Family violence victims hurt by tenancy fines
Domestic violence victims are being fined in the Tenancy Tribunal for property damage caused by their abusers – contributing to poverty, homelessness and some women even returning to violent relationships, research has found.
Cases highlighted in a New Zealand Universities Law Review paper in December showed victims were held liable for thousands of dollars worth of damages, even when there was ample evidence they were the subject of violence such as blood on the walls or recorded police call-outs.
The research found the tribunal regularly punished women for not doing enough to deter their abusers from entering their properties, saying they needed to have taken ‘‘reasonable steps’’ or the damage was considered their fault under the law.
For example, one woman was held responsible because she hadn’t applied for a trespass order, another was ordered to pay despite evidence her ex-partner had broken the locks and forced his way in to attack her.
The same logic was not applied to other types of crime, for example tenants whose properties were damaged in a burglary were not considered liable.
‘‘The crux of it is that the tribunal is taking a pretty technical approach to the statute which is if you’ve let someone in to your property, whatever they do is your responsibility,’’ the paper’s author, Dr Bridgette Toy-Cronin, of the Otago University law faculty, said.
‘‘If friends come for a party and get carried away, then that’s reasonable. But in family violence situations, it implies that a person is consenting to being abused. That’s victim-blaming.’’
It also implied that victims could keep perpetrators out of their homes – an idea at odds with the realities of family violence, in which abusers seek to control their victims, not the other way around.
Toy-Cronin said the victimblaming extended to other state agencies, in opposition to the Government’s stated intention to jointly address family violence.
For example, Ka¯inga Ora (formerly Housing New Zealand) was among the landlords who had taken its tenants to the tribunal, even when it knew the damages were a result of family violence.
Toy-Cronin said tribunal decisions had far-reaching effects. Damages orders could form the basis for an eviction, leaving women and their children vulnerable to homelessness and financial difficulty, as they struggled to get a new rental, for example.
Auckland Action Against Poverty co-ordinator Brooke Stanley Pao said some of the agency’s most frequent clients were women who were trying to get away from domestic violence, a task made harder if they were facing a tribunal hearing.
‘‘They’re already really scared, and the ongoing impact of being dragged through the courts adds to that stress,’’ she said. ‘‘It’s also really hard for them to find a place to live if they’ve been told to get
out because of damages – their reputation is stuffed. No-one is going to take you if you have that on record.’’
Stanley Pao said some clients ended up going back to violent relationships because they were unable to get a home. ‘‘The property market is hard enough for anyone who isn’t rich.
‘‘For some women, it’s easier to deal with being with an abuser as opposed to the stress of leaving, and that’s upsetting.’’
Toy-Cronin said there was a relatively simple fix. She suggested the Residential Tenancies Act allowed for a more lenient reading of the term ‘‘intentional damage’’ than was currently employed, and broadening the interpretation would help victims. The Tenancy Tribunal refused to answer questions about that suggestion.
The Ministry of Justice said it could not comment on how adjudicators interpreted the law, as government and officials were unable to interfere with courts. However, tenants were able to appeal if they disagreed with a decision.
It said since Covid-19, it had also improved access to the tribunal by telephone, which could make it easier for some tenants to give evidence. Incoming changes to the Residential Tenancies Act are also expected to help – tenants are able to have their names suppressed; and family violence victims will be allowed to give just two days notice, with evidence, to withdraw a tenancy.
Ka¯inga Ora said the small number of cases cited in the research did not reflect its general approach of not charging for damages caused by family violence.
Those cases had additional complex factors on top of family violence involved, but it could not discuss the complexities because of privacy issues, it said.
Ka¯inga Ora was always looking at how it could better support its customers impacted by family violence, and had partnered with police and Women’s Refuge to better support staff responding to those customers, it said.