South Australia Ending Tenancy Checklist for Landlords

Before You Serve the Notice

The mistakes that kill a termination happen before the notice is printed. These are the checks to make first.

Confirm your prescribed ground. Since 1 July 2024, every notice must cite a specific statutory reason. The prescribed grounds depend on whether your tenancy is periodic or fixed-term:

• Periodic tenancy: sale requiring vacant possession (contract or agency agreement), owner/family occupation, demolition, major repairs (Form 7, 60 days), conduct/risk grounds (Form 8, 90 days)
• Fixed-term tenancy: breach (Form 5, 7–14 days), drug contamination (Form 6, immediate), or expiry with a Regulation 25 prescribed ground (Form 9, 60 days before the end date)
• Either type: premises destroyed/uninhabitable (Form 10), serious damage (direct SACAT application), undue hardship (direct SACAT application)

Gather your mandatory evidence. Match the evidence to the ground:

• Sale requiring vacant possession → signed contract of sale or signed sales agency agreement with a CBS-registered agent
• Owner occupation → witnessed statutory declaration naming the qualifying family member
• Demolition → planning/development approval or signed demolition contractor contract
• Major repairs → licensed tradesperson contracts or quotes, council approvals, condition photographs
• Rent arrears → detailed arrears calculation ledger showing rent at least 14 full days overdue
• Non-rent breach → photographs, invoices, written records of the specific breach

Check for section 90A risk. Has the tenant recently requested repairs, reported a housing standard breach, or applied to SACAT? If yes, a notice served now is vulnerable to a retaliatory termination challenge. Ensure your ground and evidence predate the tenant's protected activity, or wait until the complaint process concludes.

Verify you are using current forms. The Residential Tenancies Regulations 2025 replaced all prescribed forms effective September 2025. Old-format forms are invalid. Download the current versions from cbs.sa.gov.au.

Calculating the Notice Period

Identify the statutory minimum. Form 5 rent arrears: 7 clear days. Form 5 non-rent breach: 7 + 7. Form 6: immediate. Form 7: 60 clear days. Form 8: 90 clear days. Form 9: 60 clear days before the fixed-term end date. Form 10: immediate (destruction) or 60 days (acquisition).

Apply the clear-day rule. Under section 3(3):

1. Day 0 is the day the tenant receives the notice — excluded from the count
2. Counting starts the next day
3. The termination date is the day after the last clear day

Add postal allowances. If serving by post, add 2–4 business days (excluding weekends and SA public holidays) for Australia Post delivery before day 0. Under-counting by even one day invalidates the notice.

Write the termination date on the form. Double-check by counting backwards from your proposed termination date to the service date. If the numbers do not add up, adjust.

Serving the Notice

Choose a lawful service method. Section 120 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1995 recognises four:

1. Personal delivery to the tenant or an authorised adult resident at the premises
2. Letterbox delivery (or affixed to the main entrance if no letterbox)
3. Standard or registered post to the tenant's last known address
4. Email — only if the tenant has given prior written consent to receive legal notices electronically

SMS, messaging apps, and social media do not constitute lawful service.

Record the service. Note the date, time, method, and who received the notice. If serving personally, photograph the handover or have a witness present. If posting, keep the post office receipt and note the date of posting.

After the Notice Period Expires

Do not change the locks or enter the property. Self-help eviction is illegal under sections 93 and 115. The maximum penalty for an individual is $35,000.

If the tenant vacates on time: Conduct the final condition inspection, process the bond through Residential Bonds Online, and remember the 6-month re-letting ban if you terminated for sale, owner occupation, demolition, or major repairs.

If the tenant stays past the notice date: Lodge a Level 1 application at SACAT for an order for vacant possession under section 93. The current filing fee is $93 ($69 concession). If SACAT grants the order and the tenant still does not leave, apply for a warrant for execution under section 99 — a designated SACAT bailiff or a South Australia Police (SAPOL) officer can execute the warrant.

For the full walkthrough — every prescribed ground in detail, evidence templates, worked clear-day calculations, and the complete SACAT enforcement pathway — get the Ending a Tenancy in South Australia guide.

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