New South Wales Consolidated Acts

LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT 1899 - SECT 2B

2B Spouse’s tenancy rights on separation or desertion

(1) Where the tenant of any land which is or which includes a dwelling-house separates from or deserts his or her spouse, leaving the spouse in possession of the land, the provisions of this Act, and the provisions of any other enactment relating to the recovery of possession of tenements or to the control of rents and applicable to such land, shall, in respect of the period during which such separation or desertion continues, apply as if the spouse were the sole tenant of the land.
This section applies where the tenant separated from or deserted his wife before or after the commencement of the Law Reform (Married Persons) Act 1964 , but does not apply where the tenant separated from or deserted his wife before such commencement unless the wife was in possession of the land at such commencement.

(2) In this section:
"spouse" of a person includes a person with whom the person has a de facto relationship within the meaning of the Property (Relationships) Act 1984 .

(3) The amendments made to this section by the Miscellaneous Acts Amendment (Relationships) Act 2002 apply where the tenant separated from or deserted his or her spouse before or after the commencement of those amendments but do not apply where the tenant separated from or deserted his or her spouse before that commencement unless the spouse was in possession of the land as at that commencement.