Your Next Step
Complete field guideSA rental keys and locks: keep the handover and fault records clear
Before putting the keys in a drawer, make a simple list of what changed hands. Keep that custody note separate from any problem with a lock. Knowing which key you received answers a different question from whether the door opens and closes as expected.
RentFiles Editorial · Ella’s Next StepElla Brooks is a fictional RentFiles editorial voice.
- Market
- AU
- Jurisdiction
- South Australia
- Updated
Short answer
Use an optional key and fob inventory, describe an access problem without diagnosing it, and ask about the next step before arranging a lock change. South Australian guidance distinguishes property security, agreement to change locks and expenses associated with providing access.
Guide map
In this guide
Jump to the part that matches the decision in front of you.
Useful context
Separate a lock fault from a missing key
State guidance: South Australia. Each rule applies only to the state named.
The landlord is responsible for property security and repairing a sticking lock.
Repairs and maintenance: locks and keys · Checked
For a sticking lock, record the location and what you observed when using it normally. For a missing key, identify which key appears to be absent. Those descriptions lead to different questions, so avoid collapsing both into 'keys problem'. Do not force a lock to demonstrate a fault. Your note is a communication aid, not a technical diagnosis or permission to carry out repair work.
Action plan
Check before arranging a change
State guidance: South Australia. Each rule applies only to the state named.
Ordinarily landlord and tenant agreement is needed before a lock is changed or removed; domestic-abuse protections create exceptions.
Repairs and maintenance: locks and keys · Checked
An ordinary handover checklist should not be used to decide how domestic-abuse protections apply in an individual case. Consult the official guidance for that situation rather than assuming the ordinary agreement rule is universal. For a routine proposed change, preserve the request and response together. Distinguish asking for agreement from receiving it, and do not describe a proposed replacement as completed before it has occurred.
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Useful context
Ask what an access expense relates to
State guidance: South Australia. Each rule applies only to the state named.
Temporary use of a spare key cannot incur a fee, while reasonable attendance expenses may apply when the landlord attends to provide access.
Repairs and maintenance: locks and keys · Checked
If you are given an amount, ask whether it concerns temporary spare-key use or attendance to provide access. Keep the explanation and any supporting details instead of assuming all access assistance is either free or chargeable. This article does not assess whether a particular attendance expense is reasonable. The useful first step is to identify the service being described and compare it with the official distinction.
Practical example
Make a small custody register
An optional register could list 'front-door key', 'mailbox key' and 'entry fob', but include only items actually received. Add the handover date, recipient and any unresolved description. There is no prescribed key quantity in this guide. Keep the inventory somewhere suitable for your own records; you do not need to circulate photographs of keys or access credentials to explain a simple count discrepancy.
Working checklist
Use a description someone can act on
A hypothetical message is: 'The key labelled front door was handed over today. During normal use, the lock stuck at this point. Please advise the next step.' If the issue is instead an unidentified fob, ask which access point it relates to. Avoid mixing an operational fault with an unrelated request for extra copies. Keep any reply with the original message so the unresolved item remains easy to identify.
Keep in view
Close the record without overstating it
State guidance: South Australia. Each rule applies only to the state named.
Mark an inventory item confirmed only when you have the relevant answer. Keep a reported lock problem open in your notes until you can record the actual follow-up. This is general information and optional organisation, not legal advice or a security assessment. Alarm questions belong in a separate smoke-alarm record, even when raised at the same handover. Read the SA source before relying on a lock-change exception or drawing a conclusion about an expense.
Ella · One clear step at a time. Practical editorial guidance from RentFiles.
Questions
Common questions
Clear answers for the decisions people usually pause on.
Does an inventory tell me how many keys I must receive?
No. The suggested inventory records what was actually handed over; it does not establish a legally required quantity. Ask about an unidentified or missing item without presenting this checklist as a prescribed entitlement.
Is getting temporary access always free?
The SA guidance distinguishes temporary use of a spare key from reasonable expenses when the landlord attends to provide access. Ask what an expense covers rather than assuming both situations are identical.
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