Living in or owning a rental property comes with responsibilities. You may be a seasoned renter or landlord, but it’s always helpful to keep up with the latest happenings in the rental sector to help get the best out of your renting experience and avoid disputes.

Starting a tenancy

When signing a new rental agreement, tenants are usually asked to pay a bond, and the rules around bond amounts have recently changed.

For any tenancy starting from 1 April 2023, a bond equivalent to 6 weeks' rent can only be charged where the weekly rent is $800 or more. The previous threshold was $250, so this increase will mean that only a 4-week bond will be required for most rental properties in South Australia.

For anyone living in a residential park – which is like a caravan park – the bond amount remains capped at 4 weeks’ rent, regardless of the weekly rental amount.

Landlords and property managers must lodge bonds collected with Consumer and Business Services (CBS).

Bond refunds

At the end of the tenancy, the bond can be returned to the tenant(s) if there are no claims by the landlord/proprietor for cleaning, outstanding rent or other reasonable costs. Sometimes bonds cannot be refunded – e.g. when a tenant enters their banking or contact details incorrectly, or their details have changed. This can make finding the tenant difficult and the bond becomes unclaimed.

CBS is contacting people who’ve rented in the past and are yet to claim their bond back, where contact details are available. If you get an SMS or email saying you may have money owing to you from an old rental bond, check first it’s not a scam by searching for your bond status on the CBS Bond Status Register or call CBS on 131 882.

But you don’t have to wait for CBS to contact you first. You can visit the Bond Status Register now to check if money is owing and follow the instructions to make your claim.

Find out more at cbs.sa.gov.au/unclaimedbonds.

Repairs and maintenance

One of the most common issues raised with CBS is repairs and maintenance of rental properties and where responsibilities lie.

Generally, tenants are responsible for keeping the property and ancillary property in a clean and reasonable state, allowing for reasonable wear and tear. This includes things like:

  • simple garden care
  • cleaning exhaust fans and the oven
  • removing bathroom mould, unless the mould is due to poor ventilation
  • rectifying damage they caused to the property.

Tenants should inform the landlord of any repair needs, using the repairs and maintenance form (PDF 240KB).

Landlords are responsible for and should pay for:

  • overall maintenance of the property
  • maintaining or replacing consumables – e.g. light globes and water filters
  • larger gardening jobs – e.g. trimming tree branches.

Raise any concerns with your landlord or tenant in the first instance. If the issue isn’t resolved, contact CBS for advice. If a suitable outcome is not achieved, then depending on the nature of the dispute, you may apply to the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (SACAT).

Changes coming for rental laws

A review of SA’s rental laws commenced last year, and legislation has since been introduced into SA Parliament to address three priority areas:

  • banning rent bidding
  • prohibiting certain information from being requested of tenants in rental applications
  • limiting how long agents and property managers can keep information about tenants and prospective tenants.

Feedback received in relation to the other issues canvassed through the review is being considered.

More information

Visit the SA.GOV webpage renting and letting for more information about renting a property or living in a residential park or contact Consumer and Business Services (CBS) for advice on 131 882.