Apartment with toilet in living room sparks questions

Images of an Adelaide apartment with a toilet in the living room have gone viral on social media but it has left many wondering who would rent such an apartment and how is it legal?

The listing for 4 201 O'Connell Street boasted an outstanding location and easy, low maintenance lifestyle but people online questioned whether it complied with building code regulations.

The open plan home has 25 square metres of living, including a kitchen without a stove, a bathroom in the kitchen and no laundry.

Under the state's laws, all residential properties must meet minimum requirements such as an oven and cooktop, bathroom facilities that provide adequate privacy, and toilet facilities that do not open directly into a kitchen.

If they don't, renters can be reported to a statewide register, and landlords can be slapped with rent-control measures to make sure tenants are not paying market price for a substandard property.

There are standards, but who is enforcing them?

Tenancy law expert Paris Dean said that many of the standards listed in South Australia's Housing Improvement Regulations Act were a matter of interpretation.

He said that the code talks in terms of providing adequate privacy and that the word'reasonable' appears in relation to the provision of some facilities.

It isn't necessarily clear whether the dwelling is in violation of a standard when it comes to the adequacy of the bathroom at 4 201 O'Connell Street.

The listing for 4 201 O'Connell Street has disappeared from the internet, despite Ray White North Adelaide insisting that the unit met all code requirements and was approved by the council.

The unit is one of seven similar-sized apartments in the 1892 heritage building, which was previously an Airbnb before being converted into residential dwellings.

While the ABC asked CBS SA if it had received complaints about any of the units, it is yet to hear back. The Adelaide City CouncilAdelaide City Council has been contacted for comment.

What should I do if my home doesn't comply with the code?

With just one in 1,000 rentals available in Adelaide, the city has the lowest vacancy rate in the country.

Dean said that might discourage tenants from complaining about substandard properties.

Where the issue is structural, with facilities that simply don't exist, it is probably worth it to have the house listed as substandard with CBS he said.

If you don't resolve that with your landlord, tenants have rights that can be argued before the Civil and Administrative Tribunal if there is a breach of the landlord's obligation to maintain and repair facilities. Despite the clear definition of tenancy rights, there are limited legal protections for tenants who complain about their rental in South Australia.

The protections for tenants who choose to make complaints or approach state government bodies or tribunals don't exist, as per South Australia's Residential Tenancies Act, he said.

Without a reason, landlords can evict them at the end of the lease. Without a framework to protect tenants from adverse consequences, it would be difficult for people to exercise their rights, he argued.

They have a tenancy advocacy service in the eastern states that is subsidised by the interest accrued from rental bonds. We already have the model in place. The SA Greens are going to introduce legislation to the legislature next week that wants to limit rent increase to one per 24 months, and cap rent will increase in line with inflation.