When Can a Gardena Landlord Ask About a Criminal Record?

Published August 10, 2026

California regulations effective January 1, 2020 restrict how a Gardena landlord can use criminal history in a rental decision. Arrests that did not lead to conviction are off limits, blanket bans on anyone with a record are unlawful, and delaying the inquiry until after other qualifications are verified is one of the factors that makes a landlord's practice defensible.

The short answer

Since January 1, 2020, a California regulation, 2 CCR sections 12264 through 12271, limits how a Gardena landlord can use a criminal record in a rental decision. Arrests without conviction, most sealed or dismissed records, and blanket bans on anyone with any record are unlawful. Delaying the inquiry until after other qualifications are checked helps a landlord defend the practice, though it is a factor, not phrased in the regulation as an absolute sequencing rule.

Last verified: August 10, 2026

This is a housing regulation, not the employment Fair Chance Act

California's Fair Chance Act, the law barring most employers from asking about conviction history before a conditional job offer, is an employment statute. The rules that apply to a Gardena landlord screening a rental applicant live in a different, separate regulation: California Code of Regulations, Title 2, Division 4.1, Chapter 5, Subchapter 7, Article 24, "Consideration of Criminal History Information in Housing," sections 12264 through 12271. It became operative January 1, 2020, per the regulatory history noted on its text. The two schemes share a philosophy, individualized review instead of automatic exclusion, but they are not identical, and a landlord should not assume every employment rule of thumb carries over word for word.

The core test: a "legally sufficient justification"

Section 12265 sets the baseline: a housing provider's practice of seeking, considering, or using criminal history information is unlawful if it has a discriminatory effect and the provider cannot show a "legally sufficient justification" under section 12266, if it amounts to intentional discrimination under section 12267, if it produces a discriminatory statement under section 12268, or if it falls into one of the specifically prohibited practices in section 12269.

Section 12266 defines what a legally sufficient justification requires. The practice must:

• Serve "one or more substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory business interests," such as resident safety, and
• Consider "only criminal history information regarding directly related convictions," and
• Have no feasible alternative practice that would equally or better serve that interest with less discriminatory effect

Beyond that three part test, the regulation lists factors used to judge whether a practice meets it, including:

• Whether the applicant has an opportunity to present individualized, mitigating information, in writing or in person
• Whether the housing provider verifies the factual accuracy of the criminal record before relying on it
• Whether mitigating information is actually considered before a decision is made
• Whether the practice delays seeking, considering, or using a third party report of criminal history information until after the individual's financial and other qualifications have been verified

That last factor is the closest thing this regulation has to the "ask later, not first" idea landlords may have heard about from the employment context. It is one factor supporting a legally sufficient justification, not stated in the text as an independent, standalone requirement the way the conditional job offer rule works in employment law. In practice, a Gardena landlord who verifies income, rental history, and references first, and only pulls a criminal background report after those are cleared, is building the same record the regulation rewards.

Mitigating circumstances a landlord's process should allow an applicant to raise include the person's age at the time of the offense, the time that has elapsed since the conviction, the applicant's subsequent tenancy history, evidence of rehabilitation, and whether the underlying conduct arose from the applicant's status as a survivor of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, or stalking, per section 12266.

Quick reference

| Practice | Status under Article 24 |

|---|---|

| Considering an arrest that did not lead to conviction | Prohibited, section 12269 |

| Considering participation in a pretrial or posttrial diversion program | Prohibited unless the applicant voluntarily discloses it as mitigation, section 12269 |

| Considering a sealed, dismissed, expunged, or pardoned conviction | Prohibited unless voluntarily disclosed by the applicant, section 12269 |

| Considering most juvenile justice adjudications | Prohibited absent an applicable court order, section 12269 |

| A "blanket ban" denying housing to everyone with any criminal record | Prohibited, categorical exclusion, section 12269 |

| Considering a directly related conviction, with individualized assessment | Can be legally justified under the section 12266 test |

| Delaying the criminal history inquiry until financial and rental qualifications are verified | A factor supporting legal justification, section 12266 |

What this means for a Gardena landlord's screening process

1. Verify income, employment, and rental history first, and treat the criminal background report as the last step, not the first filter.
2. Never deny an applicant based on an arrest alone. Under section 12269, an arrest that did not result in conviction cannot be considered at all.
3. Do not run a blanket policy that automatically excludes anyone with a record, regardless of what the conviction was for or how long ago it occurred. Section 12269 treats that as a prohibited categorical exclusion.
4. When a conviction is relevant, connect it directly to a legitimate, nondiscriminatory interest, such as resident or property safety, rather than relying on the existence of a record alone.
5. Give the applicant a real chance to submit mitigating information, and document that it was considered, before making a final decision.
6. If the report comes from a third party consumer reporting agency, separately confirm you are meeting federal Fair Credit Reporting Act notice obligations before taking adverse action, since section 12269 references compliance with those laws.

FAQ

Can a Gardena landlord ever deny an applicant based on a criminal conviction?

Yes, if the conviction is directly related to a substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interest like safety, the landlord gives the applicant a chance to present mitigating information, and there is no less discriminatory alternative that would serve the same interest, per section 12266.

Can a landlord ask about an arrest that never led to a conviction?

No. Section 12269 prohibits seeking, considering, or using information about an arrest that did not result in a conviction.

Is a blanket "no felons" policy legal in Gardena?

No. Section 12269 treats a blanket ban or categorical exclusion based on any criminal record as a prohibited practice, regardless of the underlying offense.

Does this regulation require a conditional offer before a background check, like the employment Fair Chance Act?

Not in those exact terms. The housing regulation lists delaying the criminal history inquiry until after financial and other qualifications are verified as one factor that supports a legally sufficient justification, under section 12266, rather than stating it as a standalone mandatory sequence the way employment law does.

What about a sealed or expunged conviction?

Section 12269 prohibits considering a sealed, dismissed, expunged, or pardoned conviction unless the applicant voluntarily discloses it as mitigating information.

Do juvenile records count against an applicant?

Generally no. Section 12269 prohibits considering most juvenile justice adjudications, absent an applicable court order permitting it.

This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your screening criteria and process against the current text of 2 CCR sections 12264 through 12271 and with a licensed attorney before adopting or changing a criminal history policy.

Topics: compliance, fair housing, South Bay, background checks, Gardena

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