Louisiana renters who are being stalked or cyberstalked no longer have to choose between staying put and eating a financial hit to move. Under Louisiana Act No. 64, victims can now terminate a rental lease early without facing financial penalties, a protection previously reserved for domestic abuse survivors, according to KNOE.
The law expands lease-termination protections that used to apply only in domestic abuse cases, according to WDSU, which reported the act became effective this year. But criminal justice experts interviewed by the station caution that moving out is only one piece of a much harder puzzle: getting law enforcement to act, and staying safe even after a victim relocates.
Filing a Report Doesn't Guarantee Fast Action
Victims should still file a police report, criminal justice professor Dr. Patrick Brady told WDSU, although a report may not lead to immediate action. Brady said victims can feel that officers do not consider their cases a priority, the station reported.
Brady also told the station that cyberstalking can be difficult to prosecute because it may not involve a physical approach and can be viewed as less immediately threatening than in-person stalking.
Documentation and Community Alerts Matter
For repeated unwanted visits, experts recommend keeping a record of each encounter, including its date and time, and taking photos when appropriate. Brady advised victims to notify property managers and neighbors, who can be asked to call 911 if they see the person involved, according to WDSU.
Ending a lease and moving can help a victim leave an unsafe home, but it cannot guarantee that a stalker will not find the new address.
Keeping a New Address Private
According to the Louisiana Secretary of State, the Address Confidentiality Program gives relocated stalking victims a substitute address to use for state and local government services. It does not relocate participants or provide witness protection. To apply, a stalking victim must first move to an undisclosed location in Louisiana where no public record of the new address has been created, then contact the program to be referred to a certified application assistant.
How Common Is Stalking, and Who's Affected
Stalking is widespread enough that advocates frame it as a public health issue. According to the National Center for Victims of Crime, citing the Stalking Prevention Awareness and Resource Center, nearly one in three women and one in six men experience stalking in their lifetime, and more than half of all victims report being stalked before age 25. The organization also cites a figure of roughly 13.5 million people stalked in the United States each year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers a different lifetime estimate, reporting that about one in five women and one in ten men have been stalked at some point in their lives.
Other outlets covering the law's rollout earlier this year reported additional procedural wrinkles. Tenants seeking to use the lease-termination provision must complete a state certification form and have a third party, such as a domestic abuse victim resource center, back up their claims, as reported by FOX 8, while also raising concerns about how quickly victims could gather that documentation if abuse escalated fast. KEDM reported around the same time that the law was set to take effect August 1, 2026, as noted by KEDM, and noted that the legislation had backing from both the Louisiana Apartment Association and the Louisiana Realtors Association. The Louisiana Legislature's own bill summary for the measure, known as HB297, confirms that it expands early lease termination to include stalking and cyberstalking.
Where Victims Can Turn for Help
Several organizations offer direct support for people navigating these situations in the New Orleans area and beyond. The Family Justice Center of New Orleans runs a 24-hour crisis hotline at (504)-866-9554 and can also be reached at its office number, (504)-592-4005. Silence Is Violence can be reached at (504) 282-0607, and Metro Centers for Community Advocacy operates both a general line at (504)-837-5400 and a 24-hour crisis hotline at (888)-411-1333.
For victims seeking broader crime-victim resources, VictimConnect provides confidential referrals, including for stalking cases, and can be reached at (855)-484-2846; the National Center for Victims of Crime notes that support through VictimConnect is free and available 24/7. The Cyber Civil Rights Initiative Helpline, reachable at (844)-878-2274, assists victims of image-based sexual abuse and assault, while the National Immigrant Women's Advocacy Project serves immigrant victims of stalking and connects them with resources both nationally and specifically within Louisiana.
