The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) has long provided essential housing protections for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. For housing providers operating federally subsidized housing programs (e.g., Section 8, public housing, and LIHTC), compliance is mandatory. In March 2025, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released updated versions of several key VAWA forms, which now carry an expiration date of January 31, 2028. These new forms are required to be used by covered housing providers to ensure compliance with VAWA’s housing provisions. Additionally, it is worth noting that VAWA protections apply regardless of gender and are designed to promote safety, mitigate risk, and prevent displacement. Moreover, your state or local jurisdiction might have enhanced VAWA protections in addition to the federal requirements.
Which Forms Changed in 2025?
Form HUD-5380 – Notice of Occupancy Rights Under VAWA
This document informs tenants and applicants of their rights under VAWA. The new form included several changes, such as clarifying the process and documents needed, expanding the definitions of “affiliated individual,” enhancing confidentiality provisions for housing providers to comply with, clarifying the instructions for residents, and adjustments to overall formatting for readability.
Covered housing providers are required to provide Form HUD-5380 to residents or applicants at: (a) move-in; (b) with any notice of eviction or lease termination; and (c) when denying an application to a HUD-subsidized unit or program. To safeguard ongoing compliance, covered housing providers must use this updated form and ensure staff are trained on proper use and distribution. If you’re unsure whether your forms are current or need help implementing them, reach out for legal guidance.
Form HUD-5381 – Model Emergency Transfer Plan (Optional but recommended)
This form is optional, but it provides housing providers with a template for implementing emergency transfer procedures for survivors.
Form HUD-5382 – Certification of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, or Stalking
This form allows survivors to self-certify their experience and request protections under VAWA. Covered housing providers are required to provide this form upon a request from a resident and/or when a survivor seeks an emergency transfer or protection from eviction.
Form HUD-5383 – Emergency Transfer Request
Regardless of whether a resident is complying with their lease agreement, this form allows residents who qualify as victims under VAWA to request an emergency transfer to another unit for safety reasons. Residents can request such a transfer if they reasonably believe staying in the current unit poses an imminent threat to their safety and/or if a sexual assault occurred at the property within the past 90 days. Covered housing providers are required to keep this information confidential and separate from other documentation in the tenant’s resident file.
Form HUD-5384 – Emergency Transfer Data Collection Form
This new form introduces a data tracking component for housing providers, which expects property managers to maintain accurate records for compliance audits. In essence, this form seeks information on emergency transfer requests and outcomes to help HUD monitor response times and identify barriers to safety.
Why These Updates Matter & Key Takeaways:
Using outdated forms can jeopardize compliance and expose housing providers to risk. The updated forms reflect legislative changes from the VAWA Reauthorization Act of 2022 and are designed to streamline provider responsibilities.
- Immediately replace outdated HUD VAWA forms with the 2025 versions
- Ensure staff are trained on when and how to distribute these forms (even to applicants)
- Maintain the utmost confidentiality when handling VAWA-related requests from residents
- Update your leasing policies to align with VAWA protections
- Use translated versions of the HUD VAWA forms for applications and residents who use a primary language other than English
