Do landlords pay to lease an SDA home?
By The Find My SDA Team · Updated 23 Aug 2026
Short answer
No, not with Find My SDA. We cover the advertising, tenant matching and paperwork of filling your SDA vacancy at no cost to you. You only pay an agreed placement fee once a tenant moves in, similar to how a standard letting fee works, but only when we actually succeed.
If you own a property suited to Specialist Disability Accommodation, one of the first questions is simple: who pays to actually get it tenanted? This guide sets out how the cost and time of filling an SDA vacancy usually works, what a letting or placement fee covers, and what "you pay nothing until a tenant is placed" means in practice. If you are still weighing up the numbers, our guides on is SDA a good investment and SDA investment in South Australia cover the wider financial picture, and you can browse current SDA vacancies we are filling to see the kind of homes and locations in demand.
Do you pay anything before your SDA home is leased?
With an ordinary rental, some property managers charge for photography, advertising or admin before a tenant is even found. It is fair to ask any SDA provider the same question: what do you pay before a tenant moves in, and what do you pay after? The cost to lease an SDA property varies a lot between providers, so get this in writing before you commit to anyone. Our guide on SDA management fees explained breaks down the fee models worth checking.
With Find My SDA, there is no onboarding fee to list your home. We take on the cost of advertising, matching and paperwork ourselves, so you are not billed for any of it while the home sits vacant.
Who covers advertising and finding a tenant?
Filling an SDA vacancy takes more work than a standard rental. It usually means listing the home where people actually search, such as our SDA vacancies and find a home pages, checking that a prospective resident's design category and support needs genuinely match the property, coordinating inspections, and handling the paperwork that comes with an SDA tenancy.
With Find My SDA, we run this process for you. The one thing we ask is that you supply clear, good quality photos of the home, since photos are usually the biggest factor in a listing standing out. From there, we handle the advertising, enquiries, matching and inspections.
Does the NDIS pay for SDA vacancies?
Yes, but only for a limited time. The NDIS can pay a vacancy amount to the enrolled SDA provider for a set period after a resident moves out, so a newly empty home is not automatically earning nothing from day one. Under the current NDIS SDA vacancy rules, this runs for up to 60 days for a dwelling enrolled to house two or three residents, and up to 90 days for a dwelling enrolled to house four or five residents. There is no vacancy payment for a dwelling enrolled for a single resident.
This payment goes to the enrolled SDA provider managing the dwelling, not directly to you as the landlord, and it stops once a new resident moves in. It is not open ended, so it softens a short vacancy rather than replacing ongoing income if a home sits empty for a long stretch. For the bigger picture of how SDA money flows, see how SDA funding works.
How long does it usually take to place a tenant?
There is no fixed timeframe for filling an SDA vacancy, so be cautious of anyone who states a firm number upfront. How long it takes depends on the design category (Improved Liveability, Fully Accessible, Robust or High Physical Support), the location, whether the home is shared, and how many eligible participants are actively searching in that area at the time.
In practice, an SDA vacancy can take several months to fill, sometimes faster in high demand categories and well located suburbs, sometimes slower where fewer eligible participants are looking. Wider marketing reach and active matching, rather than simply listing a home and waiting, is what tends to shorten the wait. If you are comparing providers, our guide on SDA property management for landlords covers what to ask before you sign.
What "nothing until a tenant is placed" means with Find My SDA
When we say you pay nothing until a tenant is placed, here is what that means in practice. There is no onboarding fee to list your property with us. We put in our own time and money to advertise, match and place a resident, before you owe us anything.
If we do place a tenant, a placement fee applies. That fee is agreed with you in writing before we start, so there are no surprises, and it only becomes payable once a tenant actually moves in. We also work to a 90 day commitment that is exclusive to Find My SDA: if we do not place a tenant within that window, you owe us nothing for the attempt. The only thing we ask of you is to supply clear photos of the home so we can market it properly from day one.
If you would like this explained for your own property, you can list your property with us, or read more on our For Landlords page. If you already own a property and want a free assessment of how it could work as SDA, our Current Landlords page walks through that process.
Common questions
Do I pay anything before my property is leased?
Not with Find My SDA. There is no onboarding fee to list your home, and we cover advertising, matching and paperwork ourselves. You only pay a placement fee, agreed with you in writing beforehand, once a tenant moves in.
Who pays to advertise and fill an SDA vacancy?
Find My SDA covers the advertising, tenant matching, inspections and paperwork. You are asked to supply clear photos of the home, but you are not charged for the advertising or matching itself.
Does the NDIS pay while a home is vacant?
Yes, for a limited time. The NDIS can pay a vacancy amount to the enrolled SDA provider for up to 60 days (dwellings enrolled for two or three residents) or up to 90 days (dwellings enrolled for four or five residents). There is no vacancy payment for single-resident dwellings, and the payment stops once a new resident moves in.
How long does it take to find an SDA tenant?
It varies. Filling an SDA vacancy can take several months, depending on the design category, location and how many eligible participants are searching in that area. There is no fixed or promised timeframe.
Do I need to supply my own photos?
Yes. We ask landlords to supply clear, good quality photos of the home. We do not charge a photography fee, and photos are one of the biggest factors in how quickly a listing gets attention.
This guide is general information only and is not financial, legal or NDIS advice. NDIS vacancy payment rules and periods are set by the NDIS and can change, so always confirm the current settings at ndis.gov.au. Any fee arrangement with Find My SDA is confirmed in writing for your specific property before work begins, and is subject to change.