H.R. 7856

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7856 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7856

To provide protection for survivors of domestic violence, sexual 
violence, and sex trafficking under the Fair Housing Act.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 5, 2026

Ms. Wasserman Schultz (for herself, Ms. Malliotakis, Ms. Adams, Ms. 
Barragan, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. Bell, Mr. Bishop, Ms. Bonamici, Ms. 
Budzinski, Mr. Carson, Ms. Chu, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Costa, Ms. Crockett, Mr. 
Davis of Illinois, Mr. Davis of North Carolina, Ms. Dean of 
Pennsylvania, Mr. DeSaulnier, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania, 
Ms. Lois Frankel of Florida, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mr. Ivey, Mr. Jackson 
of Illinois, Ms. Jayapal, Mr. Keating, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr. 
Khanna, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Mr. Lieu, Ms. 
McClellan, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Mrvan, Ms. Norton, Ms. Ocasio-
Cortez, Mrs. Ramirez, Ms. Ross, Mr. Soto, Ms. Titus, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. 
Torres of New York, Mrs. Watson Coleman, and Ms. Wilson of Florida) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To provide protection for survivors of domestic violence, sexual 
violence, and sex trafficking under the Fair Housing Act.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Fair Housing for Survivors Act of 
2026''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Cities, towns, and rural communities in the United 
States continue to face enormous challenges regarding domestic 
violence, sexual assault, sex trafficking, dating violence, 
stalking, and other forms of intimate partner and gender-based 
violence.
(2) One in three women and one in four men in the United 
States have experienced rape, physical violence, or stalking by 
an intimate partner in his or her lifetime.
(3) Intimate partner violence alone affects more than 
10,000,000 people in the United States every year.
(4) Among women experiencing sex trafficking, many of their 
traffickers are also their intimate partners.
(5) Each day, an average of three women are killed by a 
current or former partner.
(6) Researchers estimate that domestic violence costs 
employers up to $8,300,000,000 each year, and that sexual 
violence results in more than $122,000 in lifetime costs per 
survivor and nearly $3,100,000,000,000 in costs to the United 
States economy across all 25,000,000 survivors in the United 
States.
(7) Research indicates the following:
(A) 90 percent of homeless women report having 
experienced severe physical or sexual violence at some 
point in their lives, including sexual exploitation and 
trafficking.
(B) 84 percent of survivors in domestic violence 
shelters reported that they needed help finding 
affordable housing. More than half of victims who 
identified a need for housing services did not receive 
them.
(C) Survivors who become homeless as a result of 
sexual assault are vulnerable to further violence, 
including sexual victimization, exploitation, and sex 
trafficking. Being homeless can increase an 
individual's risk of experiencing violence, including 
sexual violence.
(D) Women and men who experienced food or housing 
insecurity in a 12-month period were more likely to 
experience rape, physical violence, or stalking by an 
intimate partner in the same period.
(E) Women of color, domestic violence survivors, 
and women with children are among those at the highest 
risk of eviction.
(F) Vulnerable women are also at risk of sex 
trafficking and exploitation by landlords who pressure 
them for sex in exchange for rent or a delay in rent 
payments.
(G) Women who experience intimate partner violence 
are four times more likely to experience homelessness 
than those who do not.
(H) A majority of survivors who experience a sexual 
assault in their home do not relocate to a safe 
environment because they do not have sufficient funds, 
have a past eviction or criminal record related to 
their experience as a survivor, are not aware of 
temporary shelter and housing resources available to 
survivors, or suffer from trauma that can make 
relocation feel impossible.
(I) Survivors of domestic violence or sexual 
assault often face eviction based on a single incident 
of violence.
(8) Domestic and sexual violence survivors often find 
themselves trapped in homes where they are further victimized 
by caregivers, parents, siblings, landlords, intimate partners, 
neighbors, or others in or near their home.
(9) Domestic and sexual violence survivors continue to face 
discrimination in securing and maintaining housing based on 
their status as survivors and as a result of abuse committed 
against them.
(10) Survivors of domestic violence or sexual assault are 
commonly denied housing opportunities if a previous residence 
of the survivor was a domestic violence shelter, if the 
survivor has secured a protective order, or if there is other 
evidence that the survivor has experienced a previous domestic 
violence incident.
(11) Securing safe and affordable housing for survivors is 
a fundamental component of ending domestic and sexual violence.

SEC. 3. SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OR SEXUAL ASSAULT AS PROTECTED 
CLASS UNDER THE FAIR HOUSING ACT.

(a) In General.--The Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.) is 
amended--
(1) in section 802 (42 U.S.C. 3602), by adding at the end 
the following:
``(p) `Domestic violence'--
``(1) has the meaning given the term in section 40002(a) of 
the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)); 
and
``(2) includes--
``(A) dating violence and stalking, as such terms 
are defined in such section 40002(a); and
``(B) threatened domestic violence.
``(q) `Sexual assault'--
``(1) has the meaning given the term in section 40002(a) of 
the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)); 
and
``(2) includes threatened sexual assault.
``(r) `Severe forms of trafficking in persons' has the meaning 
given the term in section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act 
of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102).
``(s) `Coercion' has the meaning given the term in section 103 of 
the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102).
``(t) `Survivor of domestic violence, sexual assault, or severe 
forms of trafficking in persons' includes any person who experienced or 
is perceived to have experienced domestic violence, sexual assault, or 
severe forms of trafficking in persons.'';
(2) in section 804 (42 U.S.C. 3604)--
(A) in subsection (a), by striking ``or national 
origin'' and inserting ``national origin, or whether a 
person is a survivor of domestic violence, sexual 
assault, or severe forms of trafficking in persons'';
(B) in subsection (b), by striking ``or national 
origin'' and inserting ``national origin, or whether a 
person is a survivor of domestic violence, sexual 
assault, or severe forms of trafficking in persons'';
(C) in subsection (c), by striking ``or national 
origin'' and inserting ``national origin, or whether a 
person is a survivor of domestic violence, sexual 
assault, or severe forms of trafficking in persons'';
(D) in subsection (d), by striking ``or national 
origin'' and inserting ``national origin, or whether a 
person is a survivor of domestic violence, sexual 
assault, or severe forms of trafficking in persons''; 
and
(E) in subsection (e), by striking ``or national 
origin'' and inserting ``national origin, or whether a 
person is a survivor of domestic violence, sexual 
assault, or severe forms of trafficking in persons'';
(3) in section 805 (42 U.S.C. 3605)--
(A) in subsection (a), by striking ``or national 
origin'' and inserting ``national origin, or whether a 
person is a survivor of domestic violence, sexual 
assault, or severe forms of trafficking in persons''; 
and
(B) in subsection (c), by striking ``or familial 
status'' and inserting ``familial status, or whether a 
person is a survivor of domestic violence, sexual 
assault, or severe forms of trafficking in persons'';
(4) in section 806 (42 U.S.C. 3606), by striking ``or 
national origin'' and inserting ``national origin, or whether a 
person is a survivor of domestic violence, sexual assault, or 
severe forms of trafficking in persons'';
(5) in section 807 (42 U.S.C. 3607), by adding at the end 
the following:
``(c) Nothing in this title shall prohibit a Federal, State, unit 
of local government, or other assistance or preference program from 
being designed to assist or benefit survivors of domestic violence, 
sexual assault, or severe forms of trafficking in persons in seeking, 
securing, or maintaining dwellings, shelters, or any other form of 
housing for such survivors, including associated notices, statements, 
or advertisements of such dwelling.''; and
(6) in section 808(e)(6) (42 U.S.C. 3608(e)(6)), by 
inserting ``status as a survivor of domestic violence, sexual 
assault, or severe forms of trafficking in persons,'' after 
``handicap,''.
(b) Prevention of Intimidation in Fair Housing Cases.--Title IX of 
the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3631) is amended--
(1) in section 901 (42 U.S.C. 3631)--
(A) in the matter preceding subsection (a), by 
inserting ``or coercion'' after ``threat of force'';
(B) in subsection (a), by striking ``or national 
origin'' and inserting ``national origin, or because 
the person is a survivor of domestic violence, sexual 
assault, or severe forms of trafficking in persons'';
(C) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ``or national 
origin'' and inserting ``national origin, or because a 
person is a survivor of domestic violence, sexual 
assault, or severe forms of trafficking in persons''; 
and
(D) in subsection (c), by striking ``or national 
origin'' and inserting ``national origin, or because a 
person is a survivor of domestic violence, sexual 
assault, or severe forms of trafficking in persons''; 
and
(2) by inserting after section 901 the following:

``SEC. 902. DEFINITIONS.

``In this title, the terms `domestic violence', `sexual assault', 
`severe forms of trafficking in persons', `coercion', and `survivor of 
domestic violence, sexual assault, or severe forms of trafficking in 
persons' shall have the meaning given such terms in section 802.''.
(c) Preservation of Survivors' Ability To Recover for Other Forms 
of Discrimination.--Nothing in this Act, or an amendment made by this 
Act, shall be interpreted to limit the ability of survivors of domestic 
violence, sexual assault, or severe forms of trafficking in persons to 
recover for any other claims of discrimination under the Fair Housing 
Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.), including with respect to failure to 
conform to gender stereotypes or policies that disproportionately 
affect women.
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