Domestic violence and subsidized housing

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) provides legal protections for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, for those living in federally subsidized housing.  VAWA protects victims by prohibiting landlords and housing authorities from evicting or terminating the rental assistance of the tenant because of criminal activity committed by abusers.

Housing authorities or management agents must exhaust protective measures before eviction.  Evictions can only take place after the housing or subsidy providers have taken actions that will reduce or eliminate the threat to the victim, including the following: 

• Transferring the abuse victim to a different home,
• Barring the abuser from the property,
• Contacting law enforcement to increase police presence or develop other plans to keep the property safe, and
• Seeking other legal remedies to prevent the abuser from acting on a threat.