Transcript Domestic Violence and Rental Housing

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DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & HOUSING:
EXAMPLES FROM THE FIELD
Meliah Schultzman
National Housing Law Project, www.nhlp.org
Training for CORT, December 4, 2009
What we’re covering today
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5 case studies that examine common housing issues
that survivors of domestic and sexual violence face
Brief summary of the applicable law
 State
law protections for survivors
 Fair housing laws and protections for survivors
 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA): housing
provisions for subsidized tenants
 Housing authority & housing provider DV policies

Advocacy strategies that were used in the case
studies
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Common Housing Issues
Survivors face many obstacles to accessing and
maintaining housing
Barriers to Applying for Housing: Jan
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Five years ago, at the advice of her atty, Jan pleaded
guilty to assaulting her abuser, even though she acted
in self-defense.
Jan later applied for a Rural Development unit. Her
application was denied because of her criminal
record.
At a meeting with the manager, Jan submitted letters
of support from her employer and DV agencies.
The manager refused to reconsider Jan’s application.
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The criminal history
policy that resulted in
Jan’s denial
Barriers to Staying Safe: Yolaunda
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Yolaunda was beaten at her public housing unit. Her
abuser threatened to kill her if she returned to the unit.
Yolaunda asked the housing authority for an
emergency transfer to another public housing unit.
The housing authority refused, saying that its policy
did not provide for emergency transfers for domestic
violence victims.
Press coverage of Yolaunda Robinson’s Case
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Barriers to Keeping Housing: Sonya
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Sonya had a Section 8 voucher.
One night, Sonya’s abuser forced his way into her
apartment. He cut himself on broken glass after he
destroyed a cabinet in her apartment.
Sonya’s abuser told a security guard that he was
bleeding because Sonya stabbed him.
Sonya’s landlord filed an eviction action against her
on grounds of nuisance based on the alleged
“stabbing.”
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The 10-day notice
to vacate that
Sonya received
Barriers to Keeping Housing: Irene
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Irene, a public housing tenant, was awakened and
beaten by her live-in companion, who was
subsequently arrested.
PHA received one written complaint and several
calls from residents concerning the altercation.
Irene received an eviction notice for violating a
lease provision that required her to ensure that her
guests did not disturb other tenants.
Barriers to Keeping Housing: Mia
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Mia, her husband AJ, and their 3 kids had a Section
8 voucher. AJ was listed as the head of household.
Mia obtained a restraining order against AJ.
AJ asked the housing authority to let him use the
voucher to move into a unit by himself
Mia asked the housing authority to let her keep the
voucher in the interest of her children
The housing authority let AJ move with the voucher
and terminated Mia’s assistance
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Fair Housing
Policies that negatively impact domestic violence
survivors may constitute sex discrimination under
fair housing laws
DV and Fair Housing Laws
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Fair housing laws apply to most landlords, regardless
of whether they are subsidized:
 Federal
Fair Housing Act (FHA), 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq.
 Most states have antidiscrimination laws that mirror the
FHA’s protections
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These laws prohibit landlords from discriminating
against an applicant or tenant because of sex
However, DV survivors are not a protected class
under the FHA or most state fair housing laws
DV and Fair Housing Laws
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Advocates have challenged “zero tolerance” policies,
which state that the entire family may be evicted
when an act of violence occurs at or near the rental
unit
“Zero tolerance” policies have a disparate impact on
women, because women constitute the majority of DV
victims
Advocates have successfully argued that these
policies discriminate on the basis of sex
Fair Housing: Pre-VAWA Case Example
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Warren v. Ypsilanti Hous. Comm’n (E.D. Mich. 2002)
 Public
housing tenant’s ex-boyfriend assaulted her at
the unit. Tenant called police to report assault.
 PHA sought to evict tenant, citing the one-strike
provision in its lease.
 Tenant filed suit against PHA, arguing that its policy of
evicting DV victims based on violence against them
constituted sex discrimination.
 Case settled, w/PHA agreeing to end its application of
the one-strike rule to DV victims.
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Excerpt from the
complaint filed in
Warren, available
on ACLU’s website
Fair Housing: Case Example 2
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Lewis v. N. End Vill. (E.D. Mich. 2008):
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LIHTC tenant’s ex-boyfriend kicked in the door of her
apartment in violation of a restraining order.
 Tenant received eviction notice for violating the lease,
which stated that she was liable for damage resulting
from “lack of proper supervision” of her “guests.”
 Tenant filed suit, arguing that the owner’s policy of
interpreting the word “guest” to include those who
violate a RO had a disparate impact on women.
 Case settled, with owner agreeing to adopt DV
policies.
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Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
Protections against evictions and subsidy
terminations for federally assisted tenants
VAWA: Who Is Protected?
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VAWA covers these categories
of housing ONLY:
1.
Public housing
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Section 8 Voucher
housing
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Project-Based Section 8
Housing
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Supportive housing for
the elderly or disabled
VAWA covers these categories
of victims:
1.
A survivor of domestic
violence
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A survivor of dating
violence
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A survivor of stalking
* Survivors of sexual assault
may be covered
VAWA: Admissions & Assistance
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An individual’s status as a victim of domestic
violence, dating violence, or stalking is not an
appropriate basis for denying him or her housing.
What about poor credit, tenancy, or criminal
history that is directly related to DV?
VAWA: Evictions/Terminations
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Crimes against a survivor “directly relating to” DV
are not grounds for evicting the survivor or
terminating her rental subsidy.
Incident of actual or threatened DV does not
constitute a “serious or repeated lease violation” or
“good cause” for evicting the survivor or terminating
her rental subsidy.
There are limits to these protections.
VAWA: Removing the Abuser
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Public Housing Agency (PHA) or Section 8 landlord
may “bifurcate” a lease to evict a tenant who commits
DV while keeping the survivor in place.
 PHA
or landlord must follow federal, state, and local law
in evicting the perpetrator
 Safety planning is essential in these cases
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PHA may terminate Section 8 assistance to the abuser
while preserving assistance to survivor
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State Law Protections
A growing number of states and local
jurisdictions are adopting specific housing
protections for survivors
State & Local Protections for Survivors
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A growing number of states are enacting housing
laws specifically protecting DV survivors because:
 The
landlord-tenant relationship is usually governed by
state law
 FHA doesn’t explicitly protect survivors, & the Violence
Against Women Act only covers subsidized tenants
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Local legislative efforts:
 Ohio:
If passed, Sub. H.B. No. 167 would provide a
variety of housing protections for survivors
 Michigan: S.B. 185 would have provided early lease
termination for victims of DV, sexual assault or stalking
Examples of state protections
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Laws that protect survivors’ housing rights include:
 Laws
that prohibit survivors from being evicted or
denied housing because of violence committed against
them (AR, DC, IN, NC, RI, WA)
 Laws that provide a defense to eviction (CO, DC, IA,
LA, NM, VA, WA)
 Early lease termination (AZ, CA, CO, DE, DC, IL, IN,
MN, NJ, NY, NC, OR, TX, WA, WI)
 Right to call police (AZ, CO, DC, MN, TX, WI)
 Lock changes (AZ, AR, DC, IL, IN, NC, OR, UT, VA, WA)
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Housing Provider Policies
PHAs and some subsidized owners have started
to adopt their own domestic violence policies
PHA DV policies
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Under VAWA, PHAs are required to include a
statement re: DV in their annual and 5-year plans
Many PHAs have added VAWA’s language to their
Sec 8 admin plans and public housing ACOPs.
 Some
PHAs have included language that is more
specific/more protective than VAWA
 Ex: public housing transfer policies for victims;
admissions policies re: negative history related to DV
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As a result, it’s crucial to examine the PHA’s policies
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Excerpt from
Lansing Housing
Commission domestic
violence policy
Subsidized owners & DV policies
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In Notice H 09-15, HUD urged project-based Sec 8
owners to:
 Update
their tenant selection plans or house rules to
incorporate VAWA’s protections
 Establish policies that support victims and protect them
from losing their HUD-assisted housing as a
consequence of DV
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However, implementation by project-based owners
has been SLOW.
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Advocacy Strategies
What strategies were employed in the five case
studies?
Basic tools used in DV/housing cases
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Informal advocacy, i.e., letters and calls to the
landlord or housing authority
Helping clients get together documents and
witnesses for administrative & judicial proceedings
Using media to “embarrass” housing providers
Filing administrative complaints (or threatening to)
Working with housing providers to improve their
policies regarding domestic & sexual violence
Affirmative litigation
Barriers to Applying for Housing: Jan
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Jan’s attorney contacted the manager by phone and
mail and explained that:
 Before
denying Jan’s application, the manager had a
duty to examine mitigating factors, such as the age of
her conviction and her letters of support.
 It was unlikely that Jan would be involved in another
abusive relationship.
 The criminal history policy was unreasonable.
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The manager later offered a unit to Jan.
Barriers to Staying Safe: Yolaunda
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Based on the federal Fair Housing Act, Yolaunda’s
attorneys filed for a preliminary injunction in
federal court to have her immediately transferred
to another public housing unit.
The case received media coverage.
The court denied the motion, but encouraged the
PHA to adopt a domestic violence transfer policy.
The housing authority amended its public housing
policy to include transfers for domestic violence
survivors.
Revised Public Housing Transfer Policy, Cincinnati Metro. Hous. Auth.
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Barriers to Keeping Housing: Sonya
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Sonya’s attorney raised VAWA and the Fair Housing
Act as a defense to the eviction and also filed a
motion for summary judgment.
Sonya provided police reports, her restraining
order, and evidence that the city declined to
prosecute her for the “stabbing.”
Court found that VAWA prohibited Sonya’s eviction.
Metro N. Owners v. Thorpe, 870 N.Y.S.2d 768
The answer Sonya’s attorney filed to the eviction complaint
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Metro N. Owners, LLC v.
Thorpe, 870 N.Y.S.2d 768
Barriers to Keeping Housing: Irene
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At the eviction hearing, Irene testified that neighbors
said they were not disturbed by the incident.
Irene also testified that the abuser had moved out.
Court held that Irene had not committed a serious
violation of the lease:
 Incident
was isolated
 No evidence that Irene was a “troublesome” tenant
 Abuser no longer lived on the premises
 Moundsville Hous. Auth. v. Porter, 370 S.E.2d 341 (W. Va.
1988); see also Assoc. Estates Corp. v. Bartell, 492 N.E.2d
841 (Ohio Ct. App. 1985).
Barriers to Keeping Housing: Mia
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Mia’s attorney wrote a letter to the housing
authority arguing:
 Termination
of Mia’s assistance violated VAWA
 The housing authority failed to follow HUD regulations
and its own policies when it assigned the voucher to AJ
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Mia’s attorney requested:
 An
administrative hearing
 Homeless prevention funds to cover Mia’s back rent
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The housing authority agreed to issue Mia a voucher
and homeless assistance
Sample Demand Letter, Break-Up of Section 8 Voucher Family
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Takeaway Points
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This area of the law is rapidly changing
There are a variety of advocacy strategies—
informal advocacy, demand letters, agency
complaints, media, working with PHAs and landlords
on their policies, and affirmative litigation.
Many housing providers, hearing officers, and
judges will need to be educated regarding the
basics of domestic violence, sexual assault, and
stalking.
Contact Information
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Meliah Schultzman, [email protected]
(510)-251-9400
NHLP’s DV & housing website:
http://nhlp.org/resourcecenter?tid=62
NHLP’s DV & housing manual:
http://nhlp.org/guidebooks