The heater doesn't work, or there's water coming in, or the oven has been broken for a month. You know your landlord is supposed to fix it. You haven't asked, because you don't want to be the tenant who causes trouble, and you can't afford to lose the house. This page is about that fear, and what South Australian law actually does about it.
- Asking for a repair is your right. Your landlord has to keep the place in reasonable repair, even if the problem was already there when you moved in (s.68).
- Since 1 July 2024, a landlord can't end your tenancy without a reason the law lists. "The tenant asked for repairs" isn't on any of those lists.
- If a notice to leave was wholly or partly motivated by you asserting your rights, SACAT can declare it has no effect (s.90A).
- Put the request in writing. Your landlord isn't in breach until they know about the problem, and a written request is how you show they knew.
That fear made more sense a few years ago than it does now. Until 1 July 2024, a landlord in South Australia could end a periodic tenancy without giving any reason at all. That power is gone. The law has also had a specific protection against retaliation since the same date. Neither change helps you if you don't know about it, so here they are.
Your landlord's duty to repair
Section 68 makes it a term of every residential tenancy agreement that the landlord will keep the premises in a reasonable state of repair:
"…will ensure that the premises, and ancillary property, are in a reasonable state of repair at the beginning of the tenancy and will keep them in a reasonable state of repair having regard to their age, character and prospective life"
Two things about that duty are worth knowing.
It applies even if you knew about the problem when you moved in. Section 68(1a) says so directly. Signing a lease on a place with a dodgy hot water system doesn't mean you accepted the dodgy hot water system.
The landlord isn't in breach until they know. Under s.68(2), a landlord is only in breach of the duty to repair if they have notice of the defect and fail to act with reasonable diligence to have it fixed. So the request isn't just a courtesy. It's what starts their obligation running.
The Act doesn't give a number of days or hours for a landlord to fix anything. The test is "reasonable diligence". If you've read that SA landlords must fix urgent repairs within 24 or 48 hours, that's another state's rule or a guess. It isn't in the South Australian Act.
A landlord needs a listed reason to end your tenancy
Since 1 July 2024, a landlord needs a ground set out in the Act or the Regulations to end a tenancy. Which list applies depends on your tenancy:
Periodic (no end date)
- Demolition, repairs or renovations that can't conveniently be done with you there, the owner or close family moving in, or a sale needing vacant possession: at least 60 days, or one rent period if that's longer (s.81)
- Seven other grounds, all about the tenant's conduct or eligibility, such as threats, an unauthorised pet, or no longer being a student or employee where that was a term: at least 90 days (s.83, reg 24)
Fixed term, ending at its end date
- One of eighteen grounds set out in reg 25, given with at least 60 days' notice (s.83A)
- If no notice is given, the agreement carries on as a periodic tenancy
A landlord can also act if you breach the agreement, for example by not paying rent. Asking your landlord to meet their own obligation isn't a breach of yours.
Every landlord's notice has to be in writing, on the prescribed form, signed, and has to give reasonable particulars of the ground (s.91). A text saying "we'll be needing the place back" isn't a notice of termination.
One ground on both lists is that the landlord needs the place empty for repairs or renovations that can't conveniently be carried out with you living there (s.81(1)(b); reg 25(1)(b)). It's a real ground, but it comes with protections. The notice must come with written evidence, approved by the Commissioner, supporting the ground (s.91(1)(ea), reg 32). Stating a false ground in a s.81 notice is an offence with a maximum penalty of $50,000 (s.81(3)). And once a landlord gets the place back on this ground, they can't let it out again as a home for 6 months without SACAT's consent (s.81(4) for periodic tenancies; s.91A and reg 33 at the end of a fixed term).
What section 90A does about retaliation
Section 90A gives SACAT the power to deal with a notice that was really about you standing up for yourself. SACAT can find a notice of termination is retaliatory if it is satisfied the landlord was:
"…wholly or partly motivated to give the notice or make the application for any of the following reasons: (a) the tenant had applied or proposed to apply to the Tribunal for an order; (b) the tenant had taken or proposed to take any other action to enforce a right of the tenant under the residential tenancy agreement, this Act or any other law; (c) an order of the Tribunal was in force in relation to the landlord and tenant."
"Wholly or partly" is a low bar. The landlord doesn't have to have acted only because of your repair request. It's enough if it was part of the reason.
If SACAT is satisfied, it can declare the notice has no effect, or refuse to make an order ending your tenancy (s.90A(1)). You can apply yourself, or raise it in proceedings about ending the tenancy.
SACAT can also, on its own initiative, order the landlord to pay up to $5,000 into the Residential Tenancies Fund (s.90A(2)). That money goes to the Fund, not to you. It isn't compensation, but it does mean a retaliatory notice can cost a landlord.
What s.90A covers
- A notice of termination given by the landlord
- An application by the landlord to SACAT, for example to end the tenancy
What it doesn't cover
- A rent increase. Section 90A is about notices and applications to end a tenancy, not rent. There's a separate route for rent, below.
If the rent goes up after you ask
A rent increase has its own rules. It needs at least 60 days' written notice, and can't come within 12 months of the start of the agreement or the last increase (s.55). If the new amount itself is too high, you can apply to SACAT to have it declared excessive, but you must apply within 90 days of the notice (s.56). While that application is under way, a landlord can't use the s.83 grounds to end a periodic tenancy (s.83(2)). Our rent increases guide covers this in full.
And the tenancy database
Some people worry that a "difficult" tenant ends up on a blacklist. A landlord or agent can only list you on a residential tenancy database if the tenancy has ended, you breached the agreement, and because of that breach you owe more than the bond or SACAT ended the tenancy (s.99F). Asking for a repair meets none of those conditions.
How to ask, step by step
Put it in writing
The law requires the landlord to have notice (s.68(2)). It doesn't say the notice has to be written. In practice, an email or letter is how you prove they knew, and when. Say what's wrong, where it is, when you noticed it, and how it affects you. Attach a photo if you can.
Keep it factual, and keep a copy
In practice, a calm, specific request is hard to paint as being difficult. If you've asked before by phone, say so and give the date. Save the email or a copy of the letter.
Give them a reasonable chance to act
There's no fixed number of days in the Act. The standard is reasonable diligence (s.68(2)). If tradespeople need to come in, they need 48 hours' notice unless you asked them to come (s.72(1)(e)).
If nothing happens
Follow up in writing. Then you have two routes. RentRight SA can help you decide which fits.
- Get it fixed yourself and recover the cost (s.68(3)). Only if the problem is likely to cause injury, damage to property or undue inconvenience, and your landlord hasn't taken reasonable action. The work must be done by a licensed tradesperson, who gives your landlord a report on the work and its apparent cause. Every condition has to be met, so get advice first.
- Apply to SACAT. It can order your landlord to comply, and to pay compensation you're entitled to under s.68 (s.68(5), s.110).
If a notice to leave arrives
Don't ignore it, and don't assume you have to go. Check it's on the right form, signed, and gives a ground (s.91). Call RentRight SA. If you believe it was wholly or partly about your repair request, you can apply to SACAT under s.90A. In practice, apply well before the date in the notice, and bring your written repair requests. They show what you asked for and when.
Three things we haven't verified, so we don't state them. First, how SACAT decides in practice whether a landlord was "wholly or partly motivated" by a repair request: what evidence it looks for, and how much weight it gives to timing. We haven't read SACAT decisions on s.90A. Second, whether there is a deadline for a s.90A application. The section itself doesn't set one, and the Regulations add no requirements for it, but we haven't checked SACAT's own rules. That's why we say apply before the date in the notice. Third, what "reasonable diligence" means in days for a given repair. The Act deliberately doesn't say, and we haven't read decisions on it.
RentRight SA
Free advice about your own situation
1800 060 462
SACAT
Applications, including under s.90A
1800 723 767
The bottom line: the fear is understandable, but the law changed in 2024. Your landlord needs a listed reason to end your tenancy, asking for repairs isn't one, and a notice that was even partly payback for asking can be set aside. The written request that gets your repair done is also the record that protects you if anything goes wrong.
Common questions
Can my landlord evict me for asking for repairs in South Australia?
Not lawfully on that basis. Since 1 July 2024 a landlord needs a ground set out in the Act or Regulations to end a tenancy, and asking for repairs isn't one. If a notice was wholly or partly motivated by you enforcing your rights, SACAT can declare it has no effect under s.90A.
Do I have to ask for repairs in writing?
The Act requires the landlord to have notice of the problem (s.68(2)) but doesn't say it must be written. In practice, a written request is how you prove they knew and when, so it's worth doing every time.
How long does my landlord have to fix something in SA?
The Act sets no number of days. The standard is that the landlord must act with reasonable diligence once they know about the problem (s.68(2)).
Does the retaliation protection cover a rent increase?
No. Section 90A deals with notices and applications to end a tenancy. A rent increase is dealt with under ss.55 and 56, including the 90-day window to apply to SACAT if the rent is excessive.
Sources
This page doesn't ask you to take our word for it. These are the provisions it relies on. Look them up yourself.
- s.55
- s.56
- s.68(1)
- s.68(1a)
- s.68(2)
- s.68(3)
- s.68(5)
- s.72(1)(e)
- s.81
- s.83
- s.83A
- s.90A
- s.91
- s.91A
- s.99F
- s.110
- reg 24
- reg 25
- reg 32
- reg 33
Residential Tenancies Act 1995 (SA), authorised version 15.1.2026. On that page, take the link marked Current.
Residential Tenancies Regulations 2025 (SA), authorised version 1.9.2025. Covers the grounds lists (regs 24 and 25), the evidence requirement (reg 32) and the re-letting ban at the end of a fixed term (reg 33).
The statement that the Act sets no repair deadline is a negative finding: s.68 was read in full and contains only the "reasonable diligence" and "reasonable action" standards. Section 90A and regs 24, 25, 32 and 33 were read in full from the authorised versions on 12 October 2026. Every rule on LucidLaw is read at the source and recorded with its section. Where something can't be verified against the legislation, we don't state it. How we check this.
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