FLINT, Mich. — Flint City Council is set to vote on a new ordinance that could reshape housing access for those with past convictions.
If passed, housing providers will be prohibited from looking into an applicant’s conviction history during the rental screening process.
“Housing should be a basic right for any person,” says Johnell Allen-Bey, who is the Flint regional coordinator for Nation Outside, an organization that promotes policies to support currently and formerly incarcerated people, also known as returning citizens.
According to Allen-Bey, The Fair Chance Access to Rental Housing ordinance has been in-the-works for three and a half years and Nation Outside was instrumental in drafting the piece of legislation.
“[Four years ago] we found that in the city of Flint, we had over 47,000 residents with felony convictions, Allen-Bey said, noting that not everyone with a felony conviction has been incarcerated. “That’s over half the population … Economically, financially, it’s not good business to have a barrier to restrict the majority of your citizens. These numbers are based on Nation Outside’s database on felonies in Genesee County and the city of Flint since 1990.”
For Allen-Bey, the issue is personal. After serving 29 years, he returned to the community, only to face housing discrimination despite his qualifications.
“I had a 750 credit score, making over $100,000 annually, and I couldn’t have a place to stay because of my conviction, he said. That happened 36 years ago, I actually have skin in the game … There’s five other cities that passed it already, and it was about time for Flint to catch up.”
Flint would not be the first Michigan city to enact fair chance housing laws. Detroit, Jackson, Lansing and Kalamazoo have already passed similar protections.
The ordinance aims to assist in the re-integration of individuals into society and reduce the societal and economic costs associated with recidivism, or the likelihood to reoffend.
First Ward Councilman Leon El-Alamin, a returning citizen himself, spoke about the importance of giving second chances, sharing that he has witnessed housing becoming a barrier for many who have tried to reintegrate into the community.
“If we don’t address this and be proactive. We’re only going to continue to create a situation where we see a high volume of homelessness, and we know homelessness leads to other activities and behavior,” he said.
El-Alamin thanked his colleagues on the Flint City Council for their collaboration.
“I’m just thankful that at least on this subject matter, we were able to all collaborate and show that we can work together on policies that are beneficial to us all across the board,” he said.
He compared the ordinance to the 1967-1968 open housing ordinance, which prohibited discrimination in housing sales and rentals. Led by the city’s first Black mayor, Floyd McCree, this ordinance was the first of its kind nationwide.
“It’s just as significant,” he said. “When you look at the population of returning citizens, which is basically a nation outside of a nation, when you look at the numbers of how many people been incarcerated or on parole and probation, you have … people that are faced with the same discrimination that blacks were being faced with then … that’s why this ordinance is so important and historic, in a sense.”
The ordinance includes limitations for certain cases, such as criminal sexual conduct offenses and charges related to disputes with landlords.
“Understandably so,” he said. “But overall, I think the nuts and bolts and what we came up with on this legislation makes it a real good piece of policy and ordinance that’s going to benefit a lot of people.”
The ordinance was brought before Flint City Council during a Feb. 10, 2025 meeting. A public hearing must be scheduled before it is put to a vote.