Section 68 Repairs South Australia

What Section 68 Requires

Section 68 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1995 is the core repair duty for South Australian landlords. It requires you to provide the premises in a reasonable state of repair at the start of the tenancy and maintain them in that state throughout. "Reasonable state of repair" accounts for the property's age, character, and prospective life — a 1970s weatherboard isn't held to the same standard as a 2020 apartment, but both must be functional and safe.

The critical qualifier: you're not liable for breach unless you've received notice of the defect and failed to act with reasonable diligence. That makes the timing and documentation of repair requests the central issue in most SACAT disputes.

Urgent vs Ordinary Repairs

The Act distinguishes two categories, and the response expectation is very different.

Urgent repairs are defects that pose a risk of personal injury, property damage, or extreme inconvenience. The classic examples: burst water pipes, gas leaks, electrical faults, severe roof leaks, blocked or broken toilets, serious storm damage, and failure of essential services like hot water.

For urgent repairs, the landlord must act immediately with reasonable diligence. "Immediately" doesn't mean within business hours — it means as soon as practicable after receiving notice. If the landlord is unresponsive, Section 68 gives the tenant the right to engage a licensed tradesperson directly and seek reimbursement from the landlord for the reasonable cost.

Ordinary maintenance covers non-dangerous issues: a dripping tap, a sticking window, a cosmetic crack in the wall, a minor appliance fault. The tenant submits a written request using the CBS Request for Repairs form, and the landlord arranges the work within a reasonable timeframe. What's reasonable depends on the nature of the defect — a broken oven might warrant a week, while a purely cosmetic issue could reasonably take longer.

The Repair Workflow

1. Tenant gives notice. Ideally in writing using the CBS form, but verbal notice also triggers the duty.
2. Landlord acknowledges. Record the date you received the request and what the tenant described.
3. Landlord assesses. Determine whether the repair is urgent or ordinary.
4. Landlord engages a licensed contractor where the work involves regulated trades (electrical, gas, plumbing). When the job requires an eCoC, the contractor must submit it in the applicable trade category to the Office of the Technical Regulator.
5. Landlord gives entry notice if access to the property is needed. Non-emergency repairs require at least 48 hours' written notice under Section 72.
6. Work is completed and signed off. Record the completion date, contractor details, and applicable certificate reference.

Every step creates a record. In a SACAT dispute, the landlord who can show dated acknowledgment, a reasonable response time, and the applicable trade certificate is in a fundamentally different position from one who claims they "dealt with it" but has no documentation.

What Happens If the Landlord Doesn't Act

If the landlord fails to respond to a repair request with reasonable diligence, the tenant has several escalation options under SA law:

• Self-help for urgent repairs. The tenant hires a licensed tradesperson, and the landlord must reimburse the reasonable cost.
• SACAT repair order. The tenant applies to SACAT ($93 filing fee as of July 2026) for an order compelling the landlord to carry out the work.
• Compensation. SACAT can award the tenant financial compensation for loss or inconvenience caused by the landlord's failure to repair.
• Housing Safety Authority complaint. If the defect means the property no longer meets minimum housing standards under the Housing Improvement Regulations 2017, the tenant can report it to the HSA, which can issue a Housing Assessment Order and, ultimately, a Housing Improvement Order with its own penalty regime.

Section 67A Failures at the Start

Section 67A overlaps with Section 68 at the commencement of a tenancy. If a tenant moves in and discovers the property doesn't meet the minimum housing standards, they can submit an urgent repair request under Section 67A(2) or serve a termination notice under Section 85B. This is separate from the ongoing Section 68 duty — it's a standalone offence to let a property that fails the prescribed standards, carrying a $25,000 maximum fine.

The "Reasonable State of Repair" Defence

Section 68 doesn't require perfection. The standard is "reasonable" having regard to the property's age, character, and prospective life. A landlord isn't required to renovate an aging property to modern standards — but they must ensure it's functional, safe, and free from defects that have been reported.

Under Section 68(2), a landlord is not liable for breach unless they have received notice of a defect and failed to act with reasonable diligence. This is why regular inspections (up to four per year under Section 72) matter — they can help identify defects before they become urgent.

Building Your Section 68 File

For every repair request, maintain a log with:

• Date the request was received
• Description of the defect (in the tenant's words)
• Classification: urgent or ordinary
• Date you arranged the contractor
• Contractor name, licence number, and trade category
• Date the work was completed
• Applicable certificate reference number (for regulated trades)
• Tenant sign-off or confirmation

The SA Rental Minimum Standards guide includes a Section 68 maintenance and repair log template designed to capture exactly this sequence, so each repair has a paper trail from notice to sign-off.

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