SACAT is the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. They resolve issues within specific areas of the law and can hold conferences, conciliations or mediations and formal hearings. They also conduct reviews of government department decisions. Within the perimeters of Property Management, they make decisions around residential housing and in line with the Residential Tenancies Act 1995.

When do we need to engage SACAT?

• a breach of the tenancy agreement (rent arrears, water arrears, damages to the property etc)

• the tenant disputes a bond refund

• in some cases, a tenant may apply to SACAT to seek termination of their tenancy or compensation

The application is done online and an application fee applies (this is not refundable should the hearing be cancelled, nor can the landlord seek reimbursement from the tenant).

SACAT application link: SACAT Online Services | South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal

IMPORTANT:

• All documentation to support your claim must be attached to the application otherwise the hearing will not be listed so it is important to have all of this ready when doing your application. There is a fee for lodging the application which needs to be discussed with the landlord as this fee is non-refundable or recoverable from the tenant.

• Please also check the Management Agreement if there a Tribunal Attendance fee we can charge too.

• The landlord's name and address MUST be entered onto the application form.

• If the landlord lives interstate, the matter will be referred to the Magistrates Court as the landlord (as a party to the claim being made) is not a resident of South Australia and the tribunal has no jurisdiction to hear the matter.

Documentation required:

• copy of tenancy agreement & subsequent lease renewals (mandatory)

• rent ledger (mandatory)

• If a tenancy breach, a copy of the Notice of Termination Form 5 (mandatory)

Other documentation (depending on your claim)

• Ingoing & final inspection reports

• Up to 30 photos of the issues

• Invoices/quotes for work done/to be done

• Outstanding tenant invoices

• Email correspondence, text messages or other documentation around discussions with tenant

• History of maintenance work reported/actioned

Keep all of these documents on hand as to you may need to present them again at the hearing or conference.

Conciliation hearing v tribunal hearing

A conciliation conference is a face-to-face meeting held by the conciliator with the people directly involved in the complaint and usually revolves around bond or compensation claims. The meeting is an opportunity to:

• talk about the matter and look for ways to resolve it

• discuss openly, as nothing said or done can be used in further proceedings

• reach an agreement without admission of liability

• resolve the problem impartially and confidentially.

A tribunal hearing is held where there is a breach of the tenancy which has not been remedied or if no agreement can be reached at a conciliation conference. The hearing will have one Tribunal member who will oversee the hearing and will generally hear evidence from witnesses and consider documents before making a decision on the case.

For further information as to what you can expect at a hearing, click on

What to expect at a hearing | South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (sacat.sa.gov.au)