Nix on tenant checks

Must rent to killers

A controversial bill prohibiting Big Apple landlords from performing criminal background checks on prospective tenants — even those convicted of murder and other heinous crimes — is on a fast track to become law.

At least 30 of the City Council’s 51 members have agreed to back the “Fair Chance for Housing Act,” which is set to go before the Council’s Committee on Civil Rights for its first public hearing Dec. 8.

Unlike an earlier version of the bill that died in committee at the end of the last year, the new bill introduced in August by Councilman Keith Powers (D-Manhattan) is gaining steam because of the support of newly elected officials. Its co-sponsors include Speaker Adrienne Adams.

Mayor Adams also supports the bill.

“No one should be denied housing because they were once engaged with the criminal-justice system — plain and simple,” Adams spokesman Charles Lutvack told The Post. “We will work closely with our partners in the City Council to ensure this bill has maximum intended impact.”

But critics say the bill is too dangerous.

Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (R-Brooklyn) posted an 85-second video on Twitter Wednesday calling on New Yorkers to contact their council members and demand they reject the bill because “the safety of your families . . . is at stake.”

“What’s on the menu this Thanksgiving?” she tweeted. “A bill which would prohibit landlords from conducting criminal background checks of potential tenants.

“Murdered someone? . . . No problem. Come live among us! Tell the @NYCCouncil to vote NO!” Powers fired back at Vernikov, tweeting Thanksgiving “is supposed to be a day of gratitude, not attacking. We don’t believe in second chances anymore?”

The bill doesn’t affect NYCHA complexes, which are required by federal law to conduct background checks. It also doesn’t apply to two-family homes or homeowners renting out single rooms.

The bill does allow landlords to check New York’s sex-offender registry, but its current language doesn’t address out-of-state registries.

Vito Signorile, a spokesman for the Rent Stabilization Association, said many of the group’s 25,000 landlords are irate that the proposal is back on the table after they helped defeat an earlier version of the bill.

“We are proponents of second chances when it comes to low-level crimes like drug use, but renting to people convicted of more serious crimes like . . . arson and murder is a whole other thing,” said Signorile.

Powers said the bill could be tweaked to address concerns before it is voted on.