Request repairs to public housing

Report a need for maintenance or repairs to the SA Housing Trust. They can organise for a contractor to carry out the work. This includes if the repair is needed due to damage or general wear and tear.

All damage must be reported whether it was caused by:

• someone in your household
• someone else
• natural disaster or accident.

Urgent repairs

You can request urgent repairs anytime by phone on 131 288

Report any situation posing an immediate danger to your health and safety or that could cause further damage if left unattended.

What is an urgent repair

Urgent repairs must be reported by phone and can include:

• damage caused by a disaster or incident, for example storm damage, major flooding or a fire
• major roof leaks
• an uncontrolled burst hot or cold water service such as a pipe or hot water unit
• a gas leak
• exposed electrical parts
• completely blocked or broken sewerage systems.

Non-urgent maintenance and repairs

For non-urgent maintenance and repairs, you can:

• request using your Housing Connect account
• if you don't have a Housing Connect account, report non-urgent repairs online
• call SA Housing Trust Maintenance anytime on 131 288.

What are non-urgent repairs

Non-urgent repairs include:

• dripping taps
• leaking gutters
• wall cracking
• concreting
• fencing
• replacing kitchen fixtures.

Repairs in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands and Dunjiba

Report all maintenance issues to the Umuwa SA Housing Trust office — don't contact SA Housing Trust Maintenance.

Phone: 8954 8188

What happens next

The SA Housing Trust will organise a contractor to begin work once they know:

• when you will be home
• the type of work that's needed
• when the contractor is in the community, if you live in the APY lands or Dunjiba.

You must be home to give the contractor access to the property. If you're not home, you could be charged a call-out fee. Call-out fees aren’t charged for tenants living in remote Aboriginal communities.

The SA Housing Trust can arrange for a contractor to carry out the work in your home after you report a maintenance issue. The contractor could contact you to arrange a time for the repairs to be carried out. If you aren't at home they will leave a card with:

• their name, address and contact details
• the date and time they called
• why they called.

Get back to them as soon as possible to organise a time to carry out the repairs.

The contractor must:

• show you their identification before entering your home
• make sure the work area is left in a safe, clean and tidy condition at the end of each working day
• remove any rubbish they create
• be polite and respectful to you, your home and your possessions.

The contractor has the right to leave without carrying out or completing repairs if:

• you refuse to stop smoking around them
• their safety is threatened, for example, someone threatens them, or an aggressive dog isn't properly restrained.

You are breaking the conditions of your lease agreement if you:

• refuse to give the contractor access to your property to carry out the repairs
• harass, threaten or act aggressively towards a contractor.

Help the contractor by:

• keeping children and pets out of the way
• moving any furniture or other items that are in the way.

Contact SA Housing Trust Maintenance if you are:

• not happy with a contractor's behaviour
• concerned about the standard of the work
• not satisfied with how long it has taken the contractor to call or to carry out the work.

Phone: 131 288

If you live in the APY lands report feedback to the Umuwa SA Housing Trust office.

Phone: 8954 8188

Timeframes for emergency repairs

Work starts within 4 hours after an emergency repair is reported.

In the APY lands and Dunjiba, emergency repairs start:

• the same day if it’s reported before 1:00pm
• the next calendar day if it’s reported after 1:00pm.

Who pays for repairs

The tenants won't be charged for:

• maintenance and repairs needed because of the property's age or its reasonable use, for example, rusted flyscreens, leaky taps or worn floor coverings – this is considered fair wear and tear
• repairs if the damage was caused by someone else's illegal act, for example, damage to the back door from an attempted break-in.

The SA Housing Trust will need proof of the illegal act. Make sure you:

1. Report the incident to police and ask for a report number.
2. Give SA Housing Trust Maintenance that number when you report the damage.

Tenants are charged for repairs when the:

• tenant, someone living with them or a visitor caused the damage, either deliberately or accidentally – for example, a visitor breaks a window
• property has been neglected or not kept in good condition – for example, repair of scorch marks on kitchen benches or removing stains on walls and floors.

Disputes

To dispute a maintenance charge phone SA Housing Trust customer service on 131 299.

Check repair status

Check a repair's status with your Housing Connect account.

Related information

On this site

Lease agreements in public housing

Other websites

Maintenance policy - SA Housing Trust

Remote Aboriginal Communities policy - SA Housing Trust