Tough Discussions
Apartment firms must educate on-site staff and residents about new law.
While it’s easy to support the idea of helping domestic violence victims, it’s more difficult to figure out how to obey the recently-signed Violence Against Women Act, particularly if you’re a property manager. But Deborah Widiss, staff attorney for the women’s rights group Legal Momentum, has some suggestions.
First, apartment firms and on-site management should educate all residents that the new law allows domestic violence victims to stay in their federally-assisted housing even if their abuser is reported and evicted. “If property managers can affirmatively communicate the law, then that will be the best means of insuring people feel comfortable reporting domestic violence,” she says.
Second, apartment firms should also let residents know that both legal and illegal immigrants who are also domestic violence victims have rights under the law, depending on the status. Property owners and managers “should know that if that person can qualify for various visas, then they should be able to access public housing,” Widiss says.
Third, apartment owners and managers should not be afraid to ask domestic violence victims for documentation. Victims are now required by law to produce the proper paperwork proving they are a domestic violence victim. (Property owners and managers are not allowed to use a history of domestic violence as a reason to pass on a prospective resident. The law gives renters the right to housing as long as they meet the other requirements.)
Lastly, the law specifies that a domestic violence victim who leaves a lease early to guard against future violence may receive a voucher to use in a new place, Widiss says. The law does not address early lease termination but many state laws do. Generally, if a victim gives adequate notice, there is no financial penalty for breaking the lease.
“It’s all about making it clear how [apartment owners and managers] can work together to make everybody safe,” Widiss says.