New rules that will require public housing tenants who engage in antisocial behaviour to immediately rectify their behaviour will be introduced this month, as the Malinauskas Labor Government continues to make Housing Trust sites safer and more secure.
The SA Housing Trust's Good Neighbour Policy will strengthen the existing three-strikes warning system by requiring tenants who have an antisocial behaviour complaint substantiated against them to take immediate steps to amend their behaviour.
Tenants who breach their tenancy conditions after a formal warning will be invited to a conciliation conference through the SA Civil and Administrative Tribunal (SACAT).
This process will look to help tenants understand what needs to change with tenants and the Trust entering into behaviour agreements.
If this agreement is breached, the Housing Trust will make an application to the Tribunal for eviction.
This policy follows the removal of verbal warnings and going straight to formal written warnings to tenants in March this year, which has seen an 86% increase on formal warnings issued between March and July as there was during the same period last year.
Removing verbal warnings remedied a policy implemented by the former Liberal Government in 2019 which stated that a tenant can receive single or multiple verbal warnings before more responsive action is taken. This resulted in a perception that Housing Trust is too lenient or took too long to address concerns and complaints.
The Housing Trust is introducing a new triaging approach to improve responses into serious antisocial behaviour and serious conduct. This means that complaints that meet the threshold for serious breaches will be prioritised for action.
The introduction of the Good Neighbour Policy complements the Malinauskas Government's swift measures to tackle anti-social behaviour at Housing Trust sites at Gilberton.
These sites have been made more safe and secure through more regular security patrols and rubbish removal and improvements to the amenities across both locations.
As put by Nick Champion
We want to work with Housing Trust tenants to prevent antisocial behaviour before it becomes a problem
Our new Good Neighbour Policy leaves two choices for the small cohort of Housing Trust tenants who engage in antisocial behaviour: change your conduct or face eviction.
We are putting tenants who are antisocial on notice that they will not get away with bad behaviour. Tenants with one substantiated serious complaint against them will have to immediately start restitution or face eviction.
Most Housing Trust tenants are already good neighbours. The new Good Neighbour Policy will further keep those people safe and secure inside their homes.
