicted?" and he wasnt then he shouldnt say he was.
Some apartments are stricter than others. Some are not so strict. If it was a simple possesion charge and not a trafficking charge he should be able to easily find an apartment.

Thanks for your prompt response.

[CapnTrips]

Originally Posted by lwilson80

Hello,

I know that a felony charge (drug possession) is usually severe, however, mynephew was charged with a felony about six years ago here in Tampa but notconvicted. In addition, to the felony charge, he has a few misdemeanors fordriving without a licenses. Nevertheless, in reference to his felony charge andthe little time he did spend in county jail, should he still check the box"yes" for convicted on job applications, not to mention, will it be difficultfor him to rent an apartment?

Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!

His answer depends on whether the application asks whether he was convicted of a felony or convicted of a crime. He was not convicted of a felony, but he was convicted of misdemeanors, which are crimes. As to whether the misdemeanors will be a problem for landlords, that depends on the landlord.

[bentlebee]

We ask if a person was ever arrested. Read carefully and don't think that companies don't check.

Even if you say "yes" you can always write an explanation and it doesn't man you will not accepted or disqualified. We still rent in some cases to people with an arrest if it wasn't a serious thing.

We changed it after we came across people who seem to be able to spend a lot of money on good lawyers who always get them off the hook but if you have several arrests and either it was "sentenced reduced" or dismissed but happened a lot of times we feel that the person is not just an unlucky person but probably a person with being in the wrong place too often!

[justthe2ofus]

First, your nephew needs to be clear what he was charged with and what the conviction/disposition of the case was.

Employment can only ask about convictions. Background checks will be treated like a credit report, whereas, any erroneous information can be disputed, and rectified to reflect what actually happened. In the event an error was reported to whatever service is reporting, the applicant must contact the clerk of court and have the official disposition faxed or reported directly.

Check the EEOC page for further information.

Pre-Employment Inquiries and Arrest & Conviction


I would not patronize housing that asks for arrests. Arrest records mean nothing. Anyone can be arrested at anytime for any offense. The only thing that matters are convictions. Landlords that ask for arrest records are not the kind of people you want to rent from. There are other landlords willing to rent to you without superficial judgements based upon an arrest record.

ymmv

[bentlebee]

Originally Posted by justthe2ofus

I would not patronize housing that asks for arrests. Arrest records mean nothing. Anyone can be arrested at anytime for any offense. The only thing that matters are convictions. Landlords that ask for arrest records are not the kind of people you want to rent from. There are other landlords willing to rent to you without superficial judgements based upon an arrest record.

ymmv

We gladly have tenants pass along to another place if they don't like that question!

We never had anyone having any issue with that question and we often hear potential tenants about being drunk in College and getting in trouble or other items. That is not an issue for us but we have seen people with a long list of arrests and usually there is a reason for a certain behavior.

Expunging is also a factor that not everything can or will be seen. For us it is also an item that we can see if people lie on an application as we have seen more than once people filling out they never been arrested and neither been evicted and both came up.

Since there are so many renters searching we have the liberty to get the owners the best tenants. After all it is their investment we look after!
Feel free to rent to the others

[justthe2ofus]

Originally Posted by bentlebee

We gladly have tenants pass along to another place if they don't like that question!

It's not a matter of liking, it's a matter of how I feel I should spend my money with people who are judgemental based upon an accusation, not a conviction.

Now, I have never been arrested, nor convicted of any crime. But I have seen someone I love have to TWICE refute erroneous information, which stated he had been convicted of 9 felonies.
When, in fact, he was not convicted of any crime ever, with exception of minor traffic tickets. On both occasions, 15 years apart, for the same error.



And thank goodness it was for employment, for it legally requires an appeal process, which resulted in employment that puts a roof over our head.

If it was for your company, you'd a booted us to the curb without any explanation, nor any opportunity to refute, because there is no legal protection for the falsely accused.

Good luck with your business.

[bentlebee]

Originally Posted by justthe2ofus

It's not a matter of liking, it's a matter of how I feel I should spend my money with people who are judgemental based upon an accusation, not a conviction.

Now, I have never been arrested, nor convicted of any crime. But I have seen someone I love have to TWICE refute erroneous information, which stated he had been convicted of 9 felonies.
When, in fact, he was not convicted of any crime ever, with exception of minor traffic tickets. On both occasions, 15 years apart, for the same error.



And thank goodness it was for employment, for it legally requires an appeal process, which resulted in employment that puts a roof over our head.

If it was for your company, you'd a booted us to the curb without any explanation, nor any opportunity to refute, because there is no legal protection for the falsely accused.

Good luck with your business.

Please re-read my post! Reading is a skill! Writing on a blog and making up your own facts is wrong!

What you are saying in your post is what is wrong in society. People judge on what they want to read without reading and understanding or the lack of willing to understand and just pointing fingers and utter false accusations.

I'm not going to defend myself for you not able to be willing to read the post which was clear how we handle things!

"Even if you say "yes" you can always write an explanation and it doesn't mean you will not accepted or disqualified. We still rent in some cases to people with an arrest if it wasn't a serious thing." (just to help you out I copied and pasted from my prior post so you don't have to work your brains too much)

[justthe2ofus]

Originally Posted by bentlebee

Please re-read my post! Reading is a skill! Writing on a blog and making up your own facts is wrong!

People judge on what they want to read without reading and understanding or the lack of willing to understand and just pointing fingers and utter false accusations.

I'm not going to defend myself for you not able to be willing to read the post which was clear how we handle things!

"Even if you say "yes" you can always write an explanation and it doesn't mean you will not accepted or disqualified. We still rent in some cases to people with an arrest if it wasn't a serious thing." (just to help you out I copied and pasted from my prior post so you don't have to work your brains too much)

Judgements based upon arrest are just wrong ethically. But, for now, you are allowed to do so within your industry. Just be clear that good potential tenents will be offended by your judgemental policy as I am.

Thank goodness, the EEOC doesn't share the same view.

I don't have to spend my money applying to a real estate company that asks about arrests. I do not feel the need to EXPLAIN away an arrest without a conviction. Unsubstantiated accusations do not warrant explanation.
Frankly, it's none of your business.

If I were to go view a property from your business and then discovered your application included a question regarding arrests, I'd be GONE with my money, and there would be no need for you to "pass along to another place". I will not patronize such businesses and certainly don't need your help in finding real estate. I'm sure that other landlords will be happy to take my money.

Mod edit: Personal attacks.