South Australia Landlord Rights 2026 — Ending a Tenancy

Your Rights After the 2024 Reforms

The abolition of no-grounds termination on 1 July 2024 changed the landscape, but it did not strip landlords of their termination rights. What it did is make every right conditional on a prescribed statutory ground backed by evidence.

Here is what you can still lawfully do as a South Australia landlord in 2026.

You Can Still End a Tenancy — With a Prescribed Ground

The Residential Tenancies Act 1995 and the Residential Tenancies Regulations 2025 give landlords prescribed grounds for ending a tenancy. The ground determines which CBS form you use, the notice period, and what evidence must be attached.

Periodic tenancy grounds (Form 7, 60 days):

• Sale requiring vacant possession — you have a signed contract of sale or (since September 2025) a signed sales agency agreement with a registered land agent
• Owner or family occupation — you, your spouse, child, parent, or spouse's child/parent intend to live in the property as their principal residence
• Demolition — with planning approval or a demolition contractor agreement
• Major repairs or renovations — where the work cannot be done with the tenant in occupation

Periodic tenancy grounds (Form 8, 90 days):

• Safety risk or threats to the landlord, agent, or neighbours
• Unauthorised pet or false information on the application
• Other specified conduct grounds under Regulation 16

Fixed-term tenancy (Form 9, 60 days before expiry):

• Regulation 25 grounds include sale, owner occupation, demolition, and major repairs

Either tenancy type:

• Rent arrears (Form 5, 7 clear days) — when rent is at least 14 full days overdue
• Non-rent breach (Form 5, 7 + 7 clear days) — property damage, unauthorised subletting, unpaid water charges
• Drug contamination (Form 6, immediate)
• Premises destroyed or uninhabitable (Form 10, immediate)
• Serious damage or injury risk (sections 87–88, direct SACAT application, no notice required)
• Undue hardship (section 89, direct SACAT application)

You Can Enforce a Notice Through SACAT

If the tenant does not vacate by the termination date, you are not stuck. The enforcement pathway is:

1. Lodge a Level 1 application at SACAT under section 93 (filing fee: $93, or $69 concession)
2. SACAT reviews the notice for validity and hears both sides
3. If the notice is valid, SACAT issues an order for vacant possession with a specified vacate date
4. If the tenant still does not leave, apply for a warrant for execution under section 99
5. A designated SACAT bailiff or a South Australia Police (SAPOL) officer can execute the warrant

At no point in this process can you change the locks, disconnect utilities, remove the tenant's belongings, or physically remove them. Self-help eviction carries penalties up to $35,000 for individuals.

You Have a Right to Evidence-Based Defence Against Section 90A Claims

Tenants can challenge a termination notice within 30 days by claiming retaliation under section 90A. Genuine, pre-existing evidence can support the landlord's explanation. If you signed a sales agency agreement three months before the tenant requested repairs, the timing supports your position. SACAT assesses the landlord's primary motivation; a substantiated ground with strong documentation can help show that the notice was not retaliatory.

You Can Recover the Property After the 6-Month Ban

The re-letting restriction is six months from the date of termination, not six months from service. After that window closes, you can advertise and lease the property to a new tenant. The new application must use the prescribed Form A1 (mandatory since 1 January 2026).

What You Cannot Do

The reforms removed two things that landlords previously had:

• No-grounds termination. You cannot end a tenancy simply because you want a different tenant, dislike the tenant's lifestyle, or want to raise rent beyond the section 55 annual limit.
• Refusing to renew a fixed-term lease without reason. Form 9 requires a prescribed ground. If you have no ground, the fixed-term lease either renews or converts to a periodic tenancy by operation of law.

These restrictions are permanent features of the post-2024 framework, not temporary measures.

For a step-by-step guide through every ground, form, evidence requirement, and the complete SACAT enforcement pathway, see the Ending a Tenancy in South Australia guide.

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