Gaining access to and maintaining affordable housing is essential to helping survivors of domestic violence, stalking and sexual assault to escape abusive relationships and start new lives free of violence. The Violence Against Women Act of 2005 (VAWA) protects individuals applying for or living in federally subsidized housing from being discriminated against because of their status as survivors of domestic violence, dating violence or stalking. Survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking who do not live in subsidized housing and therefore are not covered by VAWA may still be protected by federal and state fair housing laws. Additionally, many states and municipalities have enacted specific protections for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.
Domestic Violence and Housing Manual
NHLP has published a comprehensive manual for advocates titled "Maintaining Safe and Stable Housing for Domestic Violence Survivors: A Manual for Attorneys and Advocates."
NHLP Receives Verizon Grant to Assist Domestic Violence Advocates
NHLP has received a grant from Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon, to provide support on housing issues to transitional housing programs and Family Justice Centers.
Upcoming Webinar:
Domestic and Sexual Violence and Housing Authority Plans
On February 15, 2012, at 2 p.m. Eastern the National Housing Law Project will present “Domestic and Sexual Violence and Housing Authority Plans.” The webinar is free and will last 90 minutes. Public housing authority (PHA) plans affect domestic and sexual violence survivors in many ways. These local plans set forth a PHA's preferences in selecting among housing applicants; the criteria the PHA will use to screen applicants; the factors the PHA will consider in assigning housing assistance after a family breaks up; the PHA's policies for allowing families to relocate to other subsidized housing; and many other important practices. This webinar will discuss how advocates can get involved with the PHA plan process and support policies that increase housing access for domestic and sexual violence survivors.
More information and registration instructions are available HERE.
Articles
This Housing Law Bulletin article summarizes the key provisions of HUD’s VAWA interim rule, which amended subsidized housing regulations to incorporate VAWA’s protections for survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.
This Housing Law Bulletin article summarizes a notice that HUD issued to project-based Section 8 owners regarding their obligations to comply with VAWA. The notice is particularly significant given that HUD field offices had previously misinformed project-based owners that they were not obligated to implement VAWA, and several advocates have reported that project-based owners are unaware of their obligations under the statute.
In 2003, Congress directed HUD and the Justice Department to interpret housing statutes consistently with immigration and public benefits statutes so that qualified alien battered immigrants would be eligible for federally subsidized housing. However, qualified alien battered immigrants continue to be denied housing benefits that are necessary to escape abuse. This Housing Law Bulletin article summarizes the current state of the law regarding battered immigrants’ eligibility for federally subsidized housing.
Advocates throughout the country are lobbying for or implementing a variety of state and local housing protections for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. These efforts build upon the recent movement within the domestic violence and housing advocacy communities to address obstacles that survivors often face in maintaining housing, such as being evicted for calling the police or because the batterer caused a noisy disturbance at the dwelling. This Housing Law Bulletin article summarizes state and local housing protections available to survivors.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has clarified and strengthened its regulations regarding rights of domestic violence survivors in federally subsidized housing. At a White House ceremony commemorating domestic violence awareness month, President Obama stated that the rules would prevent victims from being evicted or denied housing because they were abused. The rules incorporate several suggestions made by the National Housing Law Project and its allies.
Cases
Landlord sought to evict Section 8 tenant on the grounds that she stabbed her partner during a domestic dispute. The tenant submitted police reports and a restraining order showing that she was the victim of domestic violence, along with evidence that the district attorney’s office declined to prosecute her for the alleged stabbing. The court found that the tenant was the victim of domestic violence, and that VAWA precluded the landlord from evicting her.
A tenant was evicted after her husband assaulted her. The tenant alleged that the landlord evicted her because she was a victim of domestic violence, and that this constituted sex discrimination in violation of the Fair Housing Act. The court denied the landlord’s motion for summary judgment.
A tenant requested a transfer to another public housing unit after she was attacked in her home. The housing authority denied her request, stating that its policy did not provide for domestic violence transfers. The tenant alleged that by refusing to grant her occupancy rights granted to other tenants based on the acts of her abuser, the housing authority intentionally discriminated against her on the basis of sex. The court denied her motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction.
A management company sought to evict a tenant under a “zero tolerance for violence” policy because her husband had assaulted her. HUD found that a policy of evicting innocent victims of domestic violence because of that violence has a disproportionate impact on women, and found reasonable cause to believe that the tenant had been discriminated against because of her sex. Download Alvera Reasonable Cause Finding or
In this pre-VAWA case, a public housing tenant requested that the housing authority remove her husband from the lease after he fired a gun in the apartment. Shortly thereafter, the tenant informed the housing authority that she had separated from her husband. She requested a hearing and asked for a rent adjustment based on the change in her family composition and income. At the hearing the tenant submitted a restraining order she had obtained against her husband, but the housing authority refused to act on the tenant’s request to remove him from the lease.
This opinion from the New York Attorney General’s Office states that a landlord may not require a married applicant for housing, who has been subjected to domestic violence, to obtain a divorce as a condition to renting an apartment. The opinion also states that a landlord may not adopt an across-the-board rule barring rentals to victims of domestic violence.
The housing authority initiated termination proceedings against a Section 8 voucher tenant for having an unauthorized occupant. At the informal hearing, the voucher tenant testified that this person had been physically violent toward her on several occasions, and introduced evidence demonstrating that he lived at another address. Despite this, her assistance was terminated.
A housing authority terminated a Section 8 tenant’s voucher due to damages to her unit. The tenant alleged that the damages occurred as part of domestic violence committed against her. The tenant filed suit against the housing authority, alleging that the termination of her voucher violated the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and constituted sex discrimination under the Fair Housing Act. The housing authority filed a motion for summary judgment, which the court denied.
Kathy Cleaves-Milan was threatened with eviction because her batterer tried to kill her in her home—even after she sought help from the police and obtained an order of protection. AIMCO, the nation’s largest owner and operator of rental housing, wanted her out because Ms. Cleaves-Milan had violated its “zero tolerance” for crime policy. The reason cited was her batterer’s criminal activity. The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law filed suit on Ms.
Materials
Under VAWA, housing authorities are required to state in their annual plans how they are serving the housing needs of survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, stalking and sexual assault. Advocates can play a vital role during the annual planning process by urging their housing authorities to adopt policies that protect survivors’ housing rights. The following documents are comments that advocates have submitted to encourage their local housing authorities to improve survivors’ access to housing.
Alameda City Comments
Under VAWA, housing authorities are required to provide notice to public housing and Section 8 owners and tenants regarding their rights and obligations under the statute. The following documents are sample notices that housing authorities can use as part of fulfilling this obligation.
Notice for Public Housing Tenants
Notice for Section 8 Voucher Tenants
The Advocates’ Toolkit is designed to provide an overview of VAWA’s housing provisions and includes recent legal developments, sample advocacy materials (including pleadings and demand letters), and administrative guidance.
California Civil Code § 1946.7 permits survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking to end their leases early if they provide their landlords with a written 30-day notice and either a restraining order or police report. The Toolkit Contains:
1. A Q&A explaining the law in plain English.
2. A sample 30-day notice that survivors can use to end their leases.
3. Safety planning concerns that should be addressed when using the law.
4. PowerPoint slides outlining the new law.
5. The text of Civil Code § 1946.7
This outline provides an overview of the protections available to survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking under the Violence Against Women Act and fair housing laws. It summarizes recent litigation as well as administrative guidance from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
To ensure maximum compliance with VAWA, housing authorities should update their Section 8 administrative plans and public housing admissions and continued occupancy policies (ACOP) to include policies that protect survivors’ housing rights. This document contains sample VAWA language that can be incorporated into the administrative plan and ACOP.
Due to the ever-growing demand for decent, affordable housing, landlords hold increased power over whom they rent to and under what circumstances. As a result of this power imbalance, many tenants are subjected to sexual harassment by housing providers and their agents. Examples of such harassment include requesting sexual favors in exchange for rent, making sexually derogatory comments, or constantly leering and staring at a tenant or applicant. When the harassment disrupts the tenant’s right to enjoy his or her housing, federal fair housing laws as well as state and local laws may protect the tenant. This outline explains what statutes exist to protect tenants and how to enforce them.
These brochures are designed for tenants and include basic information on several topics relevant to the housing rights of victims of domestic and sexual violence. Primary support for the brochures was provided by Verizon Wireless.
These brochures for tenants contain basic information on the following topics:
• The housing protections of the Violence Against Women Act.
• Protections against sexual harassment in housing.
• Breaking the lease to escape violence, including a sample lease termination letter.
Advocates are encouraged to reproduce and distribute these materials, and there is room on the brochures to add a label with the agency’s contact information.
Statutes and Regulations
NHLP has compiled all of VAWA’s statutory provisions relating to housing in an easy-to-use table. This document is designed to help advocates identify the statutory provision that applies depending on whether the client is participating in the public housing, project-based Section 8 or Section 8 voucher program.
In October 2009, HUD issued a notice providing guidance to project-based Section 8 owners on implementation of VAWA. The notice transmitted a lease addendum (Form HUD-91067) for use with the HUD model lease for the project-based Section 8 program. The notice also transmitted a HUD-approved form (Form HUD-91066) to be used by tenants in certifying that an incident of domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking has occurred.
In March 2007, HUD published a Federal Register Notice providing an overview of key VAWA provisions that affect HUD programs and identifying provisions that require program participants to take action to be in compliance. The notice reminds PHAs that they must include a VAWA statement in their annual plans. It also provides some guidance regarding the documentation that a survivor may provide to certify that an incident of domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking has occurred.
If an individual seeks to assert VAWA’s protections, a housing authority or owner may request that the individual provide certification that an incident of domestic violence, dating violence or stalking has occurred. One way in which an individual may satisfy the request for certification is by completing a HUD-approved certification form. Inside are links to Form HUD-50066, which is used in the public housing and Section 8 voucher programs, and Form HUD-91066, which is used in the project-based Section 8 program.
HUD’s Public Housing Occupancy Guidebook includes a chapter on domestic violence. This document contains helpful language encouraging housing authorities to adopt domestic violence preferences and to accept a broad range of evidence as proof of domestic violence.
This memorandum from HUD’s office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity addresses general questions about sexual harassment in housing under the Fair Housing Act.
NHLP is pleased to announce the publication of “Housing Rights of Domestic Violence Survivors: A State and Local Law Compendium.” This Compendium compiles state and local laws that affect domestic violence survivors’ housing rights. It is designed to serve as a starting point for advocates seeking to conduct research on the housing protections that their state laws offer for domestic violence survivors.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed into law critical housing protections for domestic violence survivors. Senate Bill 782 provides that a landlord shall not terminate a tenancy based upon an act of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault against a tenant. The bill also contains provisions requiring a landlord to change a tenant's locks if presented with a restraining order, or allowing the tenant to change the locks if the landlord fails to do so within 24 hours.
This memo from HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity provides guidance to HUD staff on assessing claims by domestic violence victims of housing discrimination under the Fair Housing Act.
Regulations from the Department of Housing and Urban Development clarify several critical issues affecting domestic violence survivors living in subsidized housing. Some of the topics addressed include the documentation needed to prove domestic violence, the ability of domestic violence survivors to flee subsidized housing and move with Section 8 vouchers, and housing providers’ obligations to protect survivors’ confidentiality. The regulations are available here.
Links
The ACLU Women’s Rights Project website contains litigation documents, fact sheets and other materials regarding survivors’ housing rights.
Legal Momentum’s website contains a variety of materials on survivors’ housing rights, including statistics and litigation documents.
National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty’s website contains policy documents, reports and information on state law housing protections for survivors of domestic violence.
This website contains a number of fact sheets, statistics, reports, and advocates’ guides on the intersection between housing, homelessness, and sexual violence.
