Domestic Violence & the Fair Housing Act

[1]

Why Should Lawyers Care About the Impact of Laws on Housing Opportunities for Domestic Violence Survivors?

Housing instability has large-scale consequences that impact virtually every aspect of the social, economic, and political well-being of communities. Domestic violence survivors are not a protected class under the Fair Housing Act (FHA). [2] As such, they are not protected from eviction (except in federally subsidized housing) due to discrimination based on their status as survivors and circumstances relating to their abuse. [3] Survivors can rely on federal law under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which prohibits discrimination by federally assisted housing providers based on a tenant’s status as a survivor of domestic violence under 34 U.S.C. § 12491 and 34 U.S.C. § 12492. However, survivors who are not living in federally subsidized housing are largely legally unprotected. An eviction record makes securing future housing more difficult, leading to job insecurity and increasing financial hardship. [4] Consequently, barriers to stable housing for survivors negatively impact overall economic prosperity by reducing taxable workforce. [5]

What is Domestic Violence and How Does it Relate to Housing?

The U.S. Department of Justice defines domestic violence as a pattern of abusive behavior, which can be physical, psychological, and/or financial, in any relationship, that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another. [6] Domestic violence impacts 25% of women in the United States, and women in 85% of cases. [7] Survivors face increased risk of eviction due to incidents relating to domestic violence: violations of nuisance ordinances, police appearances, and breach of quiet enjoyment on the premises (one-third of all nuisance claims are brought against women experiencing domestic violence). [8] The most common reported location of domestic abuse is the residence with 79.6% of domestic violence incidents occurring inside the home. [9] Consequently, lack of housing protections for survivors leads primarily women in these dynamics to face high risk of housing insecurity. 

Why Should Discrimination Against Gender Under the FHA Incorporate Discrimination Against Survivors of Domestic Violence?

To establish a prima facie claim of disparate treatment under FHA, a plaintiff must show (1) they are a member of a protected class; (2) they were denied a service or otherwise treated differently in the terms, conditions, or privileges of their rental relationship or in the provision of services or facilities to them as a tenant; and (3) the different treatment was, at least in part, because of their sex (or gender). [10] VAWA only applies to federally-assisted housing providers, while the FHA under 42 U.S.C. § 3604 focuses on whether any housing provider discriminated against a person based on their membership in a protected class. [11] Domestic violence survivors are not a protected class. However, because domestic violence impacts women in most cases, survivors could find a legal defense in sex-based discrimination under the FHA. Id. at 1109 (“. . . domestic violence victims may bring a claim for housing discrimination under the FHA through a theory of sex (sometimes used interchangeably with gender) discrimination”). [12] This is because the effects of the discrimination are overwhelmingly felt by women. Although domestic violence does also impact some men, its disproportionate impact on women means that strict housing policies targeting survivors result in significant sex-discrimination implications. [12] Nevertheless, being a domestic violence victim is not a protected class under the FHA. [13] As such, a woman facing discrimination from housing authorities because of conditions associated with relational abuse will not easily be able to prove the prima-facie case under the FHA. [14]

What’s Next?

Passing legislation that prohibits discrimination by all housing providers based on a tenant’s status as a survivor of domestic violence would serve to reduce housing insecurity. However, because this is not presently the case, discrimination against survivors of domestic violence can be argued to also be discrimination against gender and survivors should therefore benefit from protections under the FHA based on a theory of sex-discrimination. Ultimately, society would benefit from providing survivors with stronger legal protections in housing law.

STELLA CAVEDON (guest writer) is a 2L at Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law and holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Barnard College, Columbia University. Stella interned in the Housing and Appeals unit at Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association, where she gained substantial experience in civil litigation, housing law, and appellate advocacy. Previously, she interned at the Henry Jackson Society, a trans-Atlantic foreign policy and national security think tank based in London, United Kingdom. Her interests focus on complex and appellate litigation, with interests in mass torts, international litigation and arbitration, national security, counter-terrorist financing, and trade.

Footnotes

 [1] Christian Lendl, The Fearless Girl statue in front of the New York Stock Exchange (photograph, 2022)[EW1] [EW2], https://unsplash.com/photos/a-person-in-a-garment-walking-on-a-sidewalk-b1GamPHD1ng.

 [2] Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601–3631.

 [3] Id.; Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022, Pub. L. No. 117-103, div. W, 136 Stat. 840.

 [4] Mackenzie Pish, New Study Shows that Tenants Whose Eviction Cases Are Won, Dismissed, or Withdrawn May Still Experience Negative Impacts from Filing History, National Low Income Housing Coalition (2025).

 [5] Marianne DelPo Kulow & Maria Granik, Intimate Partner Violence Workplace Legislation: Minimizing Costs and Maximizing Benefits, 62 Harv. J. on Legis. 179 (2025).

 [6] U.S. Department of Justice, Domestic Violence, Office of Violence Against Women (2026), https://www.justice.gov/ovw/domestic-violence.

 [7] U.S. Dep't of Justice, Domestic Relationships and Violent Crimes, 2020-2024, 3 (2026).

 [8] Ryan Schaitkin, Domestic Violence and Eviction: Housing Protections for Survivors, and What We Can Learn from Eviction Diversion Programs, 50 Fordham Urb. L.J. 171 (2022).

 [9] U.S. Dep't of Justice, Domestic Relationships and Violent Crimes, 2020-2024, 3 (2026).

 [10] Wilson v. Guardia Mgmt. 383 F.Supp.3d 1105, 1108 (D. Or. 2019).

[11] Id. at 1110.

[12] Delgado v. Morris Cnty. Housing Auth., No. 18-CV-15092, 2018 WL 5962478, at *5 (D.N.J. 2018).

[13] Id.

[14] Id.