Continuing the reform

The bill will enhanced protections and options for victims of DFV:

• Create a process that enables a tenant to establish the presence of DFV.
• Ensure that a victim tenant does not face the risk of further harm by having to retell their story every time they seek protection.
• Establish a streamlined process for immediate termination of a victim‑tenant’s interest in a tenancy by giving written notice to the landlord and any co-tenants in the approved form if the tenant or a dependent of the tenant has experienced DFV.
• Clarify that a victim tenant is not liable for DFV-related acts or omissions of a non‑tenant that would otherwise result in the victim tenant breaching the tenancy agreement. This amendment also confirms that the landlord may seek redress for any loss suffered as a result of the breach of tenancy directly from the perpetrator.
• Require a landlord to obtain the tenant’s permission to use images or video of the premises when advertising the premises for rent or sale where it might identify the tenant or another occupant.
• Expand the scope of undue hardship to specifically include financial hardship and situations where the applicant faced risk to physical, psychological or mental health and safety as grounds constituting undue hardship.
• Clarify the circumstances around when a person may be listed on a tenancy database at the end of a tenancy, and provide the ability for a victim tenant to apply to NTCAT and seek the removal of their personal information from a database.

The bill will confirm what a tenant is, and is not, required to pay:

• Clarify that a tenant is not required to make payments or provide guarantees, indemnities, or other sureties, other than rent, a security deposit (bond) or those expressly provided in the Act, such as utility charges.
• Prohibit rent bidding, rent auctions, gazumping, and unilateral increases in rent between offer and formally entering into a tenancy agreement.

The bill will  protect  a tenant’s personal information:

• Ensure that only relevant personal information from a tenant is required to assess an application by a prospective landlord, with requirements to take reasonable steps to protect and destroy the information within set timeframes.

The bill will realign no-cause termination provisions:

• Increase and align notice periods to 60 days for both periodic and fixed‑term tenancies.

The bill will  clarify the process for tenants changing locks and making safety and security modifications:

• Clarify that a tenant may change locks provided they obtain the landlord’s consent.
• Establish a process for a tenant to make minor modifications to premises for safety or security purposes with the landlord’s consent.

The bill will enable electronic service of notices

• Providing tenants and landlords with the option to give notices required under the Act by electronic means in accordance with the Electronic Transactions (Northern Territory) Act 2000.