Santa Teresa residents welcome housing appeal ‘validation’ after ruling overturned

Residents in the Centralian community of Santa Teresa will have their bid for compensation over sub standard government housing reheard, following a victory in the Supreme Court.

RESIDENTS in the Centralian community of Santa Teresa will have their bid for compensation over sub standard government housing reheard, following a victory in the Supreme Court.

The residents, including Enid Young, took their Territory government landlords to the NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal after Ms Young was left without a back door on her home for almost six years, among other issues.

NTCAT’s ruling that the houses met the definition of “habitable” under the Residential Tenancies Act was overturned on appeal by the Supreme Court, with Justice Jenny Blokland upping Ms Young’s compensation to $10,000.

The NT Government subsequently appealed that ruling and while the Court of Appeal overruled the increased compensation, it partially upheld Justice Blokland’s broader interpretation of a “habitable” home.

Santa Teresa resident Enid Young (seated) took their Territory government landlords to the NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal after Ms Young was left without a back door on her home for almost six years, among other issues. Picture: Grata Fund

In handing the case back to NTCAT on that ground only on Friday, the Court of Appeal ruled “habitable” meant more than just threats to health and safety.

“An accumulation of defects in the property may so undermine its comfort and amenity as to render it unfit for habitation, even where those defects do not constitute a threat to health and safety,” the judgment reads.

The residents’ lawyer, Danial Kelly, said the ruling was “validation for the people of Santa Teresa, who have spent more than six years fighting for housing they can actually live in”.

“Today the Court of Appeal has confirmed that the Territory government has a legal responsibility to improve the standard of housing for remote communities,” he said.

“The onus is now on Chief Minister (Michael) Gunner to work with Aboriginal peaks to implement community-led solutions to the housing crisis.”

Acting executive director of litigation funder, Grata Fund, Maria Nawaz, said the consequences of the Territory government’s “neglect of remote housing” were playing out in communities across the Territory.

“The current Covid outbreak in remote communities is reminding us once again that overcrowding threatens lives,” she said.

“This could have been avoided if the Territory government had spent less time fighting this case and more time giving people decent homes to live in.”