Domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness for women and children. However, if victims simply abandon their rental property, they can accrue a debt as a result of outstanding rent and damage to the property, and be blacklisted on a residential tenancy database, making it very difficult for them to rent in the future.
New tenancy reforms strengthen the rights of domestic violence victims.
- Victims of domestic violence can now end their tenancies immediately, without liability, by attaching specified documents to a domestic violence termination notice.
- Victims of domestic violence are no longer vicariously liable for damage to rental properties caused by domestic violence offenders.
- Landlords are now prohibited from listing a person who ended their tenancy by giving a domestic violence termination notice on a bad tenant database.
(Source: Law Society Journal Legal Updates & Case Notes)
If you need to clarify your tenancy rights, give us a call. 6372 3388