Queensland

Under new Qld regulations, survivors of Domestic & Family Violence can leave a lease with only 7 days’ notice.

You can find the latest news on these tenancy rules HERE at the Residential Tenancies Authority and also a video explaining the regulations made in conjunction between the RTA and Q Shelter.

Here are links to the forms you’ll need to leave your lease:

DFV Notice Ending Tenancy

This is the form that tenants experiencing DFV should use to end their tenancy

DFV Report

This report should be filled out and supplied along with the above Notice Ending Tenancy to provide the evidence needed to ensure a smooth process to ending your tenancy.

Claiming Your Bond – Form 4a

This is different to the standard Bond Refund Form 4 and gives allowances for DFV survivors leaving their tenancy to claim their portion of the bond.

New South Wales

In NSW survivors of domestic & family violence can end their tenancy immediately due to several circumstances of domestic violence. These reasons are listed HERE on the NSW Fair Trading website

You will have to give your landlord or their agent (usually your property manager) a domestic violence termination notice and attach one of the following permitted forms of evidence:

• certificate of conviction for the domestic violence offence
• family law injunction
• provisional, interim or final Domestic Violence Order
• declaration made by a competent person in the prescribed form.

If you are a co-tenant, you will have to give a domestic violence termination notice to every other co-tenant.

These termination notices DO NOT have to be given in person.

NSW Fair Trading’s sample termination notice from a tenant to landlord or agent can be downloaded HERE

NSW Fair Trading’s sample termination notice from a tenant to a co-tenant can be downloaded HERE

Further information on ending your tenancy due to domestic & family violence can be found HERE at the Tenants’ Union of NSW

Victoria

Victoria introduced new rental laws on 29 March 2021.

The new laws include major changes to support and protect people experiencing domestic and family violence. For a full explanation of the new laws and how they can help you if you’re a survivor of DFV in rental accommodation, see the Consumer Affairs Victoria website.

But the new laws allow you to apply to VCAT – the Victorian Civil & Administrative Council –  to change your rental agreement so that you or your children can be safe. You can ask them to do this even if your name is not currently on the rental agreement. You can also apply on behalf of any children you live with who are experiencing family violence if you are their parent or guardian.

You can ask for VCAT to give you an order so that your landlord:

• Gives you a new rental agreement in your name without the person who has been violent towards you, even if your name isn’t on the current agreement
• Lets you leave the property before the rental agreement ends without having to pay for breaking the lease

The new laws also mean VCAT must hear all applications to remove family violence perpetrators or allow survivors to leave the rented premises within 3 days of the application.

Read more about the VCAT process HERE on their website.

Further information on ending or changing your tenancy in Victoria due to domestic & family violence can be found HERE at Tenants Victoria.

South Australia

Survivors of domestic and family violence in SA can apply to the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (SACAT) to:

Stay at the rented home and have the perpetrator leave

Leave the rented home and be removed from the rental agreement

Terminate the tenancy

Stop a landlord from listing your details on a Residential Tenancy Database (tenant ‘blacklist’) for damage caused by the perpetrator

Determine how the bond will be refunded.

Read more on how the tribunal process works HERE on the SA Gov website.

Further information on ending your tenancy in SA due to domestic & family violence can be found HERE at RentRight SA.

Western Australia

In 2019 new laws came into effect that gives tenants experiencing DFV more options and better protection to be safe. You can find full details HERE on the Safe Tenancy WA website. But your options are:
GO – leave a tenancy agreement without going to court and with as little as seven (7) days’ notice (you can leave right away for safety but will need to pay rent until the end of the notice period)
STAY – apply to court to have a perpetrator’s name removed from a lease
Make a rental home safer through lock changes or security upgrades
Sort out disputes about property damage, unpaid rent or bonds
Seek removal from, or avoid being listed on, a tenancy database if the listing was because of DFV

You’ll need to give your landlord or your property manager a domestic violence termination notice and attach one of the following permitted forms of evidence:

1. A Domestic Violence Order (includes Family Violence Restraining Order)
2. A family court injunction or an application for a family court injunction
3. A copy of a prosecution notice or an indictment detailing a charge relating to family violence having been committed against you or your dependant
4. An official Consumer Protection Family violence report – Evidence form signed by a designated professional who can be:
– a doctor
– a psychologist
– a social worker
– the person in charge of a women’s refuge
– a police officer
– a child protection worker
– a family support worker
– a person in charge of an Aboriginal health, welfare or legal organisation.

A ‘Notice of termination’ on the grounds of family or domestic violence for a residential tenancy agreement (for residential properties) can be downloaded HERE.

A ‘Notice of termination’ on the grounds of family or domestic violence for a residential park agreement (for residential parks on-site homes) can be downloaded HERE.

Further information on ending or changing your tenancy in WA due to domestic & family violence can be found HERE at Tenancy WA.

Tasmania

If you live in Tasmania and are a tenant suffering domestic and family violence, you can apply to the Magistrates Court and have three options available to you:

Apply for a Family Violence Order (FVO) against the perpetrator and have them taken off the release and make a new lease just in your name. But remember this will mean you are fully responsible for all rent. The new lease will continue on the same terms and conditions as the old lease

Terminate your lease agreement – the lease agreement ends between you, the perpetrator and landlord

Allow you to be taken off the lease agreement – the lease agreement continues solely between the perpetrator and landlord

Further information on ending or changing your tenancy in Tasmania due to domestic & family violence can be found HERE at Tenants’ Union of Tasmania.

Northern Territory

Survivors of domestic and family violence in the NT can apply to the Magistrates Court for a Domestic Violence Order (DVO).

The court can also make a Premises Access Order which will make the perpetrator leave the premises you live in or not enter the premises you live in (or only enter in certain situations)
In some situations, the court can make an order ending the tenancy agreement and create a new tenancy agreement
If you and the perpetrator are both named on the lease, you can apply to the court to terminate the agreement and create a new tenancy agreement naming you or the perpetrator as the sole tenant

Further information on ending or changing your tenancy in NT due to domestic & family violence can be found HERE at Darwin Community Legal Service.

Australian Capital Territory

Survivors of domestic and family violence in the ACT firstly need to apply to the ACT Magistrates Court to become a protected person under a domestic violence order.

Once you have this you can apply to the ACT Civil & Administrative Tribunal (ACAT) to make orders to:

• End an existing tenancy agreement, meaning the protected person can leave the tenancy
• End an existing tenancy agreement then require a lessor to enter into a new tenancy agreement with the protected person, meaning the protected person can stay at the rented premises

Read more on the process HERE on the ACAT website.