Doctors given new powers to help domestic violence victims break rental leases
VICTIMS of domestic violence will be able to break tenancy leases on the spot with the help of their doctors under landmark reforms by the state government.
NSW
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DOCTORS will be given the power to help patients who are victims of domestic violence break a tenancy lease on the spot under landmark reforms by the state government.
The move will mean those escaping violent partners will no longer have to wait 14 days after getting an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) before breaking their lease.
The changes — which passed through NSW Cabinet last week and will be contained in an “imminent” draft bill — will also give doctors unprecedented powers to get DV victims out of violent homes.
Under the new laws, doctors will be able to break a lease by signing a statutory declaration saying that a tenant is in a violent situation and needs to get out.
Currently, victims wanting to break a lease are forced to go via police and the courts to get a full AVO (as opposed to an interim AVO), a process which can take more than a year to complete.
Innovation and Better Regulation Minister Matt Kean said they are giving doctors this power because “they are on the front line when dealing with victims”.
“They are well-placed to see the impact and identify the symptoms,” Mr Kean said.
“They are qualified and appropriately trained and they are also bound by a code of ethics.
“They just can’t sign off on anything. In many cases they have a personal relationship with the victim that has been built-up.”
Part of a suite of changes under the Residential Tenancies Act 2010, the reforms will also make DV victims exempt from both rental blacklists and compensation claims from out of pocket landlords.
As long as DV victims have the appropriate sign off, property owners will be forced to chase perpetrators for costs incurred from lost rent, property damage and other expenses.
“I am sure we will encounter opposition. This is a big change to the way things currently operate but I am not going to apologise for standing up for vulnerable people and victims of domestic violence and making it easier for them to break a lease and not have to stay in an unsafe situation,” Mr Kean said.
That opposition has come from Property Owners Association of NSW president John Gilmovich, who said the new rules could make it very messy for landlords recovering costs from multiple tenants following a lease termination.
“Why is this mess then left to the landlord to deal with?,” he said.
“If being a landlord is yet again becoming harder through improper policy that is high risk then landlords will exit the private rental market and place their properties into less regulatory markets like Airbnb.
“This will be unfortunate circumstances for tenants of NSW with less available accommodation and rent increases due to scarcity.”
There were 28,356 instances of recorded criminal instances of DV in 2017, according to the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.
In 2017 the NSW Tenants Union received 473 rental inquiries which related to domestic violence.
The NSW TU senior policy officer Leo Patterson Ross said social workers should also be included alongside doctors as people who can help victims break a lease.
Domestic Violence NSW CEO Moo Baulch said these reforms were a significant step forward.
“Domestic violence is the most important driver of homelessness for women,” she said.
“DV often drives women and children into unstable, unsafe and overcrowded accommodation. I am delighted with these reforms.”
Domestic Violence NSW: 1800 656 463
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