Sec. 601. Housing protections for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking

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Subtitle N of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 ( 42 U.S.C. 14043e et seq. ) is amended— by inserting after the subtitle heading the following: ; in section 41402 ( 42 U.S.C. 14043e–1 ), in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking subtitle and inserting chapter ; in section 41403 ( 42 U.S.C. 14043e–2 ), in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking subtitle and inserting chapter ; and by adding at the end the following: In this chapter: The term affiliated individual means, with respect to an individual— a spouse, parent, brother, sister, or child of that individual, or an individual to whom that individual stands in loco parentis; or any individual, tenant, or lawful occupant living in the household of that individual.

The term appropriate agency means, with respect to a covered housing program, the Executive department (as defined in section 101 of title 5, United States Code) that carries out the covered housing program. The term covered housing program means— the program under section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959 ( 12 U.S.C. 1701q ); the program under section 811 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act ( 42 U.S.C. 8013 ); the program under subtitle D of title VIII of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act ( 42 U.S.C. 12901 et seq. ); the program under subtitle A of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 11360 et seq. ); the program under subtitle A of title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act ( 42 U.S.C. 12741 et seq. ); the program under paragraph

(3)of section 221(d) of the National Housing Act ( 12 U.S.C. 1715l(d) ) that bears interest at a rate determined under the proviso under paragraph

(5)of such section 221(d); the program under section 236 of the National Housing Act ( 12 U.S.C. 1715z–1 ); the programs under sections 6 and 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437d and 1437f); rural housing assistance provided under sections 514, 515, 516, 533, and 538 of the Housing Act of 1949 ( 42 U.S.C. 1484 , 1485, 1486, 1490m, and 1490p–2); and the low income housing tax credit program under section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. An applicant for or tenant of housing assisted under a covered housing program may not be denied admission to, denied assistance under, terminated from participation in, or evicted from the housing on the basis that the applicant or tenant is or has been a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, if the applicant or tenant otherwise qualifies for admission, assistance, participation, or occupancy. An incident of actual or threatened domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking shall not be construed as— a serious or repeated violation of a lease for housing assisted under a covered housing program by the victim or threatened victim of such incident; or good cause for terminating the assistance, tenancy, or occupancy rights to housing assisted under a covered housing program of the victim or threatened victim of such incident. No person may deny assistance, tenancy, or occupancy rights to housing assisted under a covered housing program to a tenant solely on the basis of criminal activity directly relating to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking that is engaged in by a member of the household of the tenant or any guest or other person under the control of the tenant, if the tenant or an affiliated individual of the tenant is the victim or threatened victim of such domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), a public housing agency or owner or manager of housing assisted under a covered housing program may bifurcate a lease for the housing in order to evict, remove, or terminate assistance to any individual who is a tenant or lawful occupant of the housing and who engages in criminal activity directly relating to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking against an affiliated individual or other individual, without evicting, removing, terminating assistance to, or otherwise penalizing a victim of such criminal activity who is also a tenant or lawful occupant of the housing. If public housing agency or owner or manager of housing assisted under a covered housing program evicts, removes, or terminates assistance to an individual under clause (i), and the individual is the sole tenant eligible to receive assistance under a covered housing program, the public housing agency or owner or manager of housing assisted under the covered housing program shall provide any remaining tenant an opportunity to establish eligibility for the covered housing program. If a tenant described in the preceding sentence cannot establish eligibility, the public housing agency or owner or manager of the housing shall provide the tenant a reasonable time, as determined by the appropriate agency, to find new housing or to establish eligibility for housing under another covered housing program. Nothing in subparagraph

(A)shall be construed— to limit the authority of a public housing agency or owner or manager of housing assisted under a covered housing program, when notified of a court order, to comply with a court order with respect to— the rights of access to or control of property, including civil protection orders issued to protect a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking; or the distribution or possession of property among members of a household in a case; to limit any otherwise available authority of a public housing agency or owner or manager of housing assisted under a covered housing program to evict or terminate assistance to a tenant for any violation of a lease not premised on the act of violence in question against the tenant or an affiliated person of the tenant, if the public housing agency or owner or manager does not subject an individual who is or has been a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking to a more demanding standard than other tenants in determining whether to evict or terminate; to limit the authority to terminate assistance to a tenant or evict a tenant from housing assisted under a covered housing program if a public housing agency or owner or manager of the housing can demonstrate that an actual and imminent threat to other tenants or individuals employed at or providing service to the property would be present if the assistance is not terminated or the tenant is not evicted; or to supersede any provision of any Federal, State, or local law that provides greater protection than this section for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. If an applicant for, or tenant of, housing assisted under a covered housing program represents to a public housing agency or owner or manager of the housing that the individual is entitled to protection under subsection (b), the public housing agency or owner or manager may request, in writing, that the applicant or tenant submit to the public housing agency or owner or manager a form of documentation described in paragraph (3). If an applicant or tenant does not provide the documentation requested under paragraph

(1)within 14 business days after the tenant receives a request in writing for such certification from a public housing agency or owner or manager of housing assisted under a covered housing program, nothing in this chapter may be construed to limit the authority of the public housing agency or owner or manager to— deny admission by the applicant or tenant to the covered program; deny assistance under the covered program to the applicant or tenant; terminate the participation of the applicant or tenant in the covered program; or evict the applicant, the tenant, or a lawful occupant that commits violations of a lease. A public housing agency or owner or manager of housing may extend the 14-day deadline under subparagraph

(A)at its discretion. A form of documentation described in this paragraph is— a certification form approved by the appropriate agency that— states that an applicant or tenant is a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking; states that the incident of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking that is the ground for protection under subsection

(b)meets the requirements under subsection (b); and includes the name of the individual who committed the domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, if the name is known and safe to provide; a document that— is signed by— an employee, agent, or volunteer of a victim service provider, an attorney, a medical professional, or a mental health professional from whom an applicant or tenant has sought assistance relating to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, or the effects of the abuse; and the applicant or tenant; and states under penalty of perjury that the individual described in clause (i)(I) believes that the incident of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking that is the ground for protection under subsection

(b)meets the requirements under subsection (b); a record of a Federal, State, tribal, territorial, or local law enforcement agency, court, or administrative agency; or at the discretion of a public housing agency or owner or manager of housing assisted under a covered housing program, a statement or other evidence provided by an applicant or tenant. Any information submitted to a public housing agency or owner or manager under this subsection, including the fact that an individual is a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking shall be maintained in confidence by the public housing agency or owner or manager and may not be entered into any shared database or disclosed to any other entity or individual, except to the extent that the disclosure is— requested or consented to by the individual in writing; required for use in an eviction proceeding under subsection (b); or otherwise required by applicable law. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to require a public housing agency or owner or manager of housing assisted under a covered housing program to request that an individual submit documentation of the status of the individual as a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Compliance with subsection

(b)by a public housing agency or owner or manager of housing assisted under a covered housing program based on documentation received under this subsection, shall not be sufficient to constitute evidence of an unreasonable act or omission by the public housing agency or owner or manager or an employee or agent of the public housing agency or owner or manager. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to limit the liability of a public housing agency or owner or manager of housing assisted under a covered housing program for failure to comply with subsection (b). If a public housing agency or owner or manager of housing assisted under a covered housing program receives documentation under this subsection that contains conflicting information, the public housing agency or owner or manager may require an applicant or tenant to submit third-party documentation, as described in subparagraph (B), (C), or

(D)of paragraph (3). Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to supersede any provision of any Federal, State, or local law that provides greater protection than this subsection for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall develop a notice of the rights of individuals under this section, including the right to confidentiality and the limits thereof. Each public housing agency or owner or manager of housing assisted under a covered housing program shall provide the notice developed under paragraph (1), together with the form described in subsection (c)(3)(A), to an applicant for or tenants of housing assisted under a covered housing program— at the time the applicant is denied residency in a dwelling unit assisted under the covered housing program; at the time the individual is admitted to a dwelling unit assisted under the covered housing program; with any notification of eviction or notification of termination of assistance; and in multiple languages, consistent with guidance issued by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in accordance with Executive Order 13166 ( 42 U.S.C. 2000d–1 note; relating to access to services for persons with limited English proficiency). Each appropriate agency shall adopt a model emergency transfer plan for use by public housing agencies and owners or managers of housing assisted under covered housing programs that— allows tenants who are victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking to transfer to another available and safe dwelling unit assisted under a covered housing program if— the tenant expressly requests the transfer; and the tenant reasonably believes that the tenant is threatened with imminent harm from further violence if the tenant remains within the same dwelling unit assisted under a covered housing program; or in the case of a tenant who is a victim of sexual assault, the sexual assault occurred on the premises during the 90-day period preceding the request for transfer; and incorporates reasonable confidentiality measures to ensure that the public housing agency or owner or manager does not disclose the location of the dwelling unit of a tenant to a person that commits an act of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking against the tenant. The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall establish policies and procedures under which a victim requesting an emergency transfer under subsection

(e)may receive, subject to the availability of tenant protection vouchers, assistance under section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 ( 42 U.S.C. 1437f(o) ). The appropriate agency with respect to each covered housing program shall implement this section, as this section applies to the covered housing program. . Section 6 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 ( 42 U.S.C. 1437d ) is amended— in subsection (c)— by striking paragraph (3); and by redesignating paragraphs

(4)and

(5)as paragraphs

(3)and (4), respectively; in subsection (l)— in paragraph (5), by striking , and that an incident or incidents of actual or threatened domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking will not be construed as a serious or repeated violation of the lease by the victim or threatened victim of that violence and will not be good cause for terminating the tenancy or occupancy rights of the victim of such violence ; and in paragraph (6), by striking ; except that and all that follows through stalking. ; and by striking subsection (u). Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 ( 42 U.S.C. 1437f ) is amended— in subsection (c), by striking paragraph (9); in subsection (d)(1)— in subparagraph (A), by striking and that an applicant or participant is or has been a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking is not an appropriate basis for denial of program assistance or for denial of admission if the applicant otherwise qualifies for assistance or admission ; and in subparagraph (B)— in clause (ii), by striking , and that an incident or incidents of actual or threatened domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking will not be construed as a serious or repeated violation of the lease by the victim or threatened victim of that violence and will not be good cause for terminating the tenancy or occupancy rights of the victim of such violence ; and in clause (iii), by striking , except that: and all that follows through stalking. ; in subsection (f)— in paragraph (6), by adding and at the end; in paragraph (7), by striking the semicolon at the end and inserting a period; and by striking paragraphs (8), (9), (10), and (11); in subsection (o)— in paragraph (6)(B), by striking the last sentence; in paragraph (7)— in subparagraph (C), by striking and that an incident or incidents of actual or threatened domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking shall not be construed as 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 tenancy or occupancy rights of the victim of such violence ; and in subparagraph (D), by striking ; except that and all that follows through stalking. ; and by striking paragraph (20); and by striking subsection (ee). Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this Act, shall be construed— to limit the rights or remedies available to any person under section 6 or 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437d and 1437f), as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act; to limit any right, remedy, or procedure otherwise available under any provision of part 5, 91, 880, 882, 883, 884, 886, 891, 903, 960, 966, 982, or 983 of title 24, Code of Federal Regulations, that— was issued under the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 ( Public Law 109–162 ; 119 Stat. 2960) or an amendment made by that Act; and provides greater protection for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking than this Act; or to disqualify an owner, manager, or other individual from participating in or receiving the benefits of the low income housing tax credit program under section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 because of noncompliance with the provisions of this Act.

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