Unlike residential tenancies—where the landlord has an overarching statutory duty to maintain the property—commercial maintenance responsibilities in South Australia are largely dictated by the terms of the lease agreement. The Retail and Commercial Leases Act 1995 provides some baseline protections, but the specific allocation of repair duties is a matter of negotiation.

General Allocation of Responsibility

In most SA commercial leases, the responsibilities are divided as follows:

Landlord's Responsibility (Typically)

• Structural Repairs: The landlord is generally responsible for maintaining the structural integrity of the building—the roof frame, external walls, foundations, and common area infrastructure.
• Base Building Systems: Systems that serve the entire building (main water supply, fire safety systems, lift mechanisms) are typically the landlord's responsibility.
• Common Areas: The landlord maintains shared spaces like lobbies, car parks, walkways, and public toilets.

Tenant's Responsibility (Typically)

• Internal Fit-Out: All fixtures, fittings, signage, and internal decoration installed by the tenant.
• Internal Maintenance: Keeping the interior of the leased premises clean and in good repair.
• Specific Systems: Depending on the lease, the tenant may be responsible for maintaining their own dedicated HVAC unit, grease traps (for restaurants), and internal plumbing.

Outgoings and Cost Recovery

While the landlord arranges and pays for common area maintenance, the cost is typically recovered from tenants via outgoings charges. These are the SA equivalent of CAM (Common Area Maintenance) charges.

Key rules under the Act:

• Annual Estimates: The landlord must provide tenants with an estimate of outgoings for the upcoming year.

• Audited Reconciliation: At the end of each financial year, the landlord must provide an audited statement of actual outgoings. If the tenant overpaid based on estimates, they are entitled to a refund.
• Land Tax Exclusion: Land tax cannot be recovered from tenants as an outgoing under the Act.

"Make Good" Obligations

At the end of a commercial lease, tenants are typically required to "make good" the premises—restoring them to a condition agreed upon in the lease (often the original condition at the start, less fair wear and tear).

Make good requirements commonly include:

• Removing the tenant's fit-out, fixtures, and signage.
• Repairing any damage caused during the fit-out removal.
• Repainting walls and restoring flooring to its original state.

Best Practices for SA Commercial Landlords

• Define "Structural" Clearly: The lease must precisely define what constitutes a "structural" repair (landlord's responsibility) versus an "internal" repair (tenant's responsibility). Ambiguity over whether the roof membrane (as opposed to the roof frame) is structural leads to costly disputes.
• Conduct Regular Inspections: Periodic inspections (with proper notice) allow you to identify issues early—before a minor maintenance item becomes a major capital repair.
• Include Detailed Make Good Clauses: Your lease must be extremely specific about what the tenant must do at the end of the lease. Vague "make good" clauses lead to expensive SACAT disputes.

How Landager Can Help

Landager helps you track maintenance responsibilities across your commercial portfolio. Store your lease agreements centrally and quickly identify which repairs fall to you versus the tenant. Our maintenance portal logs all repair requests and vendor invoices, simplifying annual outgoings reconciliations.

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