SA’s Housing Trust homes face a ‘high volume’ backlog of maintenance work

A young woman has told of her frustration at waiting half a year for a dangerous ceiling collapse in her public housing flat to be fixed – with calls to authorities ignored.

Damage to a Housing Trust property in Adelaide’s east, which its tenant says took more than five months to fix. Picture: supplied

South Australia’s housing crisis is worsening after the taxpayer spending watchdog found a high volume of delayed, or overdue, works to fix crumbling public homes.

Auditor General Andrew Richardson has warned of problems with three “underperforming” private firms that received more than $1bn for SA Housing Trust maintenance.

While the Opposition claimed the new service contract had made the system and dire housing shortage “even worse”, the government said overdue work orders had fallen 11 per cent.

One tenant, who declined to be named, reported a more than five-month wait to fix a dangerous ceiling collapse to her eastern suburbs flat.

Damage to a Housing Trust property. Picture: supplied

Its tenant, who declined to be named, says took more than five months to fix. Picture: supplied

She said authorities told her to avoid the dangerous room but she claimed they ignored her pleas to fix it for months. Pictures: supplied

The woman, aged in her 30s, told of her frustration at her calls being ignored and delays to repairing the roof, after authorities told her to avoid the dangerous room.

The state’s chief auditor found 2022 incomplete work orders.

In his annual report tabled in state parliament last week, Mr Richardson highlighted problems with the eight year contract, which come into effect from January this year.

“The SAHT has identified that the [contractors] are underperforming,” his report stated.

“Of note is the high number of overdue orders for maintenance work and delays in completing urgent high priority work.”

He said an underperforming contractor had “uncompleted work orders pre‐dating 1 January 2023” that frustrated tenants despite the Trust advising jobs were “low priority and low risk”.

Mr Richardson did not name providers but Housing SA’s website states Spotless Facility Services covers Adelaide, Hills, Barossa Valley and Fleurieu Peninsula.

Others contractors are Torrens Facility Management for the Riverland and South-East while RTC Facilities Maintenance (SA) covers the Western Country Far North.

The Auditor General noted an overhaul to maintenance for the state’s 33,000 rental properties – valued at more than $13.2bn – included reducing 14 contract zones to six larger areas.

The Trust now conducts performance and monthly operational meetings and quarterly review meetings with each provider, he said.

His report stated two contractors, including the largest, must also now complete “service improvement plans” and report to government bosses weekly.

The government can make bonus payments for early work and penalties including reducing payments for late jobs.

Tenants can access various supports including temporary accommodation.

Figures show more than 140,000 maintenance requests are logged a year, which are categorised in four priority levels.

Official data reveals almost 13,000 current overdue jobs, compared with last year’s 14,346.

Opposition spokeswoman, former Liberal minster Michelle Lensink, has received a “huge number” of complaints from frustrated tenants with Labor’s “disaster” maintenance program.

“(Human Services Minister) Nat Cook made many promises before the election about Labor’s housing trust maintenance blitz, but is failing to deliver,” she said.

“We know, in the midst of a housing crisis, there are hundreds of vacant homes not being used because Labor’s maintenance services have made the system even worse.

“It’s sad that our most vulnerable are being forced to pay the price for the Minister’s failure.”

Ms Cook said she was pleased overdue work orders had reduced 11 per cent

“We’re aiming to improve maintenance standards and provide tenants better service,” she said.

“We are doing this under tough conditions including a very tight labour market and supply chain issues that are affecting the wider building and construction sector here and across the nation.”

She criticised “cheap political point scoring” from the Liberals that “kicked the can down the road”.

Originally published as SA’s Housing Trust homes face a ‘high volume’ backlog of maintenance work