Minimum Housing Standards South Australia

Where the Standards Come From

The minimum housing standards for South Australian rental properties are prescribed in Part 3 of the Housing Improvement Regulations 2017, made under the Housing Improvement Act 2016. These aren't guidelines — they're enforceable law, and since the 2023 amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act 1995, Section 67A makes it an offence to let a property that doesn't meet them. The maximum fine is $25,000, with an expiation fee of $1,200.

The standards apply to every private residential tenancy, regardless of the property's age, building classification, or rental price. There is no grandfather clause for older homes.

The Room-by-Room Standards

Structure and weatherproofing. The dwelling must be structurally sound with effective footings. Roof, walls, and foundations must be weatherproof. Grounds must be effectively drained so water doesn't pool against the building. The premises must be reasonably free from dampness and mould caused by structural defects (Regulation 9).

Sanitary facilities. Every rental must have a working toilet, bath or shower, hand basin, kitchen sink, and laundry wash trough or basin — all in good working order and connected to continuous hot and cold water. The kitchen sink must supply drinking-quality water. Effluent must connect to an approved drainage or sewerage system (Regulations 10–11).

Lighting and ventilation. All rooms, including toilets, bathrooms, and laundries, must be adequately lit and ventilated — through natural or artificial means. Bathrooms must afford privacy. Toilets must not open directly into food preparation areas (Regulation 12).

Doors, windows, and security. External doors need key-operated locks on the outside and must be openable from inside without a key. External windows need latches. The property must allow unimpeded emergency egress (Regulation 12).

Hazardous materials. The premises must be free from materials or substances posing a serious health risk — damaged asbestos, flaking lead paint, or other contamination (Regulation 9).

Space and room configuration. Rooms must allow ease of movement around fixtures and facilities. Rooming house bedrooms have additional requirements: minimum 7.5 square metres, at least two power points, window coverings for privacy, and a key-operated lock (Regulation 16).

Efficiency Standards for Replacements

The Residential Tenancies Regulations 2025 (commencing 1 September 2025) added efficiency requirements that apply when you replace a fitting or appliance:

• Replacement showerheads and taps in kitchen, bathroom, or laundry must not exceed 9 litres per minute
• Electrical appliances covered by the Commonwealth GEMS Act must carry a minimum 3-star energy rating
• Replacement water heaters must comply with applicable GEMS determinations

These are triggered by replacement, not retrofitting. You don't need to rip out existing compliant fittings.

Who Enforces the Standards

Two bodies share enforcement. Consumer and Business Services (CBS) administers the Residential Tenancies Act and handles expiation notices for Section 67A breaches. The Housing Safety Authority (HSA), sitting within the SA Housing Trust, enforces the Housing Improvement Act directly — conducting housing assessments, issuing Housing Improvement Orders, and managing the Substandard Property Register.

If the HSA finds a property substandard, it can issue a Housing Assessment Order (Section 13), followed by a Housing Improvement Order (Section 14) directing the owner to fix specific defects within a set timeframe. Non-compliance with a Housing Improvement Order carries a $10,000 fine. If the owner still doesn't act, the HSA can do the work itself and register the costs — plus 24% annual statutory interest — as a charge on the property's title.

The Practical Checklist

Before every new tenancy, walk the property against these categories:

1. Structural soundness — footings, walls, ceilings, floors
2. Weatherproofing — roof, external walls, drainage, no rising damp
3. Plumbing — continuous hot and cold water to all fixtures, drinking water to kitchen, drainage connected
4. Sanitary facilities — toilet, shower/bath, hand basin, kitchen sink, laundry trough all working
5. Lighting and ventilation — every room adequately lit and ventilated
6. Security — external door locks, window latches, emergency egress
7. Hazardous materials — no damaged asbestos, no lead paint risk
8. Smoke alarms — compliant with AS 3786 for the building's era

Document the result. A property inspection sheet completed and signed by the landlord and given to the tenant when the tenancy agreement is entered into helps record the property's condition at the start of the tenancy.

The SA Rental Minimum Standards guide maps every standard to the specific regulation, provides a dated audit checklist with pass/fail fields for each item, and includes the trade certification logs and evidence index that turn a walkthrough into a defensible compliance record.

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