The State Government will introduce new policies to crackdown on anti-social behaviour by Housing Trust tenants.

The State Government is making changes to the way the Housing Trust will deal with anti-social behaviour, with the new approach to remove the use of verbal warnings and be replaced by written, formal warnings in the first instance.

A second substantiated complaint within a reasonable timeframe will be referred to dispute resolution conference.

A third substantiated complaint would be followed by an application to the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (SACAT) for eviction.

Instances of serious or illegal behaviour will continue to be immediately referred to SACAT.

Further changes will increase the use of conciliation conferences, encouraging tenants to participate in the resolution of neighbourhood disputes and engage in behaviour plans earlier.

Tenants who are removed from Housing Trust properties are not able to apply for another Housing Trust property for a minimum of 12 months and will be directed towards homelessness services.

These changes will be introduced over the next few months and will provide greater clarity on expectations of tenant behaviour.

The Housing Trust received almost 4000 complaints related to antisocial behaviour in the six months to December 31.

There’s currently 410 tenants with a written warning, which is approximately 1.3 per cent of all Housing Trust tenants.

Anti-social behaviour can often result in damage to properties which then require repairs. This places further pressure on the maintenance schedule and vacancy upgrades.

The new rules build upon the 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 has resulted in a perception that Housing Trust is too lenient or takes too long to address concerns and complaints.