Michigan Owner Settles HUD’s VAWA Discrimination Complaint

And agrees to pay a penalty and train staff.

A recent conciliation agreement between HUD and a Michigan housing provider shows that HUD continues to monitor compliance with the Violence Against Women Act. HUD recently announced that it had entered into a settlement agreement with an owner resolving allegations that the owner denied housing to a woman because of her disability and status as a survivor under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). “We have an ongoing commitment to enforcing rights enshrined under VAWA and the Fair Housing Act, ensuring equal access to housing for all,” Demetria L. McCain, HUD’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, said in a statement.

The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate in the sale or rental of housing based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), familial status, and disability. And under VAWA, individuals living in covered housing programs cannot be denied housing, evicted, or lose assistance due to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. They also have the right to request an emergency transfer for safety reasons related to violence.

Owner Refused to Review VAWA Information

In this case, the owner is a private housing provider and the applicant filed a complaint with HUD alleging that the owner failed to respond to her rental application because of her visual impairment and because she said a previous lease had been terminated due to intimate partner violence and stalking. HUD alleges that the owner violated VAWA by refusing to review VAWA information and not responding to her application for housing.

What’s in the Conciliation Agreement

Under the terms of the agreement, the owner will pay the survivor $8,500. The owner will also take affirmative steps to ensure its policies, practices, and procedures comply with VAWA and the Fair Housing Act. The agreement further requires the owner to mandate that all its staff attend VAWA-related training.

Federal VAWA Housing Protections

HUD’s new enforcement authority under the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2022, which was signed into law on March 15, 2022, enhances housing protections for survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking applying for and assisted under covered housing programs and certain other federal housing and homeless assistance programs.

While most covered programs are HUD programs, others are administered by other federal agencies, including the Departments of Agriculture, Justice, and Veterans Affairs. The LIHTC, while it is a tax incentive and not technically “federal financing,” has been included in the law as a VAWA-covered program since the legislation was reauthorized in 2013. VAWA 2022 authorizes HUD to enforce the law by the same process as the Fair Housing Act. The core VAWA housing protections for survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking are the following:       

Denial of admissions. An applicant’s status as a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking is not a basis for denial of admission, if the applicant otherwise qualifies for admission.

Termination of tenancy. A resident is protected from being evicted for being a domestic violence survivor. If a resident is a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, you can’t evict the resident based on acts or threats of violence committed against him or her. In addition, criminal acts directly related to the domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking that are caused by a member of the resident’s household or a guest can’t be the reason for evicting a resident if the resident was the victim of the abuse.

You can still evict a resident, however, if you can show there is an actual and imminent threat to other tenants or staff if the resident is not evicted. Also, an owner can evict a resident for serious or repeated lease violations that aren’t related to the domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking against the resident.

Lease bifurcation. VAWA allows owners to “bifurcate,” or split a tenancy, so that the abuser is removed from the household, without evicting or penalizing the survivor. In removing the abuser from the household, you must follow federal, state, and local eviction procedures.

Confidentiality requirements. All information provided regarding domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, including the fact that an individual is a victim of such violence or stalking, must be retained in confidence. This means that an owner or manager may not enter the information into any shared database; allow employees or others to access the information unless they are explicitly authorized to do so and have a need to know the information for purposes of their work; or provide the information to any other entity or individual, except to the extent that the disclosure is:

• Requested or consented to by the individual in writing in a time-limited basis;
• Required for use in an eviction proceeding; or
• Otherwise required by applicable law [42 U.S.C.A. §14043e-11(c)(4)(A)-(C)].

Emergency transfers. VAWA requires owners to adopt an emergency transfer plan that gives victims the ability to request an emergency transfer to another safe and available unit. The transfer plan must allow survivor tenants to transfer to another available and safe dwelling unit assisted under a covered housing program if: (1) the tenant expressly requests the transfer; and (2) either the tenant reasonably believes that she is threatened with imminent harm from further violence if she remains within the same assisted dwelling unit, or the tenant is a victim of sexual assault and the sexual assault occurred on the premises within 90 days before the transfer request. In addition, the transfer plan must incorporate reasonable confidentiality measures to ensure that the owner or manager does not disclose the location of the new unit to the abuser.

Written notice. VAWA requires that residents receive a written notice of rights under VAWA upon admission, denial of housing, or notice of eviction/subsidy termination--including notification in non-English languages.

Prohibition on retaliation. It is illegal for an owner to retaliate against a victim because the resident opposed any action it took or practice it has that is prohibited by VAWA. The housing provider also cannot subject a resident to retaliation, coercion, intimidation, or threats because he or she testified, assisted, or participated in an action to enforce VAWA rights, including encouraging another or exercising his or her own rights under VAWA.

Right to report crime and emergencies from one’s home. Residents, occupants, guests of, or applicants for, any housing have the right to seek law enforcement or emergency assistance on their own behalf or on behalf of another person in need of assistance. They may not be penalized based on their requests for assistance, based on criminal activity for which they are a victim, or based on activity for which they are otherwise not at fault under a law, ordinance, regulation, or policy adopted by or enforced by a governmental entity that receives certain HUD funding.