NSW Passes Major Domestic Violence Reforms to Residential Tenancy Laws (2025 Update)

NSW Passes Major Domestic Violence Reforms to Residential Tenancy Laws (2025 Update)

Residential Tenancies Amendment (Domestic Violence Reform) Bill 2025

The NSW government continues to advance its reform agenda for rental laws, following the commencement of Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2024 and the introduction of Residential Tenancies Amendment (Protection of Personal Information) Bill 2025. The new amendment bill, Residential Tenancies Amendment (Domestic Violence Reform) Bill 2025 (the Reform Bill), which passed Parliament on 22 October 2025 and received assent on 28 October 2025, will introduce further reform to the Residential Tenancies Act (the Act) in the following aspects:

Damage to property during a domestic violence offence

The Act currently provides that a tenant is liable for another person’s act or omission that would constitute a breach of the tenancy agreement, except for where the act or omission occurred during a domestic violence offence. This clause is a term of every residential tenancy agreement.

The Reform Bill will propose an additional clause, making clear that the exclusion of liability also applies where an act or omission during a domestic violence offence caused damage to the rental property.

The Tribunal will be given the power to identify an alleged perpetrator of domestic abuse for the purpose of determining the liability of tenants.

Tenant’s right to terminate due to domestic violence

A tenant may terminate a lease early in circumstances of domestic violence. Currently, under Part 5, Division 3A of the Act, a tenant who is in circumstances of domestic violence, or has a dependent child in circumstances of domestic violence, may issue a termination notice to the landlord, with supporting evidence such as a certificate of the conviction in the relevant domestic violence offence proceedings, a DVO, an injunction, or a declaration made by a competent person in accordance with the Act and the regulations.

The Reform Bill preserves this right and maintains a mostly similar set of requirements for the tenant to terminate the lease, while introducing some further protections for any remaining tenants who are not victims of domestic violence.

For instance, the landlord will bear the obligation to notify any other remaining tenants of the termination by the affected tenant. The notice must be in approved form and be given within 7 days after the affected tenant’s termination of tenancy. The landlord is not allowed to disclose any private information such as evidence of domestic abuse, or share the termination notice issued by the affected tenant.

A remaining tenant who is not the domestic violence offender is protected from having to cover the rent of an affected tenant for two weeks after their termination. During this period, the remaining tenant is not required to pay an amount larger than an equal share of the rent before the termination. The Reform Bill will change this requirement so that the period of two weeks commences from the termination date on the notice, rather than the date the termination notice is served.

Landlord’s access for advertising purposes

Under the current legislation, if a landlord is to access the rental property to take photos or videos for advertising purposes, the landlord may do so without the tenant’s consent provided that the tenant is given reasonable notice and a reasonable opportunity to remove personal belongings. The landlord is only allowed to do so once in the period of 28 days preceding the commencement of marketing the property, or 28 days preceding the termination of the residential agreement that is already on foot.

The period of “reasonable notice” is not previously defined, however the Reform Bill will amend “reasonable notice” to at least 7 days’ notice. At the same time, the landlord will not be allowed to publish these photos or videos if access to the property is not consented to by the tenant. A breach of these requirements will also attract penalty.

Further restrictions will be introduced in relation to the publishing f photos or videos where the content shows the tenant’s possession or a dependent child of the tenant. Such photos or videos may only be published with the tenant’s consent. A tenant may refuse consent if there is a reasonable fear of domestic abuse if the photos or videos are published.

Listing of personal information in residential tenancy databases

Following the Residential Tenancies Amendment (Protection of Personal Information) Bill 2025 introduced in June (see here for a summary of this bill), this Reform Bill recommends further safeguards for the tenants’ personal information, especially in relation to the information provided by tenants affected by domestic abuse.

Any personal information about a tenant who terminated tenancy due to domestic abuse must not be listed in any residential tenancy database, and it is an offence if a landlord or agent contravenes this section. While this prohibition is currently covered by the Act, the Reform Bill proposes higher penalties and creates a further obligation for the landlord or agent to notify any database operators to remove any such information.

If the personal information is not removed, the affected person will be able to make an application to the NSW Fair Trading Commissioner for an order for removal of their personal information from the database.

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The commencement date of the Reform Bill is yet to be announced. Bugden Allen will continue to monitor the status of the Reform Bill and provide any updates on the Act.

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This article was first published on 25 October 2025. It was written by Coco Chen from our Sydney office, and peer reviewed by Emma Smythies.

© Bugden Allen Group Legal Pty Ltd. This is general information only and not legal advice. You should not rely on this information without seeking legal advice tailored to your specific circumstances.