A historic test case determining the amount of compensation owed for distress caused by the Northern Territory Government’s neglect of remote rental housing will be heard in the NT Court of Appeal this Thursday, 15 August, from 10am. This is the culmination of a nine-year legal battle by 70 renting households from the remote community of Santa Teresa / Ltyente Apurte, and will have ramifications for all tenants across the Northern Territory.

A landmark High Court victory in November last year recognised that the NT Government, as landlord, is liable for the distress and disappointment caused by failing to maintain remote rental housing to basic legal standards. It is now up to the NT Court of Appeal to determine how much the NT Government must pay in damages for the distress caused by its unlawful actions.

The small and house-proud community of Santa Teresa, led by the late Ms Young, late Mr Conway, and Jasmine Cavanagh, has been standing up to the NT Government. In 2015 the community, including families with young children, the elderly and people with chronic health issues,  took on their landlord — the NT Government — when it failed to act on a list of 600 urgent repairs. Issues reported in this list include leaking sewage, exposed electrical wiring, structurally unsound buildings, and no running water or ventilation despite desert temperatures in the area regularly hovering above 40 degrees in summer and below zero in winter. 

The late Ms Young, whose case is the test case for the community being heard on Thursday, was left without a front door for five and a half years, causing her to be exposed to unwanted animals and people entering her home, and constant exposure to the elements, including the desert heat and winds kicking sand into her home. She had to remove snakes that came through the empty doorway and worried about wild horses entering, the same ones who had broken down her perimetre fence. 

“The NT Government spent eight years defending its dire neglect of remote rental homes, before ultimately finding itself on the wrong side of both its basic obligations to communities and the law. Now the Court of Appeal will determine what it owes to the community to make up for its failure”, said Daniel Kelly, Solicitor for Australian Lawyers for Remote Aboriginal Rights (ALRAR)

A previous determination in the case determined Ms Young was owed just $4.93 a day for the government’s failure to install an external door. Lawyers for Ms Young and the 69 other tenants from Santa Teresa will be arguing it owes the group substantially more for years of harmful and unlawful housing conditions.

“The NT Government’s appalling neglect of remote housing has been harming the health and wellbeing of communities for too long. Today’s hearing is the next step toward righting the wrongs of the past, and ensuring families can have a safe place to call home”, said Isabelle Reinecke, Executive Director at Grata Fund

The High Court’s decision last year had nation-wide ramifications, giving tenants across the country a new way to hold landlords accountable for unsafe, unhealthy or uncomfortable housing. Now the NT Court of Appeal will set a benchmark for compensation for tenants in other jurisdictions, should they take forward and win similar cases of housing maintenance neglect.

Representing the tenants in the NT Court of Appeal tomorrow is Australian Lawyers for Remote Aboriginal Rights (ALRAR) and barrister, Matthew Albert, at no cost to the community or the tenants. Grata Fund has provided funding and support to the community throughout the legal journey.

Ms Young and Mr Conway’s legacy for all remote communities

The late Ms Young and the late Mr Conway were lead plaintiffs in this matter since the case's inception in 2015. Sadly during this time both passed away without their matters being fully resolved by the courts. Their leadership and commitment to justice has left a powerful legacy for all Australian tenants, and especially for First Nations Peoples living in remote housing across the NT. We at ALRAR and Grata Fund are deeply saddened that they were unable to see what their case achieved and we pay our deep respects to their families.

Media contact: Madeleine Burkitt, [email protected], 0435045516. Daniel Kelly and Isabelle Reinecke are available for interview upon request

Key facts:

• A lead tenant representing 70 households from the remote community of Ltyentye Apurte (Santa Teresa) will have their case for compensation for distress caused by the NT Government’s housing neglect heard tomorrow, from 10am on Thursday, 15 August 2024.
• The compensation case follows a win in the High Court last year, when the High Court recognised for the first time the right of tenants to compensation for disappointment and distress when a rented house does not meet basic legal standards of liveability.
• Lawyers for the tenants will be requesting compensation for an initial test case on Thursday. Tragically, the late Ms Young, who is the tenant in this sample case, passed away in the years since her case was filed.
• The compensation amount established in this case will become a benchmark for the other 69 households from Santa Teresa who simultaneously filed claims seeking repair of basic household facilities in 2016.
• The compensation quantification will also set a benchmark for other remote NT tenants, who may have also been subject to housing neglect. It could also provide compensation guidance in other jurisdictions, should there be a successful legal challenge off the back of the precedent set by the High Court last year. 

Case timeline:

• 2015: The residents of Santa Teresa made a list of over 600 repairs and presented them to the NT Government. When the Government ignored them, they were forced to take legal action in 2016, supported by Australian Lawyers for Remote Aboriginal Rights.
• February 2018: The Santa Teresa community won at the NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal and established the Santa Teresa community’s right to ‘habitable housing’ - defined as ‘at least safe’. 
• The case went to the NT Supreme Court, which again found in favour of the community. It confirmed their right to habitable housing, but said that habitable meant not only safe, but reasonably comfortable, judged against contemporary standards. This was a much stronger definition. 
• February 2022: The NT Court of Appeal confirmed that the NT Government must provide decent housing, and rejected the NT Government’s third attempt to water down its obligations.
• March 2022: Residents applied to take their fight for decent rental homes to the High Court by seeking special leave to appeal the decision of the NT Court of Appeal concerning compensation for failure to fix deficiencies, which was granted in September 2022. This was the first time in a generation that the High Court had accepted a residential tenancy case. 
• March 2023: The case was heard in the High Court to ensure residents are properly compensated for the harm and distress caused by the poor condition of their homes.
• November 2023: The High Court recognised for the first time the right of tenants to compensation for disappointment and distress when a rented house does not meet legal standards. 
• August 2024: The Northern Territory Court of Appeal will hear a test case determining compensation owed for distress caused by the NT Government’s neglect of remote rental housing.