The Additional Handbook

The Additional Handbook is a guideline provided by Student Living Australia. It contains additional terms and conditions which is to be agreed upon signing up a lease with Student Living Australia.

Click here to view The Additional Handbook

Booking a Room / Unit / Apartment

To secure your room or apartment or unit, a NON REFUNDABLE option fee equal to 2-week rental is required with your tenancy application.

Should you proceed with the tenancy and enter into a lease for the room or apartment this fee will be attributed to the first 2 weeks rental of your tenancy. Should you not proceed to enter into a lease for the room or apartment then this fee will be retained.

Option Fee payment can be online transfered into our nominated account. You will be provided these details upon request. 

• Method of Payment

Payment of rent is made into our nominated account.

You will be provided these details upon request along with an agent code so Student Living can recognise your payment.

Payment of your Bond is to be in the form of a bank cheque addressed to The Residential Tenancies Branch. Once you bring this into us it will be forwarded on the The Residential Tenancies Branch where it will be held for the period of your Lease Agreement.

Breaking a Fixed Term Lease Agreement

Your Residential Tenancy Agreement is a legally binding contract and cannot be easily broken.

Terminating a lease or breaking a lease must be done in accordance with legislative requirements and the process as set out below.

Where a tenant/student believes he/she cannot stay in the apartment or continue to pay the rental fee, he/she must notify Student Living Australia as soon as possible.

You should always submit your “Notice to Terminate” in writing. There is no set amount of notice that a tenant needs to give, however it is in the best interest of the Tenant to give as much notice as possible. As a guide, 4 weeks notice would be considered reasonable.

The tenancy may only be terminated early if both parties, i.e., the Landlord and the Student/Tenant agree to a variation or application for hardship is made to the Residential Tenancies Tribunal. (You are encouraged to seek advice from the Tenancies branch)

Where the agreement is for a fixed period and the tenant, for any reason, leaves before the expiry date, the owner or the landlord may claim for loss of rent, the advertising costs to find a new tenant and other costs, including any letting fees, associated with the lease being broken.

• A student/tenant who breaks a lease early must pay the following:

The rental fees until another student/tenant is found and commences his/her residency or until the Tenancy Agreement ends – which ever occurs first.

A re-letting fee (normally equal to 2 weeks rent – but can be less).

Any advertising costs associated with the re-letting of the premises. (As per the Residential Tenancies Tribunal Formula)

Any costs associated with cleaning or repairs to the premises.

If the rental fees or any other costs are not paid, they will be claimed from the security bond.

Should the amount of the security bond be insufficient to cover the rental fee or any other fee or costs charged, the student/tenant will be liable to pay the difference

Under these circumstances, the owner or the landlord has an obligation to re-let the premises as soon as possible so as to reduce the amount of financial stress to the person requiring the early termination.

If you plan to renew, or extend your lease or tenancy agreement, you should discuss this with Student Living Australia at least 1 month before the expiration of your lease or tenancy agreement.

Free advice is available from the Office of Consumer and Business Affairs, Tenancies Branch @ Level 1, 91 – 97 Grenfell Street, Adelaide. Phone 8204 9544 between the hours of 8.30am and 4.45pm on weekdays.

Departure Guidelines

The guidelines below are to be followed when departing your premises:

Phone all companies that provide you their services (gas/electricity/telephone/internet, etc) at least 1 week prior to your departure. Advise them your departure date and request disconnection for those services. Also, advise them you new postal address for them to send you the final account. You are responsible for all charges should you fail to disconnect the services. Numbers for disconnecting the services are available on your bills.

Ensure the apartment is left in a reasonable condition at the end of the lease. Should you need to arrange for a professional carpet cleaner, we recommend Statewide Carpet Cleaning on 1300 550 185 or 0439 367 191 (Mr Gianni Rossi).Student Living Australia can arrange for the complete professional clean of your apartment. Please contact 08 8232 0022 for more information. Should there be any cleaning fee, it will be claimed from your Security Bond.

Any repair fee including: painting of marked walls or doors, replacing marked or damaged bench tops, removal of carpet stains, internal window cleaning, cleaning window dressing, oven cleaning, fridge cleaning, replacement of sink plugs, broken light fittings, cleaning or repair to fabrics on sofa and/or office chairs, broken electrical items, damaged furniture, missing kitchen utensils, missing crockery, cutlery or electrical items etc.

A final inspection will be carried out AFTER all of your belongings have been removed.

All keys, access cards, operational handbooks, residential handbook and the operation kits are to be handed back to our office. Charges will apply for any items not returned. These items will be collected at the final inspection time.

• The refund of your Security Bond can be collected from the Office of Consumer and Business Affairs, located at:

The Office of Consumer and Business Affairs

The Chesser House
Level 1, 91 – 97 Grenfell Street
ADELAIDE  SA 5000
Ph: 08 8204 9555

You must have your “Security Bond Refund Form” with you, signed by you and our officer. The Office of Consumer and Business Affairs will issue a cheque or by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).

All rent must be paid up to your termination day. No rent or sundry payment will be deducted from your Security Bond unless prior engagements have been made.

Maintenance and Repair Guidelines

• An URGENT matter such as gas leak MUST be reported immediately to the office at
  8232 0022 during business hours.
  or to the After Hour Emergency Number at 0401 767 688.
• For a less urgent or non-urgent matter, please fill out a Maintenance and Repair Request Form.  You could download the form here.
• Please be specific and accurate when filling out the form, e.g.: Bathroom tap is broken. Is it leaking? or the fitting is loose? or no water comes out at all?
• Maintenance and repairs outside your apartment is Strata Management Issue. Student Living Australia is not responsible for these repairs. However, we can pass on the information to the relevant Strata Manager on your behalf.
• White goods (washing machine, dryer, microwave, fridge, dishwasing machine and oven) may be need to be repaired by a professional repair man. These repairs may take time as the contacted company may be busy or waitiung on parts to complete the repairs.
• Allowing the maintenance staff permission to access your apartmnet anytime during business hours may reduce the waiting time for repairs.
• Please note that tenants are liable for any damages or loss caused by negligence or misuse and will be charged for repair costs.

Click here to download The Maintenance and Repair Request Form.

Pastoral Care Policy

Pastoral care or the personal, social and academic well being of all Student Living Australia’s student tenants is of paramount importance.

To achieve this Student Living Australia have developed a carefully coordinated structure to provide support, counsel, comfort and pastoral care to its student population.

Pastoral care begins with the welcoming of a new student to a Student Living Australia residence for a new phase in their personal and academic life.

It can mean simple things and can happen informally such as ensuring that when a student arrives, he knows his way around his apartment complex and the city or suburb he is living and that he can find his way to his new university and lecture theatre without being overwhelmed.

It means an introduction into a new culture, how to catch public transport, how to hook up to new phone system and other utilities, navigating cultural differences with the people of his new city and with the cross cultures of the people he may be sharing with.

It does not end with these simple things, it is the awareness of the students well being during his stay within the Student Living Australia’s residences and when he or she leaves, it is the return to Student Living Australia for a reference or advice or just to renew acquaintances with old friends within the organization.

Pastoral care happens from student to student. Some students can notice others may need help or comfort or friendship and may assist if they can, or refer them to Student Living Australia for guidance.

The Student Living Australia pastoral care model operates at several levels but within carefully structured guidelines.

At the basic level is student caring for each other.

Within our apartment complexes, some have on-site managers and these people are the first point of call for assistance and guidance. This is a two way street, students are encouraged to talk to our people, whilst Student Living Australia personnel keep an eye on the well being of our student population as they go about their lives.

Those complexes and residences without on-site personnel have a residential manager operating outside of Student Living Australia’s office who is the first point of contact for students needing to talk to someone.

Student Living Australia’s residential managers are capable, caring people experienced in dealing with young people.

Student Living Australia’s on-site people and residential managers can deal with most issues; more challenging issues are referred to senior management with a lot of history and experience in dealing with young people away from home in a new environment.

Student Living Australia’s policy is to keep family details of their student tenants and often the most immediate way to comfort or counsel a student is to chat to a family member.

Student Living Australia has a 24 hour a day, 7 days a week emergency telephone services. Out of business hours and on weekend and public holidays this is serviced by experienced people with "out of hours" and security expertise. This service provides a first point of call for after hour’s problems such as medical emergencies, safety and security concerns.

Student Living Australia recognizes that sometimes there are issues and concerns that young people have that need to be dealt with by specialists or other professionals. Student Living Australia retains the services of a qualified counselor experienced in dealing with young people, who can provide counsel.

Student Living Australia maintains strong contacts with the international officers and other appropriate people within the universities and other educational institutions. If a young person has educational concerns or difficulties within his place of learning, we will refer the student to them.

Student Living Australia also maintains contact with people in a number of mainstream churches who cater to young people, and can provide a sympathetic ear and some counsel.

Pastoral care is a most important component of Student Living Australia’s operations. Student Living Australia is committed to providing a high standard of duty and care and the on-going supervision and nurturing of young people away from their home and beginning a new phase in their lives.