SIL Property and Tenancy Template and Example (2026 Ready)

What a SIL Property and Tenancy Template Must Cover

Supported Independent Living (SIL) providers in Australia are required under the NDIS Practice Standards to clearly separate a participant's tenancy rights from their support arrangements. This is not simply good practice — it is a compliance requirement that quality auditors assess during both initial registration and ongoing audits under the strengthened 2026 framework.

A well-constructed SIL property and tenancy template serves two purposes: it gives your organisation a consistent, auditable process for every dwelling you operate, and it demonstrates to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission that participants are treated as genuine tenants with enforceable rights, not as service recipients who can be relocated or have their housing withdrawn as a consequence of support decisions.

Key Regulatory Framework

The following requirements shape what every SIL property and tenancy template must address:

• NDIS Practice Standards — Supporting Daily Life module: Requires providers to ensure participants have access to appropriate, safe, and well-maintained accommodation and that their individual housing preferences are respected.
• Separation of tenancy and support: The NDIS Commission's guidelines make clear that a participant's accommodation arrangement must not be contingent on receiving supports from a particular provider. Tenancy agreements must be held in the participant's name where possible, or through a transparent housing arrangement that does not create a conflict of interest.
• Human Rights obligations: The NDIS Code of Conduct requires providers to respect the rights of participants to make decisions about their own lives, including where they live and with whom.
• 2026 strengthened registration framework: Under the strengthened NDIS Practice Standards rolling out from 2026, providers must demonstrate more rigorous documentation of how participant choice and control is embedded in living arrangements, including written processes for handling tenancy disputes and property exits.

Template Structure: What to Include

Use the following structure as the foundation for your organisation's SIL property and tenancy template:

Section 1 — Property Details

• Property address and registration identifier
• Maximum occupancy and current occupancy
• Property owner / landlord details (if leased by the provider)
• Head-lease or sub-lease arrangements, clearly documented
• Accessibility features and any physical modifications made for participants

Section 2 — Participant Tenancy Rights Statement

• Written confirmation that the participant's right to occupy is independent of the SIL support arrangement
• Reference to the relevant state or territory residential tenancy legislation
• Process for what happens to the participant's housing if they choose to change SIL provider
• Confirmation that no participant can be removed from housing as a result of making a complaint or changing support arrangements

Section 3 — Maintenance and Safety Schedule

• Routine maintenance schedule (smoke alarms, fire safety, electrical testing)
• Process for participants to report maintenance issues and expected response timeframes
• Emergency maintenance contacts
• Record of all modifications and their approval status

Section 4 — Shared Living Arrangements

• How housemates are matched and the participant's involvement in that process
• Process for resolving house conflicts
• Documentation confirming each participant consented to living arrangements

Section 5 — Exit and Transition Planning

• Notice periods and how they are communicated to participants
• Who is responsible for supporting the participant to find alternative accommodation
• How personal belongings and bonds are handled at exit

Filled-In Example: Participant Tenancy Rights Statement

The following is a realistic example of how Section 2 might read in a completed SIL property and tenancy document. Adapt it to your organisation's circumstances and have it reviewed against your state tenancy legislation.

Step-by-Step: Completing the Template for a New Participant

1. Confirm property suitability — before any participant moves in, document that the property meets their accessibility needs and any mandatory safety requirements (working smoke alarms, accessible bathrooms, appropriate egress).
2. Establish the tenancy structure — determine whether the participant will hold a direct tenancy, a sub-tenancy, or a licence to occupy. Document the rationale and ensure the arrangement does not create a conflict of interest.
3. Prepare and sign the tenancy rights statement — complete Section 2 of the template with the participant or their legal representative present. Provide them with a copy.
4. Document shared living consent — if the participant will share with others, record their consent to the specific housemates and the process for raising concerns about the arrangement.
5. Complete the maintenance and safety schedule — log the property's current safety status and set dates for routine checks.
6. Store in the participant's file — retain the completed template in the participant's individual file alongside their SIL support plan, accessible to quality auditors on request.
7. Review annually and at any change — update the template whenever there is a change in living arrangements, housemates, or the participant's tenancy structure.

Common Audit Non-Conformances to Avoid

Quality auditors assessing SIL property and tenancy documentation frequently identify the following gaps:

• No written statement confirming tenancy rights are separate from support arrangements
• Tenancy agreements that include a clause allowing the provider to terminate housing if supports are cancelled
• No documented process for what happens to a participant's housing when they change provider
• Maintenance logs that are incomplete or show unacceptable response delays
• Shared living arrangements where no consent documentation exists
• Exit planning processes that place the burden entirely on the participant with no provider responsibility

Pulling It Together

A single well-structured template that covers all five sections above will satisfy auditor expectations for property and tenancy under the NDIS Practice Standards. The key principle auditors look for is genuine participant control — evidence that the person living in the property has real rights that exist independently of the commercial relationship with the SIL provider.

If your organisation needs a complete audit-ready documentation suite, ndiscompliant.com.au offers a 136-document SIL compliance kit that includes this property and tenancy template alongside incident management, restrictive practices, and registration-readiness documents — built specifically for the 2026 strengthened framework.