Fair Housing for Survivors Act of 2026
Sponsored By: Representative Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL-25]
Introduced
Summary
Adds "survivor" status—covering domestic violence, sexual assault, and severe trafficking—as a protected characteristic under the Fair Housing Act. It would prohibit housing denial, eviction, or other discrimination based on that status and align housing and education civil-rights enforcement to strengthen survivors' housing rights.
Show full summary
- Families and survivors: Survivors would be protected from denial, termination, or discriminatory treatment when buying, renting, or occupying housing. The bill preserves survivors' ability to pursue other discrimination claims so they keep full remedies.
- Housing programs and providers: Federal, state, and local assistance programs could offer survivor-targeted housing supports or preferences without violating the Act. Notices and advertisements for these programs are explicitly allowed.
- Enforcement and education settings: The bill would extend survivor-based protections into Title IX housing enforcement to bar coercion or intimidation tied to survivor status. It uses definitions from existing federal anti-violence and trafficking laws so courts and agencies interpret claims consistently.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Allow targeted housing help for survivors
If enacted, the bill would clarify that nothing in the Fair Housing Act stops federal, state, local, or other programs from designing housing assistance or preference programs for survivors. Programs could include help finding dwellings, shelters, rental help, priority placement, and related notices or ads. The change would permit targeted survivor programs but would not itself appropriate federal money.
Make survivors a protected class
If enacted, the bill would add being a survivor of domestic violence, sexual assault, or severe trafficking to the Fair Housing Act's list of protected characteristics. It would insert that survivor status into rules about selling, renting, advertising, and setting terms for housing. The bill would also adopt federal definitions from the Violence Against Women Act and the Trafficking Victims Protection Act for terms like "domestic violence," "sexual assault," "severe trafficking," "coercion," and "survivor." The bill would say survivors keep all other Fair Housing Act claims and remedies; this is a legal protection change, not a cash benefit.
More protection against housing coercion
If enacted, the bill would add the word "coercion" and survivor status to the housing intimidation and coercion rules. Survivors would be explicitly protected from threats, coercive acts, or intimidation tied to housing. The change strengthens legal enforcement in both public and private housing settings; it is a rights expansion, not a cash benefit.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL-25]
FL • D
Cosponsors
Rep. Malliotakis, Nicole [R-NY-11]
NY • R
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Adams
NC • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Barragan
CA • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Rep. Beatty, Joyce [D-OH-3]
OH • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Rep. Bell, Wesley [D-MO-1]
MO • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Bishop
GA • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Bonamici
OR • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Budzinski
IL • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Carson
IN • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-28]
CA • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Cohen
TN • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Costa
CA • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Crockett
TX • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Davis (IL)
IL • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Davis (NC)
NC • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Rep. Dean, Madeleine [D-PA-4]
PA • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Rep. DeSaulnier, Mark [D-CA-10]
CA • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Rep. Dingell, Debbie [D-MI-6]
MI • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Rep. Evans, Dwight [D-PA-3]
PA • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Rep. Frankel, Lois [D-FL-22]
FL • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Rep. Garcia, Sylvia R. [D-TX-29]
TX • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Ivey
MD • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Jackson (IL)
IL • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Rep. Jayapal, Pramila [D-WA-7]
WA • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Keating
MA • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Rep. Kelly, Robin L. [D-IL-2]
IL • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Khanna
CA • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Rep. Krishnamoorthi, Raja [D-IL-8]
IL • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Rep. Lee, Summer L. [D-PA-12]
PA • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Rep. Lieu, Ted [D-CA-36]
CA • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
McClellan
VA • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Rep. Moore, Gwen [D-WI-4]
WI • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Mrvan
IN • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]
DC • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Ocasio-Cortez
NY • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Rep. Ramirez, Delia C. [D-IL-3]
IL • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Rep. Ross, Deborah K. [D-NC-2]
NC • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Soto
FL • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Rep. Titus, Dina [D-NV-1]
NV • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12]
MI • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Rep. Torres, Ritchie [D-NY-15]
NY • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Rep. Watson Coleman, Bonnie [D-NJ-12]
NJ • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Wilson (FL)
FL • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1]
PA • R
Sponsored 3/12/2026
Riley (NY)
NY • D
Sponsored 3/12/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov