Up to 50% of all women and children experiencing homelessness are fleeing domestic violence.1 Even if not unhoused, victims of domestic violence and their children often live in chronically unstable housing circumstances that contribute to negative health and social outcomes.2 It costs survivors thousands of dollars for each housing relocation necessitated by domestic violence.3 In Louisiana, finding a new apartment and moving can easily cost thousands of dollars, without counting all the personal property the abuser may destroy or the victim has to abandon.4 And even when a victim is not fleeing from domestic violence, abusive partners sometimes force housing emergencies by failing to pay the mortgage or rent or causing the victim to be evicted because of his conduct.5 Eviction for a lease violation can cause a subsidized tenant to lose her rent subsidies for several years. For this reason, victims receiving subsidized housing assistance need specialized help to protect their housing rights.6
- 1Chiquita Rollins, et al., Housing Instability is as Strong a Predictor of Poor Health Outcomes as Level of Danger in an Abusive Relationship, 27 J. Interpersonal Violence 623, 625 (2012).
- 2Id. at 635.
- 3In 2004, the estimated cost was $5000 per relocation, so today the cost is presumably much higher. Barbara Hart & Erika Sussman, Civil Tort Suits and Economic Justice for Battered Women, Victim Advocate (Spring 2004).
- 4See Louisiana Fair Market Rent, rentdata.org. For the state as a whole, the fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $763 a month, while for the New Orleans metro area, FMR for a two-bedroom unit is $1,182. Moving in typically requires payment of first month’s rent along with a security deposit equal to a month’s rent, in addition to any application fees.
- 5While there are some protections for tenants experiencing domestic violence, these are limited. For further discussion, see Section 5.3.3 of this chapter Section 1.7 of the chapter on landlord-tenant law.
- 6For discussion of unique issues facing subsidized housing tenants, see Section 10.2 of this chapter and Section 1.4.6 and Section 4.1 of the chapter on federally subsidized housing.