After a regulatory process of publishing model forms and collecting public comments, HUD has updated the forms required by the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA) and the implementing regulations. The updates extend the expiration date and revise content to further enable effective compliance with VAWA requirements.

The latest update to VAWA occurred in March 2022, when President Biden signed into law the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2022. With this update, VAWA expanded protections for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. The next reauthorization is due in 2027 since VAWA is supposed to be reauthorized every five years to build on existing protections and update programs to better meet the needs of survivors.

The updated forms can be found at www.hud.gov/vawa, HUD’s dedicated VAWA webpage that was launched in 2023. The webpage serves as a centralized location for materials related to HUD’s implementation of VAWA, including resources on VAWA’s housing protections; VAWA trainings, forms, and related legal authorities; and referrals for survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking in need of direct assistance.

The release of HUD’s updated VAWA forms represents another step toward ensuring that survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking can access the housing protections they need. The new forms include the Notice of Occupancy Rights (HUD-5380), Model Emergency Transfer Plan (HUD-5381), Certification Form (HUD-5382), and the Emergency Transfer Request (HUD-5383). There is also a new VAWA Emergency Transfer Data Collection Form (HUD-5384) that will help HUD track the outcome of emergency transfer requests, compare response times, and identify potential barriers to safety for survivors.

We’ll review the federal protections and housing rights of survivors and the updates to the VAWA forms.

VAWA Protections, Covered Housing Programs

Despite its name, VAWA protections apply to survivors of all genders. HUD-assisted housing programs must comply with VAWA provisions, ensuring that survivors are not evicted or denied assistance because of their victimization.

Mandated protections. VAWA’s housing protections include:

• A prohibition on being evicted from or denied participation in a federal housing program for being a domestic violence survivor;
• Allowing housing providers to “bifurcate” or split a tenancy so that the abuser is removed from the household, without evicting or penalizing the survivor. In removing the abuser from the household, you must follow federal, state, and local eviction procedures;
• Confidentiality requirements for housing providers, such as prohibiting placing information about a survivor’s domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking in a shared database;
• The ability to request an emergency transfer to another safe and available federal housing program unit; and
• Requiring receipt of a written notice of rights under VAWA upon admission, denial of housing, or notice of eviction/subsidy termination–including notification in non-English languages.

Covered housing programs. HUD is required to provide owners participating in the following housing programs with certain model documents. VAWA, as currently implemented, covers the following HUD programs:

• Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly;
• Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities;
• Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program;
• HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) program;
• Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) program;
• Continuum of Care (CoC) program;
• Multifamily rental housing under Section 221(d) of the National Housing Act with a below-market interest rate;
• Multifamily rental housing under Section 236 of the National Housing Act;
• Public Housing;
• Housing Choice Voucher program;
• Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy program; and
• Housing Trust Fund.

Updated Model VAWA Forms

HUD’s updates to the forms offer clearer language, stronger confidentiality measures, and a new data collection component. The model VAWA forms serve as a framework for housing providers to implement protections mandated by law. According to HUD, owners are encouraged to use plain language to the extent possible as they customize the model forms.

Notice of Occupancy Rights Under VAWA (HUD-5380). This form informs tenants and applicants of their rights and the steps they can take to seek protection. This notice now features clearer language, additional definitions, and an improved structure to make it easier for survivors to understand their options. For this update, HUD has introduced a question-and-answer format to assist residents in understanding what is required of them to assert their rights.

HUD encourages owners to customize this notice to include information about local resources and other resources for survivors, consistent with federal requirements. HUD has made edits to the response to the question on the form that asks “What is the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)” to better explain that it is a federal law that protects survivors' housing rights.

HUD has also included additional definitions; an answer to the question, “Can the perpetrator be evicted or removed from my lease?”; and a chart to provide responses by program to the question, “What happens if the lease bifurcation ends up removing the only tenant who qualified for the housing or assistance?”

HUD also made edits to emphasize that survivors of sexual assault are eligible for an emergency transfer either based on a fear of imminent harm from further violence or because the assault occurred on the property in the prior 90 days.

Model Emergency Transfer Plan (HUD-5381). This form outlines procedures for survivors who need to move to another unit due to safety concerns. The updated version emphasizes that housing providers must adapt the plan to their specific program requirements and clarify how emergency transfers are prioritized. New sections highlight internal and external transfer policies and the process for prioritizing transfer requests.

HUD has included drafting notes to assist owners in coming up with their own emergency transfer plans. HUD says the form serves as a model, but it is inherently necessary for covered housing providers to customize the form to their program and their housing portfolio to account for the distinctions among both program requirements and the discretionary choices made by covered housing providers. The model form includes drafting notes and customization instructions to clarify the necessary elements that owners must fill in.

Certification of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, or Stalking (HUD-5382). This form allows survivors to self-certify their eligibility for VAWA protections. Updates include explicit references to reasonable accommodations, such as allowing oral statements in place of written documentation when necessary.

HUD has also revised the section of the form that asks a survivor to provide contact information. To be able to get the method of contact so survivors can safely and securely receive communications regarding their rights and options, HUD’s update asks for the “safest and most secure way” to contact a survivor and allows them to select multiple options.

It also provides space for survivors to include other information in response to a newly added question, “Are there any additional circumstances your covered housing provider should consider to ensure your safety before communicating with you?”

Emergency Transfer Request Form (HUD-5383). This form helps survivors formally request a move to a safer unit. Revisions focus on improving the confidentiality of survivors’ information, adding fields for family members, and clarifying optional documentation requirements.

Like the certification form, HUD has revised the section of the form that asks a survivor to provide contact information. It also provides space for survivors to include other information in response to a newly added question, “Are there any additional circumstances your covered housing provider should consider to ensure your safety before communicating with you?” HUD says survivors may have different needs based on their circumstances and that owners should strive to communicate with survivors in the way that best meets the survivor's safety needs.

VAWA Emergency Transfer Data Collection Form (HUD-5384). This new form is used to gather and track information on emergency transfer requests, including the number of approved and denied transfers, processing timeframes, and reasons for denials. HUD designed this form to collect aggregate information about emergency transfers, as opposed to collecting information on each individual transfer request. HUD believes that this will produce the most useful data, minimize the burden on owners, and protect the confidentiality of individual survivors.

This data will help assess the effectiveness of VAWA-related housing policies and improve survivor support. HUD says it intends to collect the information in the form through different methods depending on the program so that it can tailor the collection method to address this concern. Methods may include email communication, DocuSign, Microsoft Forms, or any other survey method collection.