Ms CLANCY (Elder) (16:37): I rise today in support of the Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2025. While the amendments before us today are largely technical, they are an important continuation of the significant reform the Malinauskas Labor government has already undertaken on the Residential Tenancies Act.

When we came to government in 2022, South Australia's rental laws had not kept pace with the realities facing renters or the pressures of the housing market more broadly. In my electorate of Elder in the southern suburbs, almost a third of households are renters, and they had seen their rents increase significantly, including in some cases increases in excess of 60 per cent over the past five years. Renters were living with enormous insecurity. They were fearful of raising concerns about repairs and maintenance, worried about bonds and hidden costs, and deeply anxious that at any moment their tenancy could end for no reason at all.

That is why our reform of the Residential Tenancies Act was so essential to South Australian renters. It finally brought fairness, transparency and protections to a system that had tipped out of balance. One of the most important aspects of our reforms was the ending of no-cause evictions in South Australia, something renters had been calling for over many years.

The law now requires landlords to provide a prescribed reason when ending a periodic tenancy or choosing not to renew a fixed-term lease. The change ensures that renters cannot be removed from their home simply because they asked for a repair or some maintenance or they raised a concern or were just considered inconvenient for their landlord.

We also extended the notice period for termination from 28 days to 60 days, giving South Australians more time to find a new home, organise removals and make arrangements for their families. This change was particularly important in a tight rental market where vacancies are at record lows.

One of our changes that I am most proud of, which I know the member for Davenport is a big fan of as well as a big animal lover—she is not here anymore—is our amendment to allow tenants to keep pets, with reasonable conditions. Pets provide companionship, reduce loneliness and support mental wellbeing. I love coming home from work, and no matter how late in the day that might be, my dog Pepsi will greet me so enthusiastically you would think I had been gone for years, not hours. Renters also deserve the unconditional love, or casual indifference if they have a cat, that comes with having a pet in their home.

Since the full implementation of these reforms last year, we have listened closely to the feedback of tenants, landlords, community organisations, and the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. What we have heard is that while these reforms have been successful, making a tangible impact on supporting renters in our state, several technical adjustments are necessary to ensure the act operates as intended.

The bill before us today delivers those adjustments. This bill seeks to close an unintended loophole that allowed rents to be increased more than once in a 12-month period for tenants and more than once in a six-month period for rooming house residents. Our intention has always been clear: to give renters certainty, stability and predictability when it comes to the cost of keeping a roof over their heads.

This bill restores that intention by ensuring rent increases occur only with the limits originally intended. Further amendments included in this bill improve clarity and consistency by defining 'receipt' to allow both electronic and hard copy receipts to be recognised under the act and standardise timeframes that restrict landlords from reletting a property after terminating a tenancy on certain prescribed grounds. These timeframes will now be consistent across both periodic and fixed-term leases to ensure fairness and prevent the misuse of termination grounds.

This bill before us today may not grab any headlines but it will make an enormous impact on the renters in my community and across our state more broadly. Our targeted and deliberate reform of the Residential Tenancies Act has already made a substantial impact on renters and will continue to make the system fairer, clearer and more consistent.

Landlords who already manage their properties responsibly have welcomed these reforms for bringing clarity and consistency to the system, acknowledging our reform targets poor conduct and power imbalances rather than punishing good landlords for doing the right thing. In closing, I would like to again thank our Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs and everyone in her team for their ongoing commitment to reforming and refining a rental market in the best interests of more South Australians.

To the renters in my community, we hear you. While our reforms have collectively saved renters more than $11 million in just over 12 months, renting in our state is still expensive, and many families and individuals do continue to struggle to keep up with the cost of living. We still have more work to do, including initiatives discussed in this place just this week, such as supporting the commonwealth's Help to Buy scheme in South Australia. We remain absolutely committed to making renting in South Australia fairer, safer and more secure. I commend this bill to the house.