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<br />EXHIBIT 16-2: SAMPLE NOTICE TO HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER OWNERS AND <br />MANAGERS REGARDING THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT (VAWA) <br />This sample notice was adapted from a notice prepared by the National Housing Law Project. <br />A federal law that went into effect in 2006 protects individuals who are victims of domestic <br />violence, dating violence, and stalking. The name of the law is the Violence against Women Act, <br />This notice explains your obligations under VAWA. <br />Protections for Victims <br /> <br />You cannot refuse to rent to an applicant solely because he or she is a victim of domestic <br />violence, dating violence, or stalking. <br />You cannot evict a tenant who is the victim of domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking <br />based on acts or threats of violence committed against the victim. Also, criminal acts directly <br />related to the domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking that are caused by a household <br />member or guest cannot be cause for evicting the victim of the abuse. <br />Permissible Evictions <br /> <br />You can evict a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking if you can demonstrate <br />that there is an actual or imminent (immediate) threat to other tenants or employees at the <br />property if the victim is not evicted. Also, you may evict a victim for serious or repeated lease <br />violations that are not related to the domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking. You cannot <br />hold a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking to a more demanding standard <br />that tenants who are not victims. <br />Removing the Abuser from the Household <br /> <br />You may split the lease to evict a tenant who has committed criminal acts of violence against <br />family members or others, while allowing the victim and other household members to stay in the <br />unit. If you choose to remove the abuser, you <br />the unit or otherwise punish the remaining tenants. In removing the abuser from the household, <br />you must follow federal, state, and local eviction procedures. <br />Certification of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, or Stalking <br /> <br />victim of domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking. You are not required to demand official <br />doc <br />certification, you must do so in writing and give the tenant at least 14 business days to provide <br />documentation. You are free to extend this deadline. A tenant can certify that he or she is a <br />victim by providing any one of the following three documents: <br /> <br />A completed, signed HUD-approved certification form. The most recent form is HUD- <br />50066. This form is available at the housing authority, or online at <br />http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/hudclips/. <br /> <br />By providing a statement from a victim service provider, attorney, or medical professional <br />who has helped the victim address incidents of domestic violence, dating violence, or <br />stalking. The professional must state that he or she believes that the incidents of abuse are <br />real. Both the victim and the professional must sign the statement under penalty of perjury. <br />04/01/14 <br />Page 16-39 <br /> <br />