Felons, evictees finding a second chance for housing

Curt Prendergast A new Tucson apartment company has a surprising target market: people convicted of crimes.“Felons are our best clients,” said Les Boynton, CEO of Second Chance Rentals, a Phoenix-based enterprise that expanded to Tucson this summer. “They value their housing.”Renting to felons and evictees, people deemed high risk by most landlords, is the specialty of Second Chance Rentals, which Boynton calls the “safety net of homelessness.” Since 2003, he has rented to more than 22,000 people at 120 apartment complexes in Phoenix, with 85 percent completing yearlong contracts.“Our society is very judgmental of people with credit or criminal problems,” Boynton said. “They think they’re all high-risk, but 90 to 95 percent of them are good-hearted, working-class people.” Difficulty finding housing is a “collateral consequence” of a felony conviction, along with trouble landing a job or obtaining a business license, said Joel Feinman, an assistant Pima County public defender. People ar...