When Kathy Cleaves-Milan's live-in boyfriend abused her she did what society is always telling abused women to do: she reported him to the police. And what did she get for bravely doing "the right thing?" She go evicted.
A day after she told police that her live-in boyfriend had brandished a gun and promised to end both of their lives, the managers of her Elmhurst, Ill., apartment complex served her with eviction papers for violating the terms of the lease, citing the criminal activity she had reported to police."I was punished for protecting myself and my daughter," Cleaves-Milan, 36, said.
Cleaves-Milan's lawyers are suing the company that owns her apartment building, alleging that her eviction was a form of sex discrimination - based on her gender and status as a DV survivor. And get this:
A representative of the company said the eviction wasn't solely about the domestic violence but also involved Cleaves-Milan's ability to afford the rent if her boyfriend moved out -- an assertion Cleaves-Milan strongly rejects.
If that's was really the case, should Cleaves-Milan should have stayed with her abusive boyfriend in order to pay the rent? This is why women don't - and often can't - leave abusive relationships.
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) bans victims who live in public or subsidized housing from eviction, but the law concerning private landlords is not as clear.
Sandra Park, a staff attorney in the ACLU Women's Rights Project says that this "forces women into a situation where they have to choose between reaching out for safety or staying in their homes."
For more information on employment and housing rights for victims of intimate partner violence, click here.
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I thought this was all pretty outrageous when I read about this last week & its sad that the situation remains the same. I hope her & her attornies sue the landlord into the ground. And, yeah, we need to update the laws so its more clear wrt private property. No way you should be able to hold a DV victim abuse status against her.
What the FUCK. I'm sure that there will be plenty of people who read this and say, "Well, it's private housing, the landlord can do whatever s/he wants." I wholeheartedly disagree. This woman is being punished for what her boyfriend did. The idea that she should be evicted because "an act of violence occurred"--which they only know about because she did the "right thing" of reporting her situation--is absolutely preposterous.
What the fuck is wrong with people?
Since when do people get evicted because you think they might not be able to pay their rent? IF her boyfriend moved out and IF she was then unable to pay the rent they could say that was why they were evicting her- but none of that happened! This is completely ridiculous.
THANK YOU!!! That's what I was thinking while I was reading this. Wait? Was she late with her rent? What? No? She kicked out her abuser??? How does this violate the terms of her lease? (sorry I can't turn off my lawyer buttons).
I think this one will settle. And will settle for a LOT. the lawyers for the landlord know this case is a LOSER!!!
If anyone is in the NYC area, the UN Special Rapporteur on the adequate housing is going to be at a town hall meeting -- I'm cutting and pasting from the flyer below... I think that along with the concerns they mention, the right to housing for DV survivors should also be discussed.
COME OUT AND SUPPORT HOUSING AS A HUMAN RIGHT IN NEW YORK CITY -- VOICE YOUR CONCERNS ABOUT THE FORECLOSURE CRISIS, GROWING HOMELESSNESS, AND INADEQUATE PUBLIC HOUSING AND SECTION 8 AT A
Town Hall Meeting with the UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON ADEQUATE HOUSING
Thursday, October 22
6:30 PM
James Chapel
Union Theological Seminary
3041 Broadway at 121st Street
New York, New York, 10027
To be involved in the Town Hall meeting, contact Meredith Vatsek from the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative at 212.253.1710, ext. 307.
*The Special Rapporteur is appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council to examine and report back on the housing situation of a
given country. This is the first official visit to the United States by a United Nations Special Rapporteur on Housing.
I wonder if some variation of an obstruction of justice claim can be brought against the company that owns the apartment building?
Or the individual responsible for the eviction, whatever the circumstances may be.
If anyone is in the NYC area, the UN Special Rapporteur on the adequate housing is going to be at a town hall meeting -- I'm cutting and pasting from the flyer below... I think that along with the concerns they mention, the right to housing for DV survivors should also be discussed.
COME OUT AND SUPPORT HOUSING AS A HUMAN RIGHT IN NEW YORK CITY -- VOICE YOUR CONCERNS ABOUT THE FORECLOSURE CRISIS, GROWING HOMELESSNESS, AND INADEQUATE PUBLIC HOUSING AND SECTION 8 AT A
Town Hall Meeting with the UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON ADEQUATE HOUSING
Thursday, October 22
6:30 PM
James Chapel
Union Theological Seminary
3041 Broadway at 121st Street
New York, New York, 10027
To be involved in the Town Hall meeting, contact Meredith Vatsek from the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative at 212.253.1710, ext. 307.
*The Special Rapporteur is appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council to examine and report back on the housing situation of a
given country. This is the first official visit to the United States by a United Nations Special Rapporteur on Housing.
Wow, that sounds familiar. I was also evicted when I left an abusive relationship. The landlord refused to take my name off the lease, and I ended up in court when my ex couldn't pay the rent without me. Now there's a judgment against me which has made it near impossible to find housing or student loans. I was homeless this summer and the future of my education is very, very unclear.
And they wonder why it's so hard for women to get out of abusive relationships.
That's horrific. You should contact Kathy Cleaves-Milan's lawyer.
I looked up the local office for Aimco, the company that owns the Elm Creek Apartments. The local office number is 630-833-0077. I called to complain and they told me they wouldn't talk to me about a legal matter. I said that was fine, they should just know that they won't ever be getting my business. I also called their national headquarters, at 866-603-1689 to leave a complaint as well. I'm all for flooding their office with calls. Join in?
Landlords are major pricks sometimes. A coworker of mine has recently dealt with a similar issue. She and her boyfriend had several violent incidents at her apartment and I believe she called the police at least twice in two months. She was evicted, and the main reason given was that she'd been behind on rent for like three months, which is a legitimate reason. But her landlord couldn't refrain from adding that "another part of the problem" was that other tenants had been calling to complain about the "disturbances" - the police, and, one night, an ambulance, after he "accidentally" (yeah, she's still not through the "oh-I'll-forgive-him-and-he'll-change-yet" phase) ripped out her new lip piercing.
The cops wouldn't charge her boyfriend with anything for trashing her apartment one night because she had given him a key, even though he wasn't living there and wasn't on the lease. Though I guess I can see how if someone has a key, you've implicitly given them permission to enter your apartment, this is still a huge wtf to me.
"served her with eviction papers for violating the terms of the lease, citing the criminal activity she had reported to police."
What criminal activity did she report to police? Was it the gun in the house? Was it something to do with drugs? Let's get that straight.
No one in their right mind would evict someone because they were abused so let's start with what they said they did especially the "citing the criminal activity she had reported to police". There is more to it than what's being talked about here.
That's what I was thinking about. I hope the landlord wouldn't evict her for doing the safe thing. But if there was criminal activty that could get them involved in charges themselves, lawsuits from other tenants or put other tenants at risk, I will give them some leeway.
Someone save her!! Do children and women not matter anymore?