Denying Housing to Survivors of Domestic Violence May Violate Fair Housing Laws
by: Iowa Legal Aid
March 2004
It is hard enough for anyone to find decent, affordable housing. Finding housing may be even harder for women who are survivors of domestic violence. Why would this be?
In some cases, the landlord may have a policy of denying an apartment to someone who is a survivor of domestic violence. The landlord may be afraid that the abuser will go on causing problems. In that case, the landlord intends to keep out survivors of domestic violence. A woman in the State of Washington is suing her landlord because she says that is what happened to her. Connie Raney is now suing the landlord for sex discrimination under fair housing laws.
In other cases, the landlord may have a policy that does not say anything about survivors of domestic violence. However, the landlord's policy may have a bad effect on survivors of violence. In one Oregon case, Tiffani Ann Alvera was threatened with eviction because the landlord had a policy of "zero tolerance." Anyone involved in violence was evicted. Even though Ms. Alvera was the victim of abuse, not the abuser, she was threatened with eviction.
In both these cases, the tenant used fair housing laws to challenge the landlord's actions. Fair housing laws make it illegal to discriminate against someone based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status (presence of children), and disability.
Discrimination on the basis of sex has been illegal under the federal Fair Housing Act since 1974. So, it would generally be illegal for a landlord:
- to refuse to rent to someone based on the person's sex.
- to treat women tenants worse than men tenants.
- to sexually harass a tenant.
The list of protected groups does NOT include "survivors of domestic violence." However, ). The policy does not have to say anything about women as such. For this kind of discrimination case, the tenant does not have to show that the landlord intended to discriminate against women. Proof of this type of claim is usually shown by statistics, such as how many women are affected by the policy.
In Ms. Alvera's case, the landlord's "zero tolerance" policy didn't say anything about women as such. However, HUD said that women are approximately 8 times more likely than men to be victims of domestic violence, and that nationally, 90 to 95 percent of victims of domestic violence are women. HUD decided the landlord's policy had a "disparate impact"-a worse effect on women.
Once a "disparate impact" (worse effect on women) is shown, the landlord has to come up with a good reason (a "business necessity") for the policy or practice. The tenant can then try to show that the policy or practice is not really needed, or that some other policy would do just as well, and would not have a worse effect on women. Ms. Alvera was successful in her discrimination claim. HUD said that the landlord's policy was not justified by "business necessity." The parties eventually worked out an agreement after the case was filed in court.
The case in Washington State is not over yet. Her case seems a lot like Ms. Alvera's. If the court in Washington rules that refusal to rent to victims of domestic violence is sex discrimination, then Ms. Raney may be able to move into the housing she wants, and possibly collect some money from the landlord as well.
A victim of housing discrimination can file a complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission within 180 days of the event, or with HUD within one year of the event, or file a lawsuit in court within two years of the time the discrimination happened.
If you have questions about sex discrimination, please contact Iowa Legal Aid. Call 1-800-532 1275 to find the number for the regional office that serves your area. Or, you can log onto www.iowalegalaid.org, and find the office that serves your area, as well as other information about your legal rights.
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