The South Australian Government has announced a new set of policies aimed at curbing anti-social behaviour among Housing Trust tenants. This move responds to community concerns and strives to foster a more harmonious living environment.
Under the revamped regulations unveiled by Nick Champion, the Minister for Housing and Urban Development, the former practice of issuing verbal warnings will be discontinued in favour of a more stringent system featuring immediate written warnings. Subsequent infringements will trigger a sequential response including a dispute resolution conference for a second offence and, for a third substantiated complaint, potential eviction via the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (SACAT).
The Minister stated, “The majority of Housing Trust tenants do the right thing and treat their public home and neighbours with care but sometimes a few problematic tenants cause problems for the whole community.”
Accelerating the intervention processes, the new policy also increases the role of conciliation conferences aimed at resolving neighbourhood disputes and engaging tenants in behaviour plans at an early stage. Those who are evicted under these regulations will face a 12-month prohibition before they can reapply for Housing Trust accommodation and will be directed towards homelessness services.
This decision results from the Housing Trust receiving nearly 4000 complaints of antisocial behaviour in the latter half of the previous year, with about 1.3 percent of all Housing Trust tenants currently under a written warning.
Minister Champion spoke about the serious implications of continuous improper tenant conduct, saying, “If problematic tenants continue to ignore official warnings, we will take action to remove them from their public house. Anti-social behaviour can often result in serious damage to the property which places further strain on our maintenance program.”
Housing officials are hopeful these revised rules, which build upon but modify the 2019 policies introduced by the previous Liberal Government, will eliminate ambiguities and reinforce expectations among tenants. The older policy was critiqued for being perceived as too lenient, with tenants often receiving multiple verbal warnings before any substantial action was taken against repeatedly disruptive behaviours.
Implementation of these updated guidelines is scheduled to occur over the coming months as the local government works to ensure clearer communication and enforcement of tenant obligations. The Minister also called on all Housing Trust tenants to maintain respectful and considerate conduct towards their neighbours and public housing properties.
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