South Australia is in the middle of the most significant overhaul of its rental legislation in three decades. The state government has staged reforms under the Residential Tenancies Act 1995 across 2024, 2025, and 2026, fundamentally reshaping the rights and obligations of tenants and landlords across the state.
If you're renting in Adelaide, the Barossa, or anywhere in South Australia, or you manage an investment property here, these changes are already in effect — and more are still to come. Here's what's changed, what it means in practice, and where the reform program is headed.
The Legislative Framework
The reforms sit within amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act 1995 (SA), South Australia's primary tenancy legislation. The South Australian government has described these as the most substantial tenancy law changes the state has seen in 30 years, touching rent increases, bond processes, tenant protections, landlord compliance, and the application process itself.
The rollout has been deliberate. Rather than a single bill landing all at once, the government has introduced changes in stages: broader structural amendments through 2024, major tenancy law updates taking effect from 1 September 2025, and new administrative requirements from 1 January 2026.
A note on sourcing: South Australia's Consumer and Business Services (CBS) page was unavailable during our research, so this article draws on confirmed details from realestate.com.au, SA Property Central, and AllanRe's reporting on the reforms. Where details come from industry commentary rather than official CBS publications, we've flagged it.
What Changed Through 2024: Structural Amendments
The first phase of reforms introduced broader changes across several areas of the Residential Tenancies Act 1995. These structural amendments laid the groundwork for the more specific measures that followed.
Rent Increase Controls
One of the most consequential changes is the restriction on rent increases. Under the reformed Act, landlords can now only increase rent once every 12 months, and must provide proper notice. This replaces the previous framework where the frequency of increases was less clearly defined, and gives tenants greater certainty about how often they can expect their rent to rise.
In practice, this means a landlord who raises rent in March cannot do so again until March the following year — regardless of whether the tenancy is periodic or a new fixed-term agreement is signed in between.
Bond Reforms
The bond process has been updated with revised lodgement and claim requirements. While the specific operational details are still being embedded across the sector, the intent is to bring greater consistency to how bonds are held, how claims are made, and how disputes are resolved. These changes align SA more closely with the bond frameworks in other states, particularly around evidence requirements when a landlord seeks to make a deduction.
Enhanced Tenant Protections
The 2024 reforms strengthened protections around repairs and maintenance, with updated obligations for landlords to address issues in a timely manner. The Act also advanced discussions around minimum property standards and clarified privacy protections for tenants — areas where South Australia had previously lagged behind Victoria and New South Wales.
Landlord Obligations
Landlords now face updated compliance requirements, including more prescriptive obligations around evidence-based bond claims. The shift here is toward documentation: if you want to claim from a bond, you need to substantiate the claim rather than relying on general impressions of property condition.
What Changed from 1 September 2025
The September 2025 tranche was the most visible step. These updates delivered the core tenancy law changes that had been signalled through the 2024 legislative process, and they apply immediately to new and existing tenancies.
The September changes consolidated the rent increase cap at once per 12 months, formalised the notice requirements for increases, and embedded the bond reforms into operational practice. For landlords and agents, this meant updating lease templates, adjusting systems that had automated more frequent increases, and revising bond claim procedures.
For tenants, the immediate effect was greater predictability. The 12-month cap on rent increases is now clearly enforceable, and the notice requirements give tenants time to assess whether an increase is fair — or whether to challenge it through the appropriate tribunal.
What Changed from 1 January 2026
The January 2026 changes are primarily administrative, but they have real operational implications for landlords and property managers.
Standardised Rental Application — Form A1
All rental applications in South Australia must now use the standardised Form A1. This is a prescriptive, state-mandated application form that replaces the patchwork of agency-specific forms tenants previously encountered.
Key requirements under the new system:
- Each prospective tenant must complete a separate application. Joint applications by couples or housemates are no longer permitted — each person is assessed individually.
- Tenants can now indicate their preferred tenancy duration on the form, giving landlords clearer information about how long a tenant expects to stay.
- The form restricts what information landlords and agents can request, aligning with the privacy and data collection provisions introduced in the 2024 amendments.
The practical effect for tenants is a more uniform experience across agencies. The practical effect for landlords is that they can no longer request information beyond what the Form A1 prescribes — if it's not on the form, you generally can't ask for it.
What This Means for Adelaide's Rental Market
Adelaide's rental market has been under sustained pressure. Vacancy rates have remained tight, median rents have climbed, and the city's appeal as a more affordable alternative to Sydney and Melbourne has driven continued demand. In this context, the staged reforms matter more than they might in a looser market.
For tenants, the 12-month rent increase cap and standardised application form provide tangible protections in a market where competition for properties is high. For landlords, the compliance requirements are real, but they also bring greater consistency — agents across the state are now working from the same playbook.
The bond reforms are perhaps the most significant long-term change. South Australia's previous framework allowed relatively informal bond claims. The new evidence-based approach raises the bar: landlords need to document the property's condition at the start and end of a tenancy, and claims need to be supported by that documentation. In a market where turnover is frequent, this puts a premium on good property condition reporting.
The Broader Context
South Australia's reforms are part of a national trend. Over the past two years, every major Australian state has moved to strengthen tenant protections — Victoria with its no-fault eviction ban and minimum standards framework, New South Wales with its rent increase caps, and Queensland with its own tenancy reform program.
What distinguishes South Australia's approach is the staging. Rather than one large bill with a single implementation date, the government has rolled changes out over three years, giving the sector time to absorb and adapt. Whether that measured approach is a virtue or simply slower than it needed to be is a matter of perspective.
What is not in doubt is that the direction of travel is clear: more tenant protections, more landlord obligations, more documentation requirements, and more consistency across the sector. For anyone renting or owning property in South Australia, the message is straightforward — the rules have changed, and they're still changing.
If you're a landlord, audit your bond claim procedures, ensure you're using the Form A1 for all new applications, and review your rent increase schedule against the 12-month cap. If you're a renter, know that the standardised application process is now in your favour, and that your rights around rent increases and bond deductions have been strengthened.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often can rent be increased in South Australia?
Under the reformed Residential Tenancies Act 1995, landlords can only increase rent once every 12 months. Proper notice must be given for each increase. This applies to both periodic and fixed-term tenancies and took effect as part of the staged reforms through 2024 and September 2025.
What is the Form A1 rental application?
From 1 January 2026, all rental applications in South Australia must use the standardised Form A1. Each prospective tenant must complete a separate application, and tenants can indicate their preferred tenancy duration. The form replaces agency-specific application forms and limits what information landlords can request.
Do tenants need to apply individually under the new rules?
Yes. From 1 January 2026, each prospective tenant must complete a separate Form A1 application. Joint applications by couples or housemates are no longer permitted. Each applicant is assessed individually.
How have bond claims changed in South Australia?
The reforms introduced updated lodgement and claim processes, with an emphasis on evidence-based claims. Landlords seeking to make a bond deduction now need to substantiate their claim with documentation — condition reports, invoices, and photographic evidence — rather than relying on general impressions of property condition.
What tenant protections were introduced in 2024?
The 2024 amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act 1995 strengthened tenant protections around repairs and maintenance, advanced minimum property standards discussions, clarified privacy protections, and updated landlord compliance requirements. These structural changes laid the groundwork for the more specific measures introduced in September 2025 and January 2026.