Well data binding avoids NullPointerException in general by checking for it and assigns the default value (null for example) even if item itself is null in your example.
But a basic example for null checks for the item’s properties:
android:text="@{item.title != null ? user.title : ""}"
Or use the “Null Coalescing Operator”. The null coalescing operator (??) chooses the left operand if it is not null or the right if it is null.
android:text="@{item.title ?? ""}"
Note that title or getTitle doesn’t matter.