From 30 November 2024, the proprietor of a rooming house with accommodation available for 5 or more persons (a designated rooming house) must be registered [Residential Tenancies Act 1995 (SA) s 103B]. Serious penalties, including imprisonment, may be imposed for carrying on a rooming house business unregistered.

Proprietors must pay an annual fee and provide information required by the Commissioner for Consumer Affairs to maintain their registration [s 103D]. The Commissioner for Consumer Affairs must be satisfied that the proprietor (or each director in the case of a body corporate) is a fit and proper person to be registered and has appropriate qualifications or experience [s 103C(3)]. Registration may be conditional or unconditional. The Commissioner may cancel or suspend a proprietor's registration if they are no longer a fit and proper person to be registered [s 103F]. The Commissioner must give at least 28 days notice in writing unless delaying suspension or cancellation may cause someone significant harm, loss or damage [s 103F].

A proprietor may apply to SACAT for review of a decision to refuse, cancel or suspend their registration [s 103G].

Designated rooming house proprietors must notify the Commissioner within 14 days if their name, address, or the address of their designated rooming house changes [s 103E(1)]. They must also inform the Commissioner if they cease to carry on the business [s 103E(2) and (3)].

For more information, see Consumer and Business Services' Rooming house proprietors' guide (PDF, 349 KB) and Forms and fact sheets for rooming houses.

The proprietor of a rooming house may make rules about the conduct of the residents. These rules must be in writing [Residential Tenancies Act 1995 (SA) s 105A]. The rooming house proprietor must ensure that the rules are displayed in a prominent place in the premises and provide a copy on request to any resident or prospective resident [s 105D]. A copy need not be provided if previously provided within the previous 2 months.

House rules will only be valid to the extent that they are made for the health and safety of the residents or the safety of property [s 105A]. A rooming house proprietor may amend house rules. Amendments must also be in writing and they do not take effect until each resident of the rooming house has been given 7 days written notice of the change [s 105B].

A resident who believes a house rule is unreasonable may apply to the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for a declaration confirming this and requiring that the proprietor change the rule. If SACAT finds that the rule is unreasonable, the house rule becomes void. A proprietor who fails to comply with a SACAT order to amend a house rule is guilty of an offence with a maximum penalty of $25,000 (expiation fee $2,000) [s 105C].

Under the Residential Tenancies Act 1995 (SA) a rooming house proprietor has a number of obligations.

Rent and other charges

A rooming house proprietor must not receive extra payments (other than rent or a bond (or both)) as a condition to entering into, renewing or extending a rooming house agreement [s 105E(1)].

While a rooming house proprietor must bear all statutory charges in relation to the premises, they can require residents to make payments for [s 105E(3)]:

Appliances, fixtures and fittings installed after 1 July 2024 must meet minimum efficiency standards [s 105PA and Residential Tenancies Regulations 2010 (SA) reg 11A].

The proprietor must inform the resident in writing, and before the facilities or services are provided to the resident, of the basis on which the charges will be made [see s 105E(3)]. The rooming house proprietor must also provide an itemised account setting out their use of the facilities or services before requiring payment [s 105E(4)].

A proprietor cannot demand more than one week of rent in advance [s 105F(1)] and they cannot require a resident to pay by post-dated cheque [s 105F(3)].

At the request of a resident, a proprietor must, within 7 days, provide a statement to the resident outlining the payment the resident has made, and include information such as the date the payment was received, the amount paid, and whether the payment relates to rent, bond or for facilities and services [see s 105G].

A proprietor must not take or dispose of a resident's property or goods on account of any rent or amount owing to the proprietor. Maximum penalty: $35,000 [see s 105T].

Bonds

A rooming house proprietor cannot require more than one bond for the same rooming house agreement nor can they require the payment of a bond which totals more than 2 weeks of rent under the agreement [s 105K].

A receipt must be provided within 48 hours of payment. The bond must then be lodged with the Commissioner for Consumer Affairs within 4 weeks of receipt (if the person receiving it is a registered agent) or within 2 weeks (if the person receiving it is not a registered agent) [s 105L and reg 9].

From 1 July 2024, a resident may themselves lodge their bond with the Commissioner (Residential Bonds Online) who will then notify the proprietor or the proprietor's agent of the receipt of the amount, including the date it was received, from whom it was received and the relevant premises [s 105L(3) and reg 9]. If an amount received by way of bond is not within the definition of bond, the Commissioner may refund the amount [s 105L(4)].

Access and use of room and facilities

A proprietor must not unreasonably restrict or interfere with a resident's quiet enjoyment, comfort of privacy of facilities or the resident’s room. They must ensure that the resident has reasonable access at all times to their room and to toilet and bathroom facilities.

When exercising their right of entry to the resident’s room, they must do so in a reasonable manner and not stay in the room longer than necessary to achieve the purpose of entry without the resident’s consent.

A proprietor who breaches any of these terms is guilty of an offence for which the maximum penalty is $25,000 [s 105N].

Security

It is a term of a rooming house agreement that a proprietor take reasonable steps to provide and maintain locks and other devices necessary to ensure each resident can make their room reasonably secure.

Neither the proprietor nor the resident can alter or remove a lock or security device without the consent of the other, nor can they unreasonably withhold their consent to the alteration or removal of a lock or security device.

The proprietor has an obligation to take reasonable steps to ensure the security of personal property and must provide each resident with a lockable cupboard (or something similar) within their room for use by them to secure personal property [s 105O].

Repairs and cleanliness

The proprietor must hand over the room to the resident in a reasonable state of cleanliness, and ensure that that the resident’s room and any shared facilities are kept in a reasonable state of repair and cleanliness [s 105P(1)]. If renovations are to be carried out, at least 14 days notice must be given. Where shared bathroom, toilet or laundry facilities are in need of repair, the proprietor must minimise any inconvenience or disruption to residents and, if necessary, provide temporary substitute facilities.

Where repairs are required, the resident must notify the proprietor of the defect requiring repair. A proprietor will not be found to be in breach of their obligation to repair if they were not notified of the defect [s 105P(3)].

Sale of rooming house

If the proprietor intends to sell the rooming house they must give the residents written notice no later than 14 days after entering into a sales agency agreement. The rooming house cannot be advertised for sale or made available for inspection by prospective purchasers until 14 days after the residents have been notified of the intention to sell [s 105Q(2)]. If the rooming house is sold, the proprietor must notify the resident of the purchaser and the date rent is payable to the new proprietor.

Under a rooming house agreement, a resident must:

See Residential Tenancies Act 1995 (SA) s 105R.

If a rooming house proprietor wishes to increase the rent, they must provide written notice stating the date that the increase takes effect [Residential Tenancies Act 1995 (SA) s 105I]. A proprietor may be prohibited from increasing rent if the right to do so has been excluded or limited by the terms of the rooming house agreement. Where accommodation is to be provided for a fixed term, the rooming house agreement is taken to exclude an increase in rent during this time unless there is a specific term allowing for an increase [s 105I].

Where a rent increase is allowed, it must be at least 6 months after the date of the rooming house agreement or, if there has been a previous rent increase, the date of the last rent increase. The proprietor must give at least 4 weeks notice of an increase [s 105I].

Under the Residential Tenancies Act 1995 (SA) a rooming house agreement can be ended by a proprietor or resident in a number of different ways.

Specific forms must be used when giving written notice to terminate a rooming house agreement. These forms may be viewed and downloaded from the SA Government - Forms and Fact sheets for Rooming House Tenancies website.

Termination for abandonment, unpaid rent, damage or breach

A rooming house agreement can terminate when:

* A resident will be taken to have abandoned a room if [s 105U(2)]:

In circumstances where a resident has abandoned a room, the proprietor may seek orders from SACAT relating to the date on which the room was abandoned, and any compensation payable as a result of the abandonment [s 105V].

Termination for prescribed reason

A proprietor may only terminate a periodic agreement for a reason prescribed by regulations [s 105U(6) and Residential Tenancies Regulations 2010 (SA) reg 19I]. At least 60 days notice must be given.

Regulation 19I sets out the following reasons:

In the case of a periodic agreement, a resident may terminate for no reason with one day of notice [s 105U(7)].

If a resident abandons a room in a fixed term rooming house agreement of 6 months or more, they may be liable for costs caused by the abandonment. The proprietor must take reasonable steps to mitigate any loss [see s 105V(3)-(4)].

Termination based on abuse of a rooming house resident

Where an intervention order is in force against a resident for the protection of another resident or domestic abuse has been committed by a resident against another resident, the resident subjected to the abuse may apply to SACATfor an order to either terminate or replace the existing rooming house agreement [s 105UA(1) and (3)]. SACAT must be satisfied that the intervention order is for the protection of the applicant or a domestic associate of the applicant who normally resides in the rooming house, or domestic abuse has been committed against the applicant or their domestic associate who normally resides in the rooming house. The resident against whom the intervention order is in force or who has committed domestic abuse may be required to pay compensation to the proprietor for the termination of the agreement or damage to property [s 105UA(8)-(10)].

Property abandoned by the resident after vacating

Specific rules govern what a proprietor can do with property left behind by a resident who has vacated the rooming house [s 105W and reg 19J].

The proprietor may dispose of or destroy perishable goods at any time after taking back possession of the room [s 105W(1)(a)].

Other property (other than personal documents) must be kept safe for at least 7 days and the proprietor must make reasonable attempts to notify the former resident that they have left property behind [s 105W(1)(b)]. After at least 7 days have passed, the proprietor may dispose of or destroy the items.

Personal documents must be kept safe for at least 7 days, and the proprietor must make reasonable attempts to notify the former resident that personal documents have been left behind at the premises [s 105W(2)]. If the former resident does not reclaim the documents within the 7 day (or more) period, the proprietor can dispose of or destroy the documents after that time.

If the proprietor has incurred reasonable costs in storing the property, they may require the former resident to reimburse them of those costs [s 105W(3)].