Rent is charged every Saturday. You’re responsible for paying rent at least one week in advance. Housing SA tells you if your rent changes.
Unpaid rent becomes a debt you owe to Housing SA.
For public and Aboriginal housing, you will pay either market rent or subsidised rent:
- Market rent is the maximum amount of rent you can be charged. It’s based on the state valuer-general’s assessment of the property you rent and takes into account its size, nature and location.
- Subsidised rent is based on your household’s total assessable income before tax. If you’re eligible for subsidised rent, your rent is no more than 30% of your household’s total assessable income before tax.
Rent reviews
Market rents are reviewed once a year. Subsidised rents are reviewed twice a year or whenever the people in your household or your household income changes.
You might need to provide proof of your household’s income.
Caring arrangements
You need to provide proof of the caring arrangement. You can provide either:
- a letter from a health professional stating who’s providing care, who’s receiving care, and confirming the constant care
- a letter from Centrelink confirming the caring arrangement.
Households with a moderate income
If you have a moderate household income, your subsidised rent will increase in stages from 25% to 30% of your total assessable household income before tax from 1 July 2021.
You have a moderate household income if both these apply:
- your total assessable household income before tax is equal to or more than the moderate rent limits
- you or your partner don’t receive an income support payment from Centrelink or Department of Veterans’ Affairs, for example JobSeeker, Disability Support Pension, Age Pension.
As of 1 July 2021, tenants with a moderate household income will have 26% of the total assessable income used to calculate rent.
Rent increases by 1% of the assessable income twice a year, in line with scheduled subsidised rent reviews in 2022 and 2023.
Increases occur until 30% of the assessable income is used to calculate rent.
This change affects you if all these conditions occur:
- you live in public or community housing, including a public housing property that’s been transferred to a community housing provider since 2015
- you pay subsidised rent
- you have a moderate household income.
You’re not affected by these changes if you live in a remote Aboriginal community.
Changes to the household income
Rent will be 25% of your total assessable household income before tax if your income changes and it’s less than the moderate rent limits.
If it changes and is equal to or more than the moderate rent limits, your rent will be the moderate rent rate applied at the most recent increase.
If you’re no longer eligible for subsidised rent, you’re charged market rent.
Related information
On this site
Having difficulty paying a Housing SA account
Other websites
- Housing Connect - SA Housing Authority
- Rent policy - SA Housing Authority
- Provide feedback about Housing SA - SA Housing Authority
