This is Part 1 of our two-blog series on housing protections for survivors of sexual violence and how BARCC case managers can help survivors advocate for their rights.
Sexual violence impacts many aspects of survivors’ lives. At BARCC, our Case Management team often hears that survivors no longer feel safe in their own homes after an assault.
In some cases, a survivor doesn’t feel safe in their housing because the assault took place in their own home. For others, it’s because the offender knows where the survivor lives. Our case managers have helped countless survivors and their loved ones take steps to leave unsafe housing situations or make their current housing safer.
All market rent, private, and state public and subsidized housing in Massachusetts is protected under an Act Relative to Housing Rights For Victims of Domestic Violence, Rape, Sexual Assault and Stalking, which was signed into law in 2013. The law gives renters in Massachusetts who have recently been affected by domestic violence, rape, sexual assault, and stalking the following rights:
- To break your lease
- To change your locks
- To not experience retaliation by your landlord, or a potential landlord, for breaking your lease or changing your locks
- To get a restraining order or call the police without threat of eviction
- To not be forced by a landlord to waive these rights when signing a new lease
It’s common for survivors to want to break their leases due to safety concerns. BARCC Case Managers will conduct an intake to assess the situation and the survivor’s safety. Then, the Case Manager will guide the survivor through the menu of options available to them.
To qualify for the protections, a). a member of the household must be a survivor and the most recent incident must have been within three months, or b). a member of the household is fearful of serious physical harm in the near future. Once the Case Management team explains the survivor’s housing protections, the survivor may feel comfortable advocating for themselves with their landlord. Otherwise, BARCC can help by reaching out to the landlord directly, said Case Management Program Director Clare Namugga. BARCC may also refer the case to a pro bono lawyer or law student who can work with the survivor if the landlord pushes back. For survivors of domestic violence, Case Management may refer to the nearest domestic violence organization.
“Some landlords can be understanding, but for clients it’s always been powerful for them to know they have these rights,” said Clare.
Changing the locks is another way for survivors to feel safer. Under these protections, a landlord must either change the locks or give the renter permission to do so. Otherwise, the survivor can go ahead and change the locks if the landlord has not responded within 48 hrs of the written request from the survivor/tenant. BARCC can work with survivors to try and get the cost covered under victim compensation or through other financial resources.
If a protected survivor breaks their lease or changes their locks, a landlord legally cannot use that fact to say they were a bad tenant. Also, future landlords can’t use it as a reason to deny someone an apartment.
Similarly, if a survivor called the police to report a sexual assault or take out a restraining order while in the apartment, a landlord couldn’t use that as a reason to evict the survivor. No landlord can create a lease that asks a renter to waive these protections. Any sections of a lease that attempts to do so aren’t enforceable by law.
To show how this housing law is used and how BARCC can help, below are two examples. Content note: sexual violence.
Scenario 1
Priscilla* was sexually assaulted in her apartment. She moved shortly after due to safety concerns. Priscilla’s previous landlord pressured her to continue paying rent since her name was still on the annual lease for ten more months. She continued to pay rent for four months in two housing situations.
Priscilla reached out to BARCC’s Case Management program for help with getting her name off the previous lease and ending the financial obligations stated in the terms of that lease. Case Management staff explained the applicable housing law protections and the process for breaking her lease and waiving financial obligations involved. Case Management staff wrote her landlord about her intent to break her lease due to safety concerns and to not be liable for rent afterward. When the landlord insisted that that client needed to continue paying rent until the unit is occupied by another tenant, BARCC case management staff collaborated with a legal services program, wrote a letter… as a qualified third party verifying the safety concerns, which ultimately helped Priscilla to break her lease so that she would not continue to be liable for rent in the previous housing situation. Case Management also found financial resources that were offered to the survivor to help offset the double rent she paid in two housing situations for four months.
Scenario 2
Alex*, a survivor with safety concerns, had spoken to their landlord, who said they would need to pay a large fee to move out before their lease ended.
During the initial intake, Case Management staff discussed housing protections and Alex’s right to break their lease without financial penalty. Alex decided they would like Case Management staff to speak to the landlord on their behalf about their housing rights after they found alternative housing. Alex contacted Case Management staff when they found another apartment.
Case Management staff reached out to the landlord and explained the Massachusetts housing law. The landlord said that Alex would need to come to the office and sign legal paperwork for the apartment’s legal team to assess if the fee could be waived. Case Management staff reached out to a legal services program about this case after updating Alex. Alex began working with legal services to gather the necessary documentation to notify the landlord that they would be breaking the lease, including written notice of the move-out date from Alex. Case Management staff collaborated with legal services to write a letter as a qualified third party verifying the safety concerns and the need for them to relocate. Alex and legal services sent these documents to the landlord to break the lease.
*Names have been changed to protect confidentiality.
Read more about this Massachusetts housing law, or request an appointment with BARCC Case Management online or by calling 617-492-8306.
