South Australian Housing Authority data reveals locations of the state’s cheapest, most expensive Trust homes

A discrepancy of more than $400 between the cheapest and most expensive Housing Trust rents in SA have been revealed in new figures from the SA Housing Authority.

The most expensive rent paid for a Housing Trust property in South Australia is $502 per week at a large home in Taperoo.

Elsewhere, tenants are paying as little as $23.30 a week for bedsits or one-bedroom cottages in Kidman Park and Morphettville.

Figures released by the SA Housing Authority show the median rent charged across the state is $104 a week.

While rent is subsidised for about 27,000 public housing tenants, about 4000 others are deemed to be able to pay full market rent, including those living at the Taperoo property.

Human Services Minister Michelle Lensink, pictured, said households charged market rent could have “moderate but unreliable or temporary incomes”, such as casual or contract work.

She said other properties charging market rent housed larger numbers of people “receiving social security, who may enter or exit a home over time”.

She said there were “incentives” to encourage those able to pay market rent to move on to private housing, but the Housing Authority does not keep data on how many tenants transition out of public housing each year.

Housing Trust tenant Carol Newton at her Semaphore Park home of 10 years. She says there is rising damp and mould everywhere and the house is sinking at the front. Photo: Bianca De Marchi

A breakdown by location shows tenants are concentrated in regional centres such as Whyalla Stuart (1279 houses) and Mount Gambier (1132), or southern and northern suburbs such as Morphett Vale (906) and Salisbury North (622).

Suburbs with just one property include Burnside, Banksia Park, Clapham, Hazelwood Park, Manningham, Mitcham, Seacombe Heights and Warradale. The data, released to Parliament in response to questions from Opposition human services spokeswoman Nat Cook, also showed there were more than 258,000 maintenance orders raised across 35,850 Housing Trust properties in 2017-18.

They were mostly for plumbing and drainage (51,200), carpentry (38,063) and electrical (29,762).

Locksmiths were needed more than 13,000 times and painters more than 12,500 times.

Mould on the underside of Housing Trust tenant Carol Newton’s Semaphore Park home. Picture: Bianca De Marchi

Silicone in a gap at Ms Newton’s home, which she says has been sinking. Picture: Bianca De Marchi

There were 8425 calls for rubbish removal, 4516 for house cleaning and 2475 for pest control.

Ms Lensink said she had commissioned an audit of the “run-down” housing stock she “inherited” from the former Labor government and established the new SA Housing Authority to restructure the system. Tenant Carol Newton has lived in a three-bedroom house at Semaphore Park for the past decade.

She said she has struggled with persistent mould, damp and “sinking” floors.

“The wall was covered in mould. I washed everything … they painted over it, but it came back,” the 56-year-old said.

“They’ve had lots of inspectors here (but) the only thing they’re doing is a little bit of cosmetic (change).”

An inspector last visited the property on December 18 and reported “minor” mould.

Ms Cook said tenants were being “left in substandard accommodation without dignity”. She questioned whether Ms Lensink’s restructure of public housing was shifting focus away from “core issues” such as maintenance.

258,251 maintenance orders raised across 35,850 Housing SA properties in 2017-18 including:

Plumbing and drainage (51,200)

Carpentry — 38,063

Electrical — 29,762

Locksmiths — 13,068

Painters — 12,504

Rubbish removal — 8425

House cleaning — 4516

Pest control — 2475

Most expensive rent — $502 per week in Taperoo

Cheapest rent — $23.30 per week in Kidman Park and Morphettville

Suburbs/towns with the most Housing SA properties:

Whyalla Stuart — 1279

Mount Gambier — 1132

Morphett Vale — 906

Port Pirie — 746

Murray Bridge — 711

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