There's No Place Like Home

State Laws that Protect Housing Rights for Survivors of Domestic and Sexual Violence

In some areas of the country, one in four homeless adults report domestic violence as a cause of their homelessness.  Moreover, between 50 and 100 percent of homeless women nationwide have experienced domestic or sexual violence at some point in their lives. This new resource from the Law Center, "There's No Place Like Home," provides a comprehensive examination of the canon of state laws designed to address housing instability for survivors.

The federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), signed into law on March 14 following advocacy by the Law Center and its allies, includes numerous housing protections for survivors living in public and Section 8 housing, as well as all housing programs administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, USDA, and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program.  These protections include the rights to early lease termination, emergency transfer, and freedom from discrimination based on their status as survivors.

But while the new law is a major step forward, VAWA's protections do not apply to private housing, and as a result many survivors remain unprotected.  This why action by states is so urgently needed.

"There's No Place Like Home" outlines legislation in all 50 states covering 16 types of housing protections, including: prohibitions against housing discrimination against victims of abuse; provisions allowing a battered tenant to terminate a lease early to flee violence; and provisions that protect the confidentiality of domestic violence victims housing records; among others.  In addition to examining the laws in each state, the guide highlights particularly noteworthy statutes in each area of concern and offers recommendations to better protect survivors.

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