2018 NLADA Annual Conference--Resilient Justice

An alarming proportion of people living in poverty are in or have experienced abusive relationships. A lack of economic and housing security often perpetuates the problem of abuse. Domestic violence (DV) and the financial abuse attendant to it jeopardize housing. New York State and HUD have recently adopted housing protections for survivors of domestic abuse. This workshop reviews the RPL, RPAPL, and VAWA provisions; examines a recent appellate division case based on VAWA; and surveys the developing case law on the intersection of housing and DV. This workshop is geared toward housing and DV practitioners and their supervisors to provide tools for collaboration between practice areas to better serve clients. Housing providers and judges need to be educated on domestic violence, including economic abuse, which is pervasive and devastating. HUD’s VAWA guidance encompasses economic abuse, but there is a general lack of knowledge and understanding. Housing and DV attorneys need to have a basic understanding of each other’s practice area so they can recognize issues and address their common or respective clients’ needs.