We are living through the greatest housing crisis of our time. The potential of eviction and worries about next month’s rent should not be a concern for those already recovering or healing from trauma. So what can you do today? Find and contact your local representative and ask them to support SB 1017 and give survivors of violence and abuse the legal protections to maintain the housing they need not only to feel safe but to heal.
Survivors should not be blamed for violence committed against them. Landlords have a legal obligation to ensure safe premises for tenants – this bill ensures that legal burden is not shifted onto survivor tenants at risk of housing insecurity and homelessness.
SB 1017 is being voted on this August – now is the time to mobilize. Here are five reasons we need to pass SB 1017 and give survivors the protection they need.
- Domestic Violence is a Leading Cause of Homelessness
- Studies show that up to 57% of all homeless women are homeless as a direct result of domestic violence.
- Dramatically Extends Eviction Protections to More Survivors.
- Making eviction protections consistent with early lease termination laws by protecting survivors of a broader range of violent acts, and immediate family members of survivors.
- Expands Allowable Documentation
- Expands the types of documents survivors can use to verify they are a survivor and eligible for protections.
- Gives survivors the right to stay housed if the perpetrator gets evicted.
- Allowing courts to issue a partial eviction, evicting the abusive person but not the survivor, prevents survivors from losing their housing because of abuse.
- Holds Landlords Accountable.
- Providing survivors, household members, and immediate family members who terminate their lease early a cause of action if their landlord fails to comply with the law.
Housing is essential and deeply consequential. We believe it is a human right. From safety to education to health, where we live is one of the greatest determinants in our ability to feel safe and continue to grow. And these days we know housing doesn’t come easy, especially for us in California,(with the fourth highest average rent in the country). For this and so many other reasons, we need SB 1017, a bill co-created by our Solís Policy Institute Trauma Services and Prevention team, authored by Senator Eggman, that will allow survivors of domestic violence and other violent acts, who are tenants, to maintain their current housing and avoid eviction.
A photo of a zoom meeting with the Solís Policy Institute State Trauma Services and Prevention team Class of 2022
This bill is co-sponsored by California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice, CUAV, Women’s Foundation California, the Family Violence Appellate Project, and the Western Center on Law and Poverty. This bill is also supported by the Office Of The Attorney General of the State of California, the California Legislative Women’s Caucus, and more. Not only will this bill significantly increase survivors’ safety, it will provide much-needed stability as they heal from trauma.
As any advocate, lawyer, or grassroots organizer will tell you: the current law is not working, and desperately needs to be changed. We know evicting a survivor and their family puts that survivor and their children at increased risk of homelessness. Keeping survivors housed decreases the risk they will be harmed and builds community safety.
CO-SPONSORS
- California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
- Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice
- CUAV
- Dr. Beatriz María Solís Policy Institute – Women’s Foundation California
- Family Violence Appellate Project
- Western Center on Law and Poverty
SUPPORT
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