Using Disability Law and Domestic Abuse Protections to Avoid Eviction – Practical Tools for Advocates and Legal Service Providers

Eviction is often the result of circumstances far beyond a tenant’s control—especially for people with disabilities and survivors of domestic or sexual violence. Advocates can play a critical role in stopping displacement, but only if they know how to use the full range of legal protections available.

In this webinar, attorneys from the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) and the Family Violence Appellate Project (FVAP) will walk through legal strategies to prevent eviction and other adverse housing actions.

DREDF will cover how to use disability rights laws to protect tenants, including:

– Using fair housing laws to stop or delay eviction

– Advocating for tenants who have difficulty communicating or who need decision-making support

– Strategies for representing clients who do not want to disclose a disability

FVAP will cover eviction protections for survivors, including: – Legal defenses when eviction is tied to domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or other abuse

– Protections when tenants needed emergency assistance because of violence or another crisis

– How to frame survivor-based defenses effectively in housing court and with landlords

Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of how disability law and survivor protections can work together to keep people housed.

*ASL and CART (live captions) provided. Contact Ally Cline at acline@dredf.org for any accommodations you may need by Thursday, February 12, 2026. Late requests may not be possible to fill. You must register in advance for this webinar: Registration Link.