Two people with felony convictions can legally live together in most situations, but the answer turns almost entirely on whether either one is currently on probation, parole, or federal supervised release. If neither person is under court supervision, no federal law prohibits the arrangement. The complications begin when a supervision order restricts association with other people who have felony records, which is one of the most common conditions courts impose.
When Supervision Changes the Answer
Federal supervised release and probation orders routinely include a standard condition telling the person under supervision: “You must not communicate or interact with someone you know is engaged in criminal activity. If you know someone has been convicted of a felony, you must not knowingly communicate or interact with that person without first getting the permission of the probation officer.”1U.S. Courts. Chapter 2: Communicating/Interacting with Persons Engaged in Criminal Activity and Felons Living together plainly falls within “communicate or interact.”
State parole and probation systems impose similar conditions, though the exact wording and enforcement vary by jurisdiction. The point across all of them is the same: while you are on supervision, you don’t get to decide on your own whether a shared household is acceptable. Your supervising officer or the court does. Judges and parole boards weigh several factors when deciding how strictly to enforce the condition: the nature of both offenses, whether the two people were co-defendants, their overall criminal histories, and how much time has passed since the convictions. If the two were charged in the same case, expect the restriction to be enforced rigidly.
Living With a Family Member Who Has a Record
Many people asking this question are asking because a spouse, parent, child, or sibling also has a felony conviction. The standard federal condition does not carve out an exception for family. It requires probation officer permission for any knowing interaction with a convicted felon, regardless of the relationship. In practice, officers routinely grant permission for family cohabitation when the relationship predates the conviction and the living arrangement supports stability rather than undermining it.
Raise it early. A married couple where one spouse was convicted of a white-collar offense and the other of a years-old drug charge presents a very different analysis than two siblings recently convicted in the same robbery. Get the approval in writing before moving in, because a verbal assurance from one officer won’t protect you if a different officer later reviews your file.
Getting Permission From Your Probation Officer
Under federal supervision conditions, if you plan to change where you live or who you live with, you must notify your probation officer at least 10 days before the change. If unanticipated circumstances make advance notice impossible, you have 72 hours after becoming aware of the change to report it.2U.S. Courts. Chapter 2: Notification of Change in Residence That 10-day window gives the officer time to assess the proposed residence and everyone who will be living there.
Officers look at the stability of the home, the criminal histories of everyone in the household, the proximity to known criminal activity, and whether the arrangement aligns with what the court intended when setting conditions. Supporting evidence helps. Proof of employment, enrollment in treatment programs, and references from employers or counselors can all strengthen a request. When one or both people were convicted of violent crimes, the officer may need to consult with the sentencing judge before granting approval.
Approval isn’t the end of it. Officers monitor approved arrangements through unannounced home visits, checking the identities of unknown people at the residence, noting unfamiliar vehicles, and reviewing phone records.1U.S. Courts. Chapter 2: Communicating/Interacting with Persons Engaged in Criminal Activity and Felons An approved arrangement can be revoked if circumstances change.
If your officer denies the request, you can ask them to reconsider with additional documentation, ask the court to modify the condition, or bring in counsel to advocate for an adjustment. Any of those beats moving in and hoping nobody notices.
The Firearm Problem in a Shared Home
This is where two-felon households run into trouble even when supervision allows the arrangement. Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison from possessing any firearm or ammunition.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts “Possession” does not require the gun to be in your hands or even in your room. Under the doctrine of constructive possession, a person can be charged if they knew a firearm was present in the home and had the ability to access or control it.
When two felons share a residence, the risk doubles. If either person keeps a firearm anywhere in the home, both residents can face federal weapons charges. Prosecutors regularly bring constructive possession cases in shared living situations by arguing that a gun in a common area, an unlocked closet, or a shared bedroom was accessible to everyone in the household. Courts have held that mere proximity alone is not enough for conviction without additional evidence of knowledge and control, but that distinction plays out at trial rather than preventing charges from being filed.
If neither of you can legally possess a firearm, the rule is simple: no guns in the home. Possessing a firearm while on supervised release also triggers mandatory revocation, which means prison time with no second chances on that violation.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3583 – Inclusion of a Term of Supervised Release After Imprisonment
Renting a Place Together
Even when supervision allows the arrangement, finding a landlord willing to rent is a separate problem. Landlords commonly run criminal background checks, and having a felony record is not a protected class under the Fair Housing Act. The Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability.5Department of Justice. The Fair Housing Act Criminal history is not on that list.
HUD previously issued 2016 guidance discouraging blanket bans on renting to people with criminal records, arguing that such policies could create disparate impact discrimination against racial minorities. That guidance was formally rescinded in November 2025.6U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Housing Discrimination Under the Fair Housing Act HUD’s current position emphasizes that landlords should use all available screening tools, including criminal background checks, to maintain safety. A landlord who uses criminal history screening in a way that disproportionately excludes a protected class could still face a disparate impact claim under federal case law, but landlords now have substantially more latitude to deny applications based on criminal records than they did a few years ago. Expect higher security deposits, co-signer requirements, or proof of stable employment as conditions of approval.
Public Housing Limits
Public housing adds another layer because public housing authorities follow federal regulations that create both mandatory and discretionary bars to admission. Two categories of people are permanently excluded nationwide:
- Anyone ever convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine on the premises of federally assisted housing is permanently barred from all public housing and Section 8 assistance.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1437n – Eligibility for Assisted Housing
- Any household that includes someone subject to a lifetime state sex offender registration requirement cannot be admitted to federally assisted housing.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 13663 – Ineligibility of Dangerous Sex Offenders for Admission to Public Housing
Beyond those two permanent bars, housing authorities have broad discretion to set their own screening criteria. Federal regulations require them to consider the time, nature, and extent of an applicant’s criminal history when evaluating applications.9eCFR. 24 CFR Part 960 – Admission to, and Occupancy of, Public Housing A three-year mandatory look-back applies to anyone evicted from federally assisted housing for drug-related activity, though the authority can waive it if the person has completed a rehabilitation program.10eCFR. 24 CFR Part 960 Subpart B – Admission Authorities can extend look-back periods beyond the federal minimums at their discretion.
When two people apply together as a household, every member’s record is evaluated. A household with two recent convictions faces a much harder path than one where the convictions are old and the record has been clean since.
What Happens If You Move In Without Approval
Living with another felon without approval, when supervision conditions require it, is a violation that can trigger a revocation hearing. The government only needs to prove the violation by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning more likely than not, rather than beyond a reasonable doubt.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3583 – Inclusion of a Term of Supervised Release After Imprisonment An unapproved roommate is a straightforward factual question, so that bar is easy to clear.
If the court revokes supervised release, the maximum prison time depends on the severity of the original offense:
- Class A felony: up to 5 years
- Class B felony: up to 3 years
- Class C or D felony: up to 2 years
- All other cases: up to 1 year
Those caps come from the federal statute governing revocation.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3583 – Inclusion of a Term of Supervised Release After Imprisonment Not every violation leads to revocation. Courts can also extend the supervision term, add new conditions like electronic monitoring or curfews, or require residential treatment. An unauthorized cohabitation violation still signals to the court that you are not taking supervision seriously, and that colors every decision that follows.