Can Pending Criminal Charges Affect Your Housing in Arizona?
What Tucson Renters Need to Know
You apply for an apartment. You have the income. Your rental history is fine. You do not have any criminal convictions.
Then your application is denied because of your “criminal history.”
For some people, this is the first time they discover that a criminal charge—or even an outstanding warrant—exists.
It is an alarming situation, but it highlights an important distinction that can easily get lost when information moves from the criminal justice system into a background check: being accused of a crime is not the same as being convicted of one.
Pending criminal charges can nevertheless create very real consequences outside the courtroom. If you have been charged with a crime in Tucson or Pima County, understanding those consequences—and addressing the criminal case quickly—can be important.
A Criminal Charge Is Not a Criminal Conviction
The first thing to understand is the difference between an accusation and a conviction.
A criminal charge means that the government has accused someone of violating the law. It does not mean the government has proven the allegation.
A defendant may plead not guilty and contest the case. Charges can ultimately be dismissed. A defendant can be acquitted at trial. Evidence can be suppressed. Witness problems can arise. The prosecution may determine that it cannot prove the case.
Until a case has been resolved by a guilty plea or finding of guilt, a pending criminal charge should not simply be treated as though it were a conviction.
That distinction can become particularly important when a third party—such as a landlord, employer, school, or licensing agency—learns about the case.
What Can Show Up on a Rental Background Check?
Many landlords and property management companies use tenant-screening reports when deciding whether to approve a rental application.
Those reports can contain much more than convictions. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, tenant-screening reports may include credit information, rental history, eviction actions, employment verification, criminal history, and other information. They may also generate a risk score or recommendation based on criteria selected by the landlord.
That means a pending criminal matter can potentially become visible during the rental process even though there has been no conviction.
Arizona also provides public access to information about many court cases. Depending on the court, type of case, and status of the record, information about a pending criminal prosecution may therefore be publicly accessible.
This creates an important practical problem: a background check can reveal that a criminal case exists without necessarily explaining the full story behind that case.
A report might show a charge. It does not necessarily tell a landlord whether the defendant denies the allegation, whether significant defenses exist, or whether the prosecution will ultimately be able to prove the case.
Can an Arizona Landlord Deny Housing Because of Pending Criminal Charges?
There is no responsible one-size-fits-all answer to this question.
A housing decision can depend on several factors, including the landlord's written screening criteria, the language of the rental application or lease, what information was actually reported, how the landlord applied its policy, and federal or state law that may apply to the particular housing situation.
The language of the landlord's own policy can be especially important.
For example, imagine a rental policy stating that an applicant may be rejected for certain felony convictions, violent crimes, or an extensive criminal record. Now imagine an applicant who has no convictions at all but has one unresolved misdemeanor case.
Those are materially different circumstances.
HUD's guidance concerning rental applicant screening specifically warns housing providers that records falling outside their stated screening policies should not be considered. HUD gives the example of misdemeanor records being considered despite a policy that screens for felony convictions.
That is one reason an applicant who is denied housing because of a criminal background check should determine exactly what the landlord's policy says and what the background report actually showed.
What If the Background Check Is Wrong?
Criminal background reports are not infallible.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has received complaints involving inaccurate criminal information, information belonging to another person, duplicate entries, and records that do not accurately reflect the disposition of a case.
A single criminal matter can also appear at multiple stages in a report in a way that makes it look like multiple separate incidents.
If a landlord takes adverse action based on a tenant-screening report, federal law provides certain protections. According to the CFPB, when a landlord denies an application because of information contained in a tenant-screening report, the applicant generally must be informed of that fact and provided information about the company that supplied the report.
The applicant may also request a free copy of the report within 60 days and dispute inaccurate information.
If you are denied housing because of a criminal background check, obtaining the actual report can therefore be an important step. Do not assume that the information being reported is accurate simply because it came from a background-check company.
What If You Didn't Know You Had Criminal Charges?
This is where the situation can become even more complicated.
People commonly assume that if they have been charged with a crime, they must have been arrested.
That isn't necessarily true.
Depending on the circumstances, a criminal case can proceed without an arrest occurring at the scene of the alleged offense. A complaint may later be filed, and the court process can begin afterward.
If notices are sent to an old address, a college residence, or another address where the person no longer receives mail, the defendant may not realize that a court case is pending.
Eventually, a warrant may be issued.
The Arizona Judicial Branch explains that arrest warrants may be issued by Superior, Municipal, and Justice Courts and that an outstanding arrest warrant remains in effect until the person is arrested or appears before the court to address it. A warrant generally must be quashed or canceled by a judicial officer in the jurisdiction where it originated.
That means discovering a warrant through a housing background check is not something to ignore.
I Just Discovered an Arizona Warrant. What Should I Do?
If you discover a warrant or criminal case you did not know existed, resist the temptation to start calling everyone involved in the underlying allegations to explain what happened.
First, determine what you are actually dealing with.
You should identify:
Which court has the case;
The case number;
The criminal charges;
Whether a warrant is currently outstanding;
Why the warrant was issued;
Whether a court date has been scheduled; and
What needs to happen to address the warrant.
An Arizona criminal defense attorney can review the case and determine the appropriate way to address the warrant.
Depending on the circumstances, an attorney may be able to file a motion asking the court to quash the warrant and arrange for the defendant to appear voluntarily rather than simply waiting for an unexpected arrest.
Whether that is available depends on the particular case and court. Do not assume that an outstanding warrant will disappear on its own.
Be Careful About Explaining the Charges to a Landlord
When someone's housing is at stake, the natural instinct may be to write a lengthy explanation of the criminal allegations.
That can create another problem.
Anything you say about an unresolved criminal case can potentially matter later.
For example, suppose you are accused of disorderly conduct and criminal damage and believe the accusations are unfair. You write a detailed explanation to a property manager describing exactly where you were, what you were doing, who was with you, and what happened.
You may be trying to save your apartment application.
But you have also created a written statement about the facts of your pending criminal prosecution.
Before making detailed written statements about an unresolved criminal case, consider speaking with your criminal defense attorney.
There may be a way to address the housing issue without unnecessarily discussing disputed facts.
For example, it may be enough in some circumstances to accurately explain that the person has no criminal convictions, has entered a plea of not guilty, is represented by counsel, and is contesting the pending allegations.
The appropriate response depends on the circumstances.
Criminal Charges Can Affect Your Life Before You Ever Go to Trial
This is one of the most frustrating realities of being accused of a crime.
The criminal justice system recognizes a fundamental distinction between an allegation and a conviction. But the practical consequences of an accusation can begin much earlier.
A pending criminal case may potentially affect:
Housing applications;
Employment;
Professional licensing;
Educational opportunities;
Background checks;
Security clearances;
Travel;
Immigration matters; and
Personal reputation.
Some of those issues require advice from attorneys practicing in areas other than criminal defense. But your criminal defense attorney should still understand that defending a client involves more than simply showing up for the next court date.
When a collateral problem arises, sometimes the immediate question is not, “How will this criminal case eventually end?”
It is, “What can we do about the problem this case is causing me right now?”
A Tucson Criminal Defense Lawyer May Be Able to Help Before the Case Is Resolved
Criminal cases can take months to resolve. More complicated cases can take considerably longer.
Clients still have lives to live during that time.
When a pending criminal charge creates a housing or other background-check problem, defense counsel may be able to help clarify the status of the criminal case.
Depending on the circumstances, that might include:
Confirming that there has been no criminal conviction;
Providing accurate information about the pending case;
Addressing an outstanding warrant;
Obtaining relevant court documentation;
Correcting misunderstandings about the nature or classification of the charges; or
Communicating with a third party without unnecessarily discussing the underlying defense.
There are limits to what a criminal defense lawyer can do. Your defense attorney cannot guarantee that a landlord, employer, or other private party will change its decision, and separate legal issues may require advice from an attorney practicing in another area.
But sometimes a carefully written explanation of what the criminal record actually means can make an important difference.
Denied Housing Because of a Criminal Case in Tucson?
If a background check has revealed pending criminal charges or a warrant in Tucson or Pima County, do not ignore the criminal case—and do not assume the information being reported tells the whole story.
Find out exactly what has been filed.
If there is an outstanding warrant, determine how it can be addressed. If the charges are pending, understand what you are accused of and what defenses may be available. And before providing detailed statements about the allegations to a landlord or background-check company, consider how those statements could affect your defense.
Most importantly, remember this:
An accusation is not a conviction.
At AJB Law Firm, we represent people charged with misdemeanor and felony offenses in Tucson and throughout Pima County. We understand that a criminal accusation can affect far more than your next court date. When appropriate, we work with our clients to address both the criminal case and the practical problems that arise because of it.
If you recently discovered pending criminal charges or an outstanding warrant—or if a criminal case is affecting your housing, employment, or other aspects of your life—contact AJB Law Firm to schedule a consultation with a Tucson criminal defense attorney.
This article provides general information about Arizona criminal cases and is not legal advice. Housing, consumer-reporting, immigration, employment, licensing, and other collateral issues may involve separate areas of law and should be evaluated based on the individual circumstances.
