Violence Against Women Act

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) provides housing protections for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. Anyone who received or receives housing assistance from the Tacoma Housing Authority (THA), or who applied to get assistance from us, can apply for protection under the law.

• VAWA Forms

Emergency Transfers

An emergency transfer will allow you and your household to move when a safe unit is immediately available. A safe unit is a unit that you believe is safe.

You may request an emergency transfer if:

1. You (or a household member) are a victim of violence or abuse;
2. You expressly request the emergency transfer; and
3. Either:
   1. you reasonably believe that there is a threat of imminent harm from further violence, including trauma, if you (or a household member) stay in the same dwelling unit; or
   2. if you (or a household member) are a victim of sexual assault, either you reasonably believe there is a threat of imminent harm from further violence, including trauma, if you (or a household member) stay in the unit, or the sexual assault occurred on the premises and you request an emergency transfer within 90 days (including holidays and weekend days) of when that assault occurred.

Reasonable Accommodation

If you have a disability, your covered housing provider must provide reasonable accommodations to rules, policies, practices, or services that may be necessary to allow you to equally benefit from VAWA protections (for example, giving you more time to submit documents or assistance with filling out forms).

You may request a reasonable accommodation at any time, even for the first time during an eviction. If a provider is denying a specific reasonable accommodation because it is not reasonable, your covered housing provider must first engage in the interactive process with you to identify possible alternative accommodations. Your covered housing provider must also ensure effective communication with individuals with disabilities.

• Learn more about Reasonable Accommodations

If you are not currently a THA client:

If you don’t currently receive services from THA, you may still seek VAWA protection if:

• You applied to THA for assistance or for housing and THA denied you;
• You used to live in THA housing and THA evicted you; or
• You used to receive rental assistance or other services from THA and THA terminated you.

If any of these apply to you, please consider whether it happened because you were a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, or stalking. If you are a current THA tenant or client, and any of these things happen to you in the future, please consider whether it happened because you were a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence or stalking. If so, we would like to hear from you.

VAWA may give you another chance to get assistance with housing if you are a past THA tenant or client. The law also requires us to send you formal notice of your rights. We attach two forms that explain the new law in more detail. We are ready to review your case.

If you need information in a language other than English:

To read this in Spanish or another language, please contact (253) 682-6212 or civilrights@tacomahousing.org You can read translated VAWA forms at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s Client Information Policy Systems (HUDCLIPS) database.

If you speak or read in a language other than English, your covered housing provider must give you language assistance regarding your VAWA protections (for example, oral interpretation and/or written translation).

If your protections under VAWA were denied:

If you believe that your covered housing provider has violated your rights under VAWA, you may seek help by contacting:

You can also find more information on VAWA, filing complaints, and finding help in your area:

• Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Your Rights under the Violence Against Women Act
• File a VAWA complaint

For help regarding abusive relationships, you may call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at (800) 799-7233 or, for persons with hearing impairments, (800) 787-3224 (TTY).

Tenants who are or have been victims of stalking may visit the Stalking Prevention, Awareness and Resource Center for information and resources.

Forms