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Snapshot

  • Victims of domestic violence can now end their tenancies immediately, without liability, by attaching specified documents to a domestic violence termination notice.
  • Victims of domestic violence are no longer vicariously liable for damage to rental properties caused by domestic violence offenders.
  • Landlords are now prohibited from listing a person who ended their tenancy by giving a domestic violence termination notice on a bad tenant database.

Domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness for women and children. Victims, also referred to as survivors, of domestic violence often need to flee their homes quickly in order to keep themselves and their children safe. However, if victims simply abandon their rental property, they can accrue a debt as a result of outstanding rent and damage to the property, and be blacklisted on a residential tenancy database, making it very difficult for them to rent in the future. Victims may also be involved in several court proceedings in relation to criminal charges, parenting and property division.

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