Article | Review of VAWA FAQs | Part 2
Jun 29, 2022
See the first article in this series HERE for the introduction and questions 1-7.
Question 8 | How long does a victim have to provide third-party documentation in cases where there is conflicting evidence?
Answer | The VAWA rule gives 14 days for a person seeking VAWA protection to provide documentation. As this includes the simple option of self-certification, generally 14 days is sufficient. However, in cases where there is conflicting evidence, some VAWA victims may not be able to acquire third-party documentation within 14 days. Under the final rule, tenants have 30 days—generally the period of one rent cycle—to submit third-party documentation in cases of conflicting evidence. Housing providers may grant extensions where appropriate. (VAWA 2016 Fed.Reg. 80762)
Question 9 | Must sexual assault have occurred on a property to be covered by VAWA?
Answer | No. If an assault occurred on a property, a victim has an automatic right to a transfer to a unit where the victim will feel safe if they request the transfer within 90 days of the assault. However, other provisions of VAWA apply to all victims of sexual assault, regardless of where the assault happened. HUD further says,"a tenant or an applicant may be a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking regardless of whether the act was perpetrated by a tenant living on the property, or whether the act occurred on the property grounds, or, in cases of sexual assault or stalking, whether the tenant knows the perpetrator." (VAWA 2016 Fed.Reg. 80739)
Question 10 | Does the 90 days mentioned above end the time that a victim of sexual assault has to claim VAWA victim status?
Answer | No. It is simply a deadline to seek VAWA protections and automatically qualify for an emergency transfer because of sexual assault that occurred on the property. The victim retains the right to request a transfer at any time "if they reasonably believe there is threat of imminent harm from further violence if they remain in their unit, regardless of where or when the sexual assault occurred" and to claim other relevant VAWA protections. (VAWA 2016 Fed.Reg. 80753)
Question 11 | Sadly, we had a case where a man with a gun forced a teen resident into his car and forced the resident off-site, severely beat him, and sexually assaulted him in a nearby wooded area. Does this qualify as a sexual assault occurring on-site for purposes of VAWA emergency transfer rights?
Answer | That is unfortunate to hear. Of course, VAWA attempts to address situations that are often very painful. With respect to a victim who was attacked by a perpetrator on the grounds of a housing provider but dragged from the property and sexually assaulted elsewhere HUD tells us that this "should be considered as meeting the VAWA requirements for a sexual assault occurring on the premises." HUD finds that this situation would meet the requirement "because, in essence, the start of the assault occurred on the premises." (VAWA 2016 Fed.Reg 80753)
Question 12 | Question 8 discussed the provision that allows 14 days for persons claiming victim status to provide documentation. Are the 14 days business days or calendar days? We are open on Saturdays, is this a business day?
Answer | The 14 days allowed are business days. HUD states that this excludes federal holidays, Saturdays, and Sundays. (VAWA 2016 Fed.Reg. 80819)
Questions 13 | Question 7 discussed the 30 days allowed for cases where third-party documentation may be required because of conflicting evidence. Are these calendar days or business days?
Answer | HUD specifically refers to the 30 days for this provision as "generally the period of one rent cycle," so this is 30 calendar days. (VAWA 2016 Fed.Reg. 80762)
Question 14 | As part of an arrangement with a victim, can we require that a victim contact the police or get a restraining order against the perpetrator of violence? What if the perpetrator will not stay away and poses a threat to others?
Answer | An owner/agent may pursue whatever police action, no-trespass, or restraining action they have available to them under the law to limit access of a violent person to the property. However, they cannot require victims to take these enforcement actions. HUD says "survivors do not have to contact authorities, such as police, or initiate legal proceedings against an abuser or perpetrator in order to qualify for VAWA protections. The statute has no such requirements and instead allows survivors to provide self-certification about the VAWA incident(s)."
HUD does add that "a housing provider may evict or terminate assistance to a tenant if the housing provider can demonstrate an actual and imminent threat to other tenants, or those employed at or providing services to the property if the tenant is not evicted or assistance is not terminated. However, they caution that "housing providers should only take such actions when there are no other actions that could be taken to reduce or eliminate the threat." (VAWA 2016 Fed.Reg. 80731)
Check it out HERE! A deep dive into VAWA 2022 will occur at this year's Compliance Summit Events. 
There is a very good chance that the topic of this post is covered in an online on-demand course at Costello University.
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