Understanding domestic abuse in rental situations

Domestic abuse and the new tenant protections

Domestic abuse can affect a person’s safety, privacy, housing and financial security.

Changes to rental laws provide further protections for tenants experiencing domestic abuse, including help to end a tenancy early without financial penalty, address property damage, and resolve tenancy database issues.

The laws now use the term domestic abuse instead of domestic violence as it better reflects the type of abusive behaviours that can occur in domestic relationships.

Domestic abuse and domestic relationships

Domestic abuse is behaviour from a person you are in, or used to be in, a domestic relationship with.

A domestic relationship may include people who are, or have been:

• married or in a de facto relationship
• in an intimate personal relationship
• connected through an intimate partner relationship with the same person (for example, a person’s ex-partner and current partner would have a domestic relationship with each other at law, even if they had never met)
• living in the same household
• long-term residents of the same residential facility (for example, aged care)
• in a paid or unpaid care relationship
• relatives
• for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, part of an extended family or kinship relationship according to kinship systems.

Domestic abuse can be physical or non-physical. It can happen once or occur repeatedly.

It includes behaviour that:

• is violent or threatening
• is coercive or controlling
• makes a person fear for their safety or wellbeing, or someone else’s.

It does not have to be a criminal offence to be domestic abuse.

Coercive control is a form of domestic abuse

Coercive control is when someone repeatedly hurts, scares, intimidates, isolates or controls another person.

From 1 July 2024, it became a criminal offence to engage in abusive behaviour towards a current or former intimate partner, to coerce or control them. For more information on coercive control, please visit What are the signs of coercive control?

Recognising signs of domestic abuse

Domestic abuse can take many forms. It may include a person doing, or threatening to do, any of the following:

Physical or sexual abuse

• physical abuse or violence
• sexual abuse, coercion, or violence

Financial or economic abuse

• restricting access to money needed for household and living expenses
• preventing someone from working or earning money
• otherwise limiting or controlling a person’s money or bank accounts

Emotional, verbal or psychological abuse

• verbal abuse including insults, name-calling, slurs, derogatory comments or remarks
• emotional abuse such as causing a person to feel undue guilt or shame
• psychological abuse such as gaslighting
• any behaviour that is intended to make the other person feel ashamed, worthless or embarrassed

Intimidation and harassment

• cyberbullying or online harassment
• threatening to disclose personal or sensitive information without consent
• repeated phone calls, messages, emails or online contact that causes fear for safety
• stalking, harassment, monitoring or tracking, including through technology

Property or animal-related abuse 

• damaging or destroying property
• harming or threatening animals, or using animals to threaten a person

Social or cultural isolation

• isolating a person from family, friends, culture or community
• preventing cultural or spiritual participation
• restricting expression of cultural identity
• taking away a person’s mobile phone or monitoring who they contact

Controlling behaviour

• controlling or restricting a person’s daily life or freedom
• making unreasonable demands and threatening consequences for non-compliance
• denying access to food, clothing, sleep or other basic needs
• withholding medical care or support, or forcing medical treatment or medication

Domestic abuse can also include behaviour that causes a child to hear, witness, or be exposed to abusive behaviour.

Using domestic abuse evidence to end a tenancy

A tenant may need to provide evidence of domestic abuse to access tenancy protections.  For example, evidence may be needed when giving a Domestic Violence Termination Notice to end a tenancy early without financial penalty.

Once a document is accepted as evidence of domestic abuse for a tenancy, it can continue to be used for that tenancy, even after the tenancy has ended, or the document has expired. This means a tenant can continue to rely on the evidence for tenancy matters such as disputes about property damage liability and listings on residential tenancy databases.

Accepted evidence of domestic abuse

Evidence of domestic abuse includes:

• a certificate of conviction of the perpetrator for an offence arising from domestic abuse
• an apprehended domestic violence order (ADVO) that is in force, made for the protection of the tenant or their dependent child, and against the alleged perpetrator, including:
  • a serious domestic abuse prevention order under the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007
  • a NSW ADVO domestic violence order
  • an interstate domestic violence order
  • a foreign equivalent of ADVO
• an injunction made by the Family Law Act that is in force, made for the protection of the tenant or their dependent child, and against the alleged perpetrator,
• a declaration made by a competent person in the prescribed form.

For more information about declarations by competent persons, please visit Making a domestic violence declaration to end a tenancy.

Protecting information about domestic abuse

Evidence of domestic abuse provided in connection with a domestic violence termination notice under the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 can include highly sensitive personal information. It must be handled carefully to protect the safety, privacy and security of tenants and their dependent children.

A person who receives or holds evidence of domestic abuse provided in connection with a domestic violence termination notice must not use or share the information unless it is authorised by law.

This means evidence of domestic abuse provided in connection with a domestic violence termination notice should not be shared with:

• remaining co-tenants,
• the alleged perpetrator, or
• anyone else not authorised to receive it.

Evidence of domestic abuse provided in connection with a domestic violence termination notice must also be stored and disposed of securely when it is no longer needed.

Penalties may apply if these requirements are not followed. The Tribunal may also order compensation if a person suffers loss or harm because evidence of domestic abuse provided in connection with a domestic violence termination notice was used or shared unlawfully.