12Vicarious liability of tenant

12 Vicarious liability of tenant (1) Subsections (2) and (3) have effect as terms of a tenancy (2) A tenant is responsible under a tenancy agreement for an act or omission of a person, other than a co-tenant, who: (a) is on the tenant's premises with the consent of the tenant; and (b) performs or omits to perform any act that, if it had been an act or omission of the tenant, would have been a breach of the (3) A tenant is not responsible for a breach of a tenancy agreement under subsection (2) if: (a) the person who performs or omits to perform the act is in a domestic relationship as defined in section 9 of the Domestic and Family Violence Act 2007 with the tenant; and (b) the act is an act of domestic violence; and (c) it is reasonable in all the circumstances for the tenant not to be taken to be responsible under the agreement for the act or omission because the tenant or another occupant of the premises has experienced domestic violence. (4) If, in accordance with subsection (3), a tenant is not responsible for an act or omission under subsection (2), the landlord may bring a claim against the perpetrator of the domestic violence for any act or omission performed on the premises by the perpetrator that, but for subsection (3), would have been a breach of the tenancy agreement for which the tenant is responsible. (5) A claim under subsection (4) may be brought: (a) in the case of a small claim – under the Small Claims Act 2016; or

Residential Tenancies Act 1999 11 (b) otherwise – in the Local Court. (6) Nothing in this section makes a tenant criminally responsible for an act or omission of another person.