Residential Tenancies

Ms THOMPSON (Davenport) (15:19): My question is to the Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs. Can the minister update the house on progress of changes to the Residential Tenancies Act?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS (Enfield—Minister for Small and Family Business, Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs, Minister for Arts) (15:20): I want to thank the member for Davenport for her question and for her ongoing advocacy for her constituents in the residential tenancies space. Landlords play a vital role in the South Australian housing sector. What we have been doing in the residential tenancies policy space is ensuring we get the balance right between protecting the interests of landlords and tenants. It is a delicate balance, and I believe we do have that balance right with our reforms of the Residential Tenancies Act.

Thanks to the advocacy of members on this side of the chamber, we have ensured that tenants' housing security is improved through these changes, all the while ensuring that landlords' property rights are protected. The Malinauskas government has introduced and passed two bills in this place amending the Residential Tenancies Act. We had an immediate priorities bill in early 2023 that addressed some immediate concerns we had in the sector and, of course, a more comprehensive residential tenancies amendment bill that addressed a wider variety of issues. That passed the parliament late last year.

As you know, Mr Speaker, these bills were the most comprehensive reforms to South Australia's rental laws in a generation. They ensure that tenants are protected in prescribed grounds being required to terminate or not renew a tenancy; the notice period to end a tenancy is extended from 28 days to 60 days; tenants are allowed to have pets in rental homes with reasonable conditions; rental properties comply with minimum housing standards; and there are additional supports in the amendment act for victims of domestic violence.

Importantly, we also lifted the bond threshold from $250 to $800, meaning that for most properties now a four-week bond would be allowed to be requested from landlords. Previously, for any property where the rent exceeded $250 per week, landlords were able to request six-week bonds. That has now increased to $800. That has had a massive impact on South Australian renters. We have saved renters up to a whopping $40 million since that bond threshold change was regulated in April last year. That's a step in the right direction to address rental affordability for South Australians. That bond threshold had not changed for 20 years and was completely out of step with today's rental prices.

The Malinauskas government stepped up to ensure that we could make renting more affordable for families out there who are struggling to find the money to pay bonds and secure their rental properties. We have put that money back in their pockets—as I said, $40 million in a year. It is money that can be used to cool or heat their homes, provide meals for their families, schooling and education and other expenses.

We also took steps to stamp out rent bidding. Our changes require landlords or agents to advertise rental premises under a residential tenancy agreement for a fixed amount now. I think anyone in this place who has searched for properties online can understand the frustration when you are seeing properties advertised with a price range. Particularly frustrating is the 'contact the agent' quote. We have abolished that. The same section also prevents landlords and agents from inviting offers of rents for amounts that are higher than the advertised amount.

Since these provisions commenced on 1 January last year, I am told that Consumer and Business Services has received 46 complaints relating to these new offences. Forty of those complaints relate to advertising properties for a range rather than a fixed price; six complaints related to inviting higher offers than the advertised rent amount. Of that, we have had 15 written warnings issued for expiation notices and a number of others are still under investigation.