15
OWNER VAWA RESPONSIBILITY
By signing the RFTA the owner certifies to comply with the Violence Against Women Act.
In 2013, a law known as Violence Against Women Act or “VAWA” was signed and approved by the
President. VAWA provides new protections for victims of domestic violence, dating violence and
stalking who are tenants of public housing or who are assisted with Housing Choice Voucher Program
rental assistance. You should know that:
1. Admissions: If an applicant is or has been the victim of domestic violence, dating violence, stalking
or sexual assault (PHA’s Administrative Plan contains the VAWA policies and definitions and is
available upon request), this is not an appropriate basis on which to deny program assistance or to
deny admission if the applicant otherwise qualifies for assistance or admission.
2. Lease terms:
•
An incident or incidents of actual or threatened domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking will
not be considered to be a “serious or repeated” violation of the lease by the victim or threatened
victim of that violence and shall not be good cause for terminating the assistance, tenancy or
occupancy rights of the victim of that violence.
•
Additionally, you may not terminate a tenancy, assistance or occupancy rights as a result of
criminal activity, if that criminal activity is directly related to domestic violence, dating violence
stalking or sexual assault engaged in by a member of a household, a guest or another person
under the control of that
household, and another household member is the victim.
However there are some limitations to these protections:
•
You may terminate tenancy and/or assistance if you can demonstrate “an actual and
imminent threat” to other tenants or to persons employed at or providing services to the
development.
•
If a tenant claims protection under VAWA against termination of tenancy or assistance, you may ask
the tenant to deliver a certification, which the tenant must provide in 14 days, concerning the
incident or incidents that raises the VAWA protections.
3. Certification: For certification of a claim, PHA requires a completed Certification of Domestic
Violence, Dating Violence, or Stalking (HUD Form-50066), which the tenant can request from
his/her Service Representative. In addition to the HUD-approved form, PHA will also require either a
police report or court record, or documentation signed by an employee, agent, or volunteer of
a victim service provider, an attorney, or medical professional, from whom the victim has sought
assistance in addressing domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking, or the effects of abuse, in
which the professional attests under penalty of perjury under 28 U.S.C. 1746 to the professional’s
belief that the incident or incidents in question are bona fide incidents of abuse, and the victim
of domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking has singed or attested to the documentation.
The tenant must deliver the
certification
within 14 business days after receipt of your request for
certification
or the tenant may not claim protection under VAWA.
4. Confidentiality: Information provided by a tenant about an incident or incidents of domestic