Stalking and cyberstalking victims now have a new tool to fight back against torment and abuse. Just like domestic abuse victims, Louisiana state law, (Act 64) now allows victims of stalking to break their apartment leases without penalty if they need to escape from an abusive or even dangerous situation. And most stalking victims fear harm, with 1 in 7 relocating, according to The Stalking Prevention, Awareness, and Resource Center (SPARC).
As the Louisiana Radio Network reports, it was a real-life case that inspired the legislation says Rep. Mandie Landry, D-New Orleans. A hearing about the case explained that the stalking victim had no legal way to leave a dangerous situation.
As Landry explains, “While he was not physically abusing her, he was essentially threatening her life and there was nothing that she could do to move and so we were able to improve our laws that already existed.”
Landry says she worked with both the Louisiana Realtors Association and the Louisiana Apartment Association to include stalking and cyberstalking as crimes of abuse in which victims need help and feel trapped by a lease they cannot break.
Landry says both organizations supported the expansion of the current statute to include stalking. “You have someone who feels like they can’t go anywhere because they can’t afford to lose six months on a lease. And they just don’t know what to do. They think that they’re stuck.”
Under Act 64, which went into effect on August 1, to end a lease, a tenant must complete the state’s certified domestic abuse form, notifying the landlord of the safety risk. A qualified third party, such as a domestic violence resource center, must also verify the claim.
