SA Property Law - Rental Agreement - Am I Liable to Pay?

[Kassy]

Looking at renting a property listed / advertised as a shack in South Australia. Bond is $440.00, plus
2wks Rent $220.00, then. Weekly Rent $110.00 thereafter

The Shack is situated close to the waterfront, I am told it is a 1 bed room, 1 bathroom, Lounge room, kitchen, enclosed yard with a lockable garage.

Due to its location, there is no main gas to the shack, only electricity and the water supply comes from tanks. My question is, the lady/landlord who owns the shack has and is residing in the shack up until it's rented. She has informed me that one of the water supply tanks is close to near empty and that if I was to rent from her I would also need to pay a further $110.00 on top of bond/rent advance to have a water truck come out and fill the tank so that I would have suitable water for human consumption, is this correct please ? Am I responsible for this charge under Property Law?

 

[Sophea]

Hi Kassy,

At the beginning of a tenancy, a landlord and tenant can reach an agreement regarding responsibility for water supply and usage. The agreement must be specifically included as a term in the written residential tenancy agreement as provided in s73(2) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1995. See this information sheet for further details: https://www.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/11964/Charging_for_water_bulletin.pdf

 

[Kassy]

Hi Sophea,

Thank you for responding to my thread. Just a quick question please if I may. Is that regardless if the water supply and usage comes from rain water tanks or from mains pipelines (SA water) because the shack runs on and is only rain water, catchment water from 1 x tank

 

[Sophea]

Yes I believe it is.