RESIDENTIAL TENANCIES ACT 1997 - SECT 37 Entry for eviction purposes
RESIDENTIAL TENANCIES ACT 1997 - SECT 37
Entry for eviction purposes(1) A person must not enter premises or any part of premises of which someone else has prescribed possession for the purpose of recovering possession of the premises or part except in accordance with a warrant issued by the registrar, an order or a warrant of the ACAT or an order or judgment of the Supreme Court.
(2) Subject to subsection (3), if a person enters premises in contravention of subsection (1) (the offender ), the ACAT must, on application, order the offender to pay to the person who had prescribed possession of the premises the compensation that the ACAT considers appropriate.
(3) In considering how much compensation is appropriate for subsection (2), the ACAT must consider whether the lessor reasonably believed that the premises had been abandoned by the tenant.
(4) If an offender mentioned in subsection (2) is not the lessor but is acting on behalf of a lessor with the lessor's consent, the ACAT must make any order for compensation that it would otherwise have made against the offender against the lessor.
(5) For this section, the following possession is prescribed:
(a) possession under a residential tenancy agreement;
(b) possession as a former tenant continuing to reside in the premises.
(6) This section is subject to section 61A (Lessor may enter premises to confirm abandonment).