Tenants who are victims of domestic or sexual violence can also obtain emergency lock changes. The right to a lock change differs depending on the type of lease and if the abuser is named on the lease. For tenants with a written lease where the abuser is not named on the lease, the tenant must provide a written notice from all tenants who signed the lease, requesting a lock change due to a credible imminent threat of domestic or sexual violence on the premises.
If the abuser is not a signer on the lease, the notice must be backed up by at least one of the following types of evidence:
A police report,
Medical records,
Court records, or
A statement from a victim service organization or rape crisis organization from which the victim sought services.
For tenants with a written lease where the abuser is named and for tenants with an oral lease, regardless of where the abuser lives, the tenant must provide written notice from all tenants who are on the written or oral lease (except the abuser) requesting a lock change due to a credible imminent threat of domestic or sexual violence on the premises.
The notice must be accompanied by a copy of a Plenary Order Of Protection or Civil No Contact Order providing exclusive possession to one of the tenants in the household.