Support fair housing for all with the Fair Future Act.
A fair chance at housing builds safer communities.
Stable housing is one of the strongest predictors of successful reentry and community safety. People who experience housing insecurity after their release from jail or prison face higher risk of reincarceration. In contrast, stable housing is associated with lower chances of being rearrested and re-incarcerated.
Yet at least 3 million people nationwide — people with certain drug convictions — have been banned for life from Fair Housing protections guaranteed to other Americans. Many were convicted of low-level drug offenses, suggesting the ban often affects people struggling with substance use rather than targeting major traffickers.
The Fair Future Act would eliminate the lifetime ban, restoring protections to all people. This would give people returning to their communities a genuine opportunity to secure stable housing—so they can focus on finding employment, pursuing education, and rebuilding their lives.
Fair Housing Improves Community Safety
Stable housing is essential to ensure people can lead healthy, fulfilling lives. Without stable housing, it is much more difficult for people to access healthcare services, secure employment, obtain education, and hold a general day-to-day routine. Consequently, stable housing helps people leaving jail reintegrate into society. When people have a safe place to live, they are less likely to end up on the street and are better able to maintain a job and complete education, which help improves public safety. People who secure stable housing are also less likely to return to jail or prison.
No one should be denied a civil right because of a past drug conviction.
People who have already served their sentences for drug selling—often for decades-old convictions—are denied a civil right because of an amendment added to the Fair Housing Amendments Act in 1988. It is commonly referred to as the “Thurmond Amendment,” after its sponsor, Senator Strom Thurmond. Near the end of the legislative process, Senator Thurmond introduced language excluding people with drug selling convictions from Fair Housing protections. As a result, the Thurmond Amendment allows housing providers—and the automated screening tools they rely on—to deny housing based solely on a certain drug conviction, without considering standard measures of tenant risk such as income, credit history, rental history, or evidence of rehabilitation.
The Fair Future Act would eliminate the Thurmond Amendment. The bill does no require landlords to rent to anyone. It simply ensures that applicants with drug distribution convictions are not automatically excluded from consideration or from fair housing protections. Landlords would continue to evaluate applicants using legitimate criteria such as income, rental history, and creditworthiness.
That is why realtors and apartment associations—including the National Association of Real Estate Brokers, the Wisconsin Realtors Association, the Apartment Association of Southeastern Wisconsin, the Ohio Apartment Association, and the Pennsylvania Apartment Association—support repealing the Thurmond Amendment.
Everyone deserves a fair chance at housing. The Alianza de Políticas de Drogas y Dream.org are leading the coalition working to end this ban on civil rights once and for all.
