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Member Helpline Q&A
Under no circumstances should physical violence against staff members be tolerated.
The Residential Tenancies Act 2010 provides remedies where tenants or their occupants have become violent. It is important to be aware of the avenues available to your landlord to immediately terminate a tenancy in such circumstances.
In the event of a violent attack, the police should be notified immediately and an event number should be obtained from them.
Any injuries should be documented with photographs, and statements should be taken from all staff members or witnesses.
Instructions should then be obtained from the landlord to seek termination of the tenancy. Under section 90 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2010, a landlord has the right to make application to the CTTT for an immediate termination order as a result of a tenant or occupant causing injury to the landlord, their agent, an employee or contractor of the landlord or to a person in a neighbouring property.
The termination order may specify that the order for possession takes effect immediately (even if the tenant is still in their fixed term) and there is no requirement for the landlord to serve a termination notice before applying to the Tribunal.
Like any application to the Tribunal, you would need to provide as much evidence as possible to support your case. This would include, but not limited to, statements and photos of any injuries and/or damage to the premises, police event number, medical reports together with anything else that would support your claim. In the event of having to make application to the CTTT on these grounds, we also recommend you support the application with a covering letter seeking expedition (pursuant to section 28 of the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal Act 2001). You should also report the incident to your workers compensation insurer.
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