What is a no-fault eviction in South Australia?
No, no-fault evictions are no longer legal in South Australia. Recent law changes require landlords to provide a specific, legally valid reason—such as selling the property, conducting major renovations, or moving in themselves—before they can end a periodic lease or refuse to renew a fixed-term agreement.
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How it works in practice
A no-fault eviction historically allowed a landlord to ask a tenant to leave a rental property without providing any specific reason, even if the tenant had paid rent on time and looked after the home perfectly.
The Law in South Australia
In South Australia, major changes to the Residential Tenancies Act 1995, which came into effect in 2024, have abolished this practice. This update is designed to provide tenants with greater security and stability.
Under the updated laws, your landlord must provide a legally valid, prescribed reason if they want to end a periodic lease or if they choose not to renew a fixed-term lease at the end of its term.
New Prescribed Reasons
Valid reasons include the landlord or their immediate family needing the property for their own occupation, intending to sell the property, or planning to undertake major renovations that require the property to be vacant.
Notice Requirements
If your landlord issues an eviction notice, they must use the correct legal form and explicitly state the reason for the eviction. They must also provide the required notice period, which is typically 60 days for prescribed reasons like selling. If they fail to provide a valid reason or use the incorrect form, the notice is legally invalid, and you do not have to move out.
Important exceptions
If you have breached your tenancy agreement—such as falling significantly behind on rent, causing malicious damage to the property, or continuously disturbing neighbors—your landlord does not need a "no-fault" reason. They can issue a termination notice for breach of contract, which usually carries a much shorter notice period.
Additionally, these new protections primarily cover standard residential tenancies. Different rules may apply if you are living in emergency housing, short-term holiday accommodations, or certain types of commercial or transitional rooming house agreements where standard residential protections might be legally restricted or fundamentally altered.
What you should do now
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Read any termination notice carefully to ensure your landlord has explicitly stated a legally valid reason for asking you to leave.
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Check the date on the notice to confirm you have been given the correct amount of legal notice for the stated reason.
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Contact RentRight SA or Consumer and Business Services (CBS) immediately if the notice lacks a reason or you believe the reason is fake.
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Keep paying your rent on time while you challenge the notice to avoid giving the landlord a valid reason to evict you for rent arrears.
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Apply to the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (SACAT) if you need a formal legal ruling to cancel an invalid eviction notice.
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