Choosing a tenant

Both tenants and landlords have legal responsibilities, whether the landlord manages a rental property themselves or employs an agent to manage it for them.

Anyone employed by a land agent who manages residential properties must complete specific training and be registered with CBS.

A landlord or their agent can't invite rent bidding by seeking offers for rent higher than the fixed amount in the residential tenancy agreement. An application form must state how much weekly rent is payable and the amount of bond, if any.

If the property is intended to be sold within 3 months of a new tenancy agreement, this must be included in any advertising, and all prospective tenants must be informed.

Choosing a suitable tenant

Discrimination

A landlord has the right to choose a suitable tenant but it's against the law to make this decision based on personal characteristics.

More information is available on the Office of the Commissioner for Equal Opportunity website.

Rental application form

Prospective tenants can be asked to complete a rental application form, which may ask about their:

identity
contact details
likely occupants - however they can’t ask if a child or children will live at the premises, unless the agent/landlord also lives there, but they may clarify if the prospective tenant is 18 or over so they are legally allowed to sign the tenancy agreement
previous rental details, but not previous rental disputes
length of time they plan to rent.

Requests for financial and employment information regarding a prospective tenant are limited to:

a bank or financial statement with outgoing transactions and bank account numbers redacted or removed
a payslip or document confirming their employment
a document directly relating to financial capacity.

A prospective tenant can’t be asked to provide more than 2 documents relating to each of the following categories:

identity verification
ability to pay rent
suitability to enter into the tenancy agreement.

This does not prevent a tenant from offering further documentation to the landlord, if it might assist their rental application.

Landlords and agents can't request certain information including details about:

any past legal action
past tenancy agreement breaches, unless subsequent breaches resulted in termination of the tenancy
help being sought with bond payment
past bonds and possible claims
past tenancy with the South Australian Housing Trust
bank or financial statements without the account number and outgoing transactions redacted or removed
financial information and any discharge from bankruptcy
information relating to employment, other than a payslip or document confirming employment
medical records
information relating to the tenant on social media
vehicle registration number
pet microchip number
level of education
reason for moving into the premises.

See full details in the Tenant information fact sheet (250KB PDF).

Rental history

When asking about a prospective tenant’s previous rental history, make sure you only request information you're legally allowed to.

Consumer and Business Services doesn't provide a rental application form.

Landlord's legal responsibilities

By law, the landlord must give the tenant this information at the start of the tenancy:

Tenant information guide (290KB PDF) - general rights and obligations of landlords and tenants
Section 48 notice (472KB PDF) - landlord/agent contact details
Lease agreement - if in writing, it must be signed and include the lease terms and contact details for the agent/landlord and tenant
Inspection sheet (230KB PDF) - record of the property condition at start and end.

The landlord must also:

offer the property in a clean and reasonable state, that also meets minimum housing standards
give written or verbal instructions for any domestic appliances
provide a copy of the signed agreement
provide a receipt for bond paid to them and lodge it within two weeks
keep a record of rent paid and provide a receipt if it's not paid into a bank account
ensure the property's locks will keep it reasonably secure.