The comprehensive Violence Against Women Act is now law! Yesterday President Obama signed into law a bill reauthorizing VAWA, which was passed by the Senate on February 12 and by the House on February 28.
VAWA 2013 makes some changes in the VAWA 2005 provisions applicable to federal housing programs, among them the following:
- It extends VAWA protections to additional housing programs, including rural housing assistance and the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) program.
- It adds protections for victims of sexual assault to the protections already in place for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.
- It replaces the term immediate family member with the term affiliated individual and defines the latter term to include “any other individual, tenant, or lawful occupant living in the individual’s household,” not just a person related to the individual by blood or marriage. (For the definition of immediate family member in the HUD regulations, see 24 CFR 5.2003. For the context in which the term is used, see 24 CFR 5.2005(c)(2).)
- It adds protections for tenants remaining after the removal of an abuser, allowing them an opportunity to establish program eligibility, if necessary, or a reasonable time to find new housing.
- It requires the certification of abuse supplied by a victim to name the perpetrator of the domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking only “if the name is known and safe to provide.”
- It adds a provision explicitly authorizing a PHA, owner, or manager to request third-party documentation when presented with victim certification forms containing conflicting information. (The HUD regulation at 24 CFR 5.2007(e) already provides this authorization.)
- It requires a HUD-developed notice of rights under VAWA to be provided at the time of denial or admission, upon notification of eviction or termination of assistance, and in multiple languages.
- It requires HUD to adopt model emergency transfer plans for victims of abuse in its rental assistance programs and to establish policies and procedures under which a victim requesting an emergency transfer may receive a tenant protection voucher.
In other news:
HACLA: A small library in a public housing community celebrates its one-year anniversary
Off the Charts: Sequestration's bad news for low-income housing
Finally, Daylight Saving Time begins this weekend. Enjoy the sunshine!