Domestic violence and renting

Domestic abuse, also sometimes called domestic violence, or DV, is when someone tries to hurt, control, or abuse you. This can include:

• violence
• intimidation or threats
• behaviour that coerces or controls
• behaviour that makes you fear for your safety or wellbeing, or that of someone else
• physical, emotional, financial, sexual, or verbal abuse
• isolating someone from their family or friends

A domestic relationship can include someone you are in a relationship with, or were in a relationship with, or a member of your family, or someone you are living with (or have lived with) in the same house, including housemates.

For more information, see Understanding domestic abuse in rental situations (NSW government).

If you or your children are in danger and need to leave immediately, you can access crisis accommodation. 

You can call:

• Link2Home – 1800 152 152
• NSW DV line – 1800 65 64 63
• 1800RESPECT – 1800 737 732

Your safety is of the highest importance. Tenancy laws provide options to help a victim-survivor end their tenancy agreement.

If you or your child have experienced domestic abuse, you can end your tenancy immediately using a Domestic Violence Termination Notice – DVTN (NSW government), with an attached document (see below), and vacating the property.

You can give your DVTN by hand, post or email. Give the DVTN to the landlord/agent as soon as possible, and leave the premises. 

Once you have given them the DVTN and vacated the premises, your tenancy agreement ends and you are no longer responsible for rent. If it is safer, you can leave first then serve the notice. 

The termination date you put in the DVTN needs to be on or after the day you give the notice to the landlord/agent. You are not required to give any notice period when you give a DVTN. However the DVTN cannot be backdated to a date before you give it to the landlord/agent.

Using a DVTN, you will not have to pay any break lease fees. 

The landlord or agent must tell any other co-tenants, using the approved written form, within 7 days of the termination date. The landlord/agent must not share the DVTN, or supporting evidence, or any of the information in these documents with the remaining co-tenants.

Attached document 

For the DVTN to be valid, you will need to attach one of the following documents when you give it to the landlord/agent:

• a Declaration by a Competent Person – this is usually the most straightforward way to get a document to support a DVTN. The Declaration can be downloaded at: Making a competent person declaration for tenancies affected by domestic abuse (NSW government); or
• a Domestic Violence Order (DVO) – including a provisional, interim or final Apprehended Domestic Violence Order (ADVO) made in NSW (sometimes just called AVO), or an order made by a different state or territory or New Zealand, or a serious domestic abuse prevention order protecting you from the perpetrator; or
• a certificate of conviction of the perpetrator for an offence arising from the domestic abuse of you or your child; or
• an injunction made by a family law court protecting you or your child from the domestic violence perpetrator.

Who can make a ‘Declaration by a Competent Person’

People who can make a Competent Person Declaration include:

• a registered health practitioner, such as your GP or psychologist;
• a social worker;
• an approved counsellor from Victims Services (NSW government) 
• an Australian legal practitioner, such as a lawyer;
• a registered financial counsellor;
• certain employees of NSW government agencies, or some non-government organisations such as members of Domestic Violence NSW, that provide services for: 
  • DV victim-survivors
  • children
  • people with disability
  • older people
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
  • migrants or refugees, or
  • people who are unhoused and homelessness

If you need help finding someone who can make a Declaration, contact NSW DV line (1800 65 64 63), or 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or your local Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service.

For more information about how to complete the Declaration by Competent Person see our Domestic violence and renting – Supplementary Guide or Making a competent person declaration for tenancies affected by domestic abuse (NSW government). 

For information on other ways to end a tenancy see our Domestic violence and renting – Supplementary Guide, and Factsheet: How do I end my tenancy?

If you want to stay in your tenancy, it’s a good idea to get advice. 

You can call:

• NSW DV line – 1800 65 64 63
• 1800RESPECT – 1800 737 732
• Women’s Legal Service – (02) 8745 6999
• Your local Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service

If the domestic violence perpetrator is doing things to make you feel afraid, you can ask the police to apply for an Apprehended Domestic Violence Order (ADVO) to protect you (sometimes referred to as an AVO or DVO). An ADVO will not necessarily exclude the perpetrator from the property. If you want to exclude them from the property, it is important to make sure that the specific address of the property is stated in the orders. The perpetrator’s tenancy will be ended by a final ADVO which excludes them from the premises.

If you are the head tenant, or the only tenant named on the lease, then you can end the perpetrator’s tenancy. For more information see our Domestic violence and renting – Supplementary Guide.

If you are a co-tenant or sub-tenant, and a final ADVO is made that excludes the perpetrator from your home address, their tenancy will end automatically – even if they were named as a tenant on the lease.

If you do not have an ADVO that excludes the perpetrator from your home address, you can apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) for an order ending the perpetrator’s tenancy due to special circumstances of your case.

If the perpetrator is excluded from your home, and you are not named on the lease, you can ask your landlord to sign a tenancy agreement with you. If they refuse, you can apply to the Tribunal for an order that you be recognised as a tenant.

If you are applying to the Tribunal, it’s a good idea to get advice from your local Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service.

For more information on options for staying in your tenancy, if you are a co-tenant or sub-tenant, see our Domestic violence and renting – Supplementary Guide and Staying Home Leaving Violence (NSW government).

If you end your lease by giving a Domestic Violence Termination Notice (DVTN), or provide evidence to the landlord/agent of domestic abuse against you or your child, the landlord cannot list you on a ‘bad tenant’ database or ‘blacklist’. 

The landlord/agent also cannot disclose any information in the DVTN, or supporting evidence, or any of the information in these documents to anyone. If the landlord/agent lists this information about domestic abuse against you or your child on a tenant database you can request that they remove it. They will have 7 days to inform the database operator and the database operator has to remove the listing within 14 days. If the listing is not removed, you can apply to NSW Fair Trading for an order directing the database operator to remove it. There are penalties for failure to comply with this order.

For more information, see Factsheet: Tenant Databases.

If damage was done in conjunction with domestic abuse, only the perpetrator can be held responsible for that damage. 

The victim-survivor (and other tenants who are not the perpetrator) are not responsible. This is the case whether or not the perpetrator is a tenant.

It is a good idea to inform the landlord in writing about the damage. It is important to keep evidence, such as a DVTN, photos, police report, or a report from a support worker or medical professional. If police attend the premises due to DV, record their names and the event number.

For more information on property damage see our Domestic violence and renting – Supplementary Guide.

When you claim your share of the bond at the end of a tenancy, as a victim-survivor you are not liable for damage done during domestic abuse. Your landlord or former co-tenant should not make a claim on your bond for costs related to domestic abuse.

However it is important to have evidence to support your bond claim if it is contested. Try to keep a record and any evidence that relates to the domestic abuse. This could include a DVTN, photos and reports from police or social workers. If police attend the premises due to DV, record their names and the event number. 

If there is a dispute about whether property damage is a result of domestic abuse, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) will make the decision based on evidence. 

The idea of going to NCAT can seem daunting, however the language and process is simpler than a law court. When making decisions about domestic abuse, NCAT takes the victim-survivor’s perspective into account. For more info see Factsheet: NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

You may be liable for other claims made by the landlord (e.g. unpaid rent or property damage not related to DV). Your local Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service can give you advice about what to do if your landlord tries to claim on your bond.

For more information on getting the bond back as a co-tenant, see our Domestic violence and renting – Supplementary Guide.
 

If a victim-survivor leaves goods behind, such as furniture or personal items, it may be possible to get the goods back. Get advice from your local Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service about your legal options as soon as possible, as time limits for claiming your goods can be very short. See Factsheet: Goods left behind.

If the perpetrator has left goods behind after their tenancy has ended, the landlord must provide them with formal notice before disposing of their goods. See Factsheet: Goods left behind. It is important to always prioritise your safety and to seek assistance from police if you feel unsafe or threatened as a result of the perpetrator’s belongings or any requests to return them.

In some situations, it may be possible to get a police escort to retrieve goods left behind – get advice from a service such as Women’s Legal Service NSW.

Usually you need consent from the landlord to change the locks, but there are some circumstances where you can change the locks without their consent. 

As a victim-survivor, you can change the locks if the perpetrator’s tenancy was terminated or they are legally prevented from accessing your home. 

You can change the locks if the perpetrator is not a co-tenant and you reasonably believe that it is necessary to prevent domestic abuse against you, your child or another person living at the property. 

You can also change the locks in an emergency – for example if the perpetrator has threatened to hurt you or your child. 

If the perpetrator still has the right to live in the property (for example if they are a co-tenant and have not been legally prevented from accessing the home), then you should get advice before changing the locks.

If you change the locks you should provide copies of the new keys to the landlord/agent within 7 days, and to any remaining co-tenants within 48 hours (but there are exceptions to this).
You may be able to get assistance to change the locks, and improve home security, via Staying Home Leaving Violence (NSW Government).

For more information see our Domestic violence and renting – Supplementary Guide and Factsheet: Locks and security.

These services may be able to help with pets in situations of domestic violence:

• Paws + recover – support to share the care of pets during a health crisis difficult times pawsandrecover.com
• Lucy’s project – national organisation working to improve access to supports for people and animals experiencing domestic violence lucysproject.com.au
• RSPCA Domestic and Family Violence Support, phone: (02) 9782 4408. rspcansw.org.au/support-services/crisis-support-programs/domestic-and-family-violence-support/

• Domestic Violence Termination Notice: Ending tenancy due to domestic violence
• Domestic violence and renting – Supplementary Guide.
• Factsheets: How do I end my tenancy?, Eviction – landlord ends tenancy, NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, Share housing, Goods left behind, Locks & security.

NSW government

• Domestic Violence Termination Notice by Tenant to Landlord or Agent
• Ending a tenancy because of domestic violence and abuse
• Understanding domestic abuse in rental situations
• Are you experiencing domestic and family violence? (Legal Aid NSW)
• Housing assistance for domestic and family violence (Homes NSW) 
• Government supports: Rent Choice Start Safely, Victims Services and Staying Home Leaving Violence.

Contacts for advice

• NSW Domestic Violence Line (24 hours): 1800 65 64 63
• 1800RESPECT (24 hours): 1800 737 732
• Tenants Advice and Advocacy Services: tenants.org.au/get-advice
• Community Legal Centres: clcnsw.org.au
• Women’s Legal Service NSW: wlsnsw.org.au 1800 810 784
• Wirringa Baiya Aboriginal Women’s Legal Centre: wirringabaiya.org.au 1800 686 587