Who is reponsible for damages due to domestic violence?

[Joehn B.]

Not my property, asking for a friend.

a house is rented to a female (only person who signed the leased), and an adult boyfriend lives there as a named occupant on the lease.

boyfriend shows up at night, shoots up the place, pistol wips tenant and kicks down the garage door.  I estimate the damage at over 3k.

the woman has requested to end the leased, which under texas law is covered as a victim of domestic violence, and that all good.

The question is, is the damage recoverable from her deposit?  or is she not liable somehow by DV laws in Texas?  she is asking for her full deposit back.. 

[Jaron Walling]

In my state she would not be liable for the damages as a victim. According to what I found the boyfriend would be on the hook for the property damage. Indiana signed The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) into law in 1994 which was groundbreaking legislation and addressed the issue of violence against women. From what I read dated 2011, 85% of violence victims are women. "Survivors frequently suffered the “double victimization” of housing discrimination when landlords evicted or refused to rent to them because of “zero tolerance” policies on disturbing the peace, calls to police or violence committed by a member of the household or guest (whether authorized or not)."

Indiana also has this; "Indiana Code 32-31-9 protects the housing rights of any person who is a victim or an alleged victim of domestic or family violence, sexual assault, or stalking". "A victim of domestic abuse or assault in Indiana may terminate a lease by submitting written notice to the landlord or management thirty days before leaving along with a copy of the order of protection or no contact order from the court." If any of that occurred I can't see how she's on the hook for the damage. 

Your friend needs to contact a lawyer in Texas immediately to get clarification on this issue. I'm sure Texas has similar laws protecting people but this is not legal advice.