Ending a lease due to family or domestic violence
Find out how to end your lease immediately.
Need help immediately?
Call Emergency Triple Zero on 000 if you or your children are in immediate danger.
Call the Domestic Violence helpline on 1800 656 463 for free telephone crisis counselling and referral services.
When you can end your lease due to violence
You can end a lease immediately if you or your children:
- have experienced a domestic violence offence during the tenancy
- are protected by any type of domestic violence order
- are protected by a family law injunction, or
- have been declared by a health practitioner or other 'competent person' (such as a social worker or counsellor) to have experienced domestic violence.
You can end the lease the same day you give notice or at a later date. You do not have to give the notice to the landlord or agent in person.
Documents you'll need
You need to give the landlord or agent a domestic violence termination notice indicating the date you want to end the lease. You can download a template letter at NSW Fair Trading.
The notice must also include one piece of supporting evidence, such as a:
- certificate of conviction for the domestic violence offence
- family law injunction
- provisional, interim or final domestic violence order, or
- declaration made by a 'competent person (PDF 204KB)' - this includes registered health practitioners, social workers and counsellors.
Find out more about domestic violence and your rental rights at NSW Fair Trading.