Family violence victims don’t have many options to break a lease but an Austin lawmaker wants to change that.
State Rep. Eddie Rodriguez filed a bill that would expand the list of documentation that survivors can use to get out of their leases and find a safer place to live. “Currently, a landlord can accept a judge-issued temporary injunction, temporary ex-parte or protective order, and that’s it. Rodriguez says that list is too restrictive. “So, what my bill does is expand that by adding orders of emergency protection, a magistrate’s order, and proof from health care providers, mental health care providers and authorized advocates of surviors.”
Rodriguez says he’s being careful to include landlords in the crafting of his bill. “We’re working very closely with the apartment association, just trying to make sure we do this the right way; that doesn’t completely infringe on a landlord’s rights but at the same time provide the most possible protection for family violence victims.”
