Repairs

You can report a repair or maintenance item to us by contacting our Customer Services Team on 1300 153 850 or by emailing us at infosa@hcau.org.au. After hours and on weekends, your call will be answered by our contractor, Maintenance Matters.

When reporting a repair, you will be asked questions to determine the exact nature of the problem, the location in your home and the urgency of the response required. The information you provide when reporting a repair helps us to prioritise repairs and give clear instructions to the contractor who will attend. The contractor may decide to report the repair to the Property team on the next business day if it is not deemed to be an urgent repair requiring out of hours attendance.

How long will it take for the repair to be completed?

Depending on whether you live in a Common Ground or a ROSAS (transfer from Housing Trust) property, the response timeframes will be different (due to different contractual obligations).

The following priority time frames apply if you are a Common Ground resident:  

Priority: Completion
Urgent: 24 hours
Routine: 7 days
Minor: 14 days

The following time frames apply if you are a ROSAS resident:  

Priority Commencement Completion
ROSAS P1 Within 4 hours Within 5 working days
ROSAS P2 Within 24 hours Within 7 working days
ROSAS P3 Within 10 working days Within 20 working days

An Urgent or P1 is any fault or damage that makes the property unsafe or insecure or puts the health and safety of tenants and/or neighbours at risk, for example, flooding, serious

Tenant damage

Tenant Damage is damage that has occurred due to accidental or deliberate damage (usually a one-off event) to your home. Things such as broken windows and holes in walls are examples of tenant damage. You should report any accidental or deliberate damage to us as soon as possible so we can arrange for repairs to occur.

The cost of repairs for items deemed to be tenant damage will usually be passed on to the tenant via a charge to their rental account. See our Tenant Damage and Recharge Policy [include link to policy] for further information about this.

From time to time, malicious damage may occur, such as a broken window, that was not caused by a member of your household. In these situations, a police report has been made and you provide the reference number to us when reporting the damage, the cost of repairs will not be passed on to the tenant. You can contact our Customer Services Team on 1300 153 850 or email us at infosa@hcau.org.au to report tenant damage.

General modification

You might wish to make improvements to your home. For example, add extensions to fencing, air conditioning, awnings or skylights. At Housing Choices South Australia, we want to work with you to make sure that any changes to your home are safe, professional and do not damage the property. Any changes you wish to make require Housing Choices South Australia’s approval before the work starts.

If we approve the work, then in most cases you will need to cover the cost yourself. In some instances, your improvement may require local council approval and may incur a planning fee, which you will be responsible for paying.

Upon receiving a completed Housing Alternations Application, your request will be responded to within 30 days.

Disability modification

You can request – either for yourself or for a household member – maintenance works that will improve the access and/or amenities of your property. These works are generally requested because the existing housing presents a health and/or safety risk for the household member with a disability.

To help us understand the best solution for you or your household member’s needs, we need supporting information from a health professional. Generally, this would be from an Occupational Therapist, your GP, or a specialist. This information will confirm the need for the modifications, as well as tell us the type of modifications required, such as the specific measurements for a grab rail or ramp. It will also help to determine how the request will be funded, if the request is for Housing Choices South Australia to complete the work, or for supports to be provided through another service such as NDIS.  All modifications are assessed on a case-by-case basis, and there is no guarantee your request will be approved, but Housing Choices will work with your support team to find a suitable solution.

To apply for modifications to be made to the property, you can download a form here or call us on 1300 312 447 to mail a form to you. If we assess that a modification cannot be carried out to the property, your Housing Officer may discuss alternatives such as relocation or transfer to a more suitable dwelling.

Upon receiving a completed Application for Housing Modification form, your request will be actioned within 14 days.

Important information relating to gas plumbing work

Gas compliance certificates need to be provided for any gas plumbing work. Only a licenced plumber may issue a compliance certificate. A compliance certificate is how a licensed plumber self-certifies that the plumbing work complies with all legislative requirements.

Important information relating to electrical work

Whenever a licensed electrician completes any electrical installation work, they must provide a certificate of electrical safety. This work covers all work done on wiring where you can switch off the electricity at the switchboard. For example, this might include the installation or maintenance of safety switches, circuit breakers, power points, non-plug-in electrical equipment or lighting points within the house.

Forms

HCSA Housing Modifications for Persons with a Disability Policy 
Housing SA Policy Modifications for Persons with a Disability 
Housing Alterations Application 
Process for Actioning Disability Modification Applications – NEED LINK