A year ago, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a proposed rule that would fully implement the 2013 Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization (VAWA), which includes housing provisions.

The proposal asked for feedback on establishing emergency transfer provisions, documentation standards and requirements for apartment firms to distribute property-wide disclosures of domestic violence incidents at resident application, move-in and lease termination.

NAA/NMHC continue to support protections and affordable housing for victims; however, NAA/NMHC joined a real estate industry coalition in highlighting concerns related to resident notification. These concerns included reminding HUD that Congress intended that the notice requirements be included in current standard notification documents. The coalition also challenged HUD's continued use of documentation materials that provide for self-certification of victim status.

The industry coalition's response pointed out that NAA/NMHC was pleased that the rule recognized the different characteristics, roles and capabilities of various housing providers and property types. This included outlining our support for emergency transfer plans that recognize private property owners and managers are not in a position to transfer a resident to another property owned by a different ownership entity. 

—Provided by NMHC as part of the NAA/NMHC Joint Legislative Program