If you're the tenant who signed the Housing SA conditions of tenancy, you may be able to buy your public housing property.
Not all properties are for sale.
Before you begin
If you have a debt to Housing SA, you'll need to do either of these:
- repay the debt in full before contacting the Tenant Sales Officer to see if the property is for sale
- provide proof your lending institution has added your debt to their loan approval.
Buying shares in your property
If you're a tenant who signed a Progressive Purchase/Shared Ownership Scheme agreement with Housing SA, you may purchase further shares or the final share in the property.
1. Contact your lender
Contact your lending institution – for example, HomeStart – to see if you're eligible for a loan, and get an approval in principle letter.
2. Contact the Tenant Sales Officer
The Tenant Sales Officer will advise you of the next steps.
No new applications are being accepted for the Progressive Purchase/Shared Ownership Scheme.
Buying your property
1. Contact your lender
Contact your lending institution – for example, HomeStart – to see if you're eligible for a loan, and get an approval in principle letter.
2. Contact the Tenant Sales Officer
Complete a request to purchase form (169.3 KB PDF).
Send the completed form and your approval in principle letter to the Tenant Sales Officer.
A property assessment will be carried out to decide if the property can be sold.
3. Valuation
If your property is available for sale, SA Housing Authority arranges an independent valuer to value the property.
Allowances may be made for any improvements that you have added to the property if they have been approved by Housing SA and add value.
4. Offer of sale
You’ll be sent an offer letter and an application to purchase form. The offer is valid for 30 days.
If you disagree with the valuation, contact the Tenant Sales Officer.
If you want to continue with the purchase, complete and return the application to purchase form to the Tenant Sales Officer.
The tenant must be included in the contract of sale and the certificate of title to the property. The tenant's interest in the property can’t be assigned to another party. Other parties may be listed as joint purchasers.
The SA Housing Authority doesn't provide a building and pest inspection report as part of the sales contract and strongly encourages all tenants to obtain their own independent report before committing to purchasing their rental property.
If you don't respond within 30 days, the offer expires. SA Housing Authority isn’t obliged to offer the property for sale again.
If your property is not for sale
Not all properties are for sale. This can be because:
- it’s required for future development
- major upgrading has been carried out
- it doesn’t have a separate title
- it’s in a high demand area
- it's suitable for the long-term housing of high needs customers.
If your property isn't for sale, you may be able to buy a vacant public housing property through HomeSeeker SA.
