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INSPECTORS will have beefed up powers to enter any home, backed by massive fines, to check if they are “safe” to live in and take photographs and samples from inside, under new laws proposed by the State Government.

Homeowners or landlords who do not comply with orders to have a house assessed, repaired or even demolished would face fines of up to $20,000 — up from just $100 for such breaches under current laws, which date back to 1940.

The Government says the Housing Improvement Bill is intended to prevent excessive hoarding, ensure people are not living in unsafe conditions and stop landlords from exploiting people by charging unfairly high rent for substandard accommodation.

However, the Opposition is concerned that the “Big Brother” laws apply to all homes, including those occupied by the owners, and that the powers given to inspectors are too broad.

The Opposition argues the laws should only apply to rental properties and that the maximum penalty be halved to $10,000.

The Bill would empower inspectors to:

FORCIBLY enter a property if there are concerns that someone is at risk, such as from electrocution because of faulty wiring.

TAKE photographs and samples which may be evidence of an offence.

PLACE orders on unsafe homes requiring the owner to have the home assessed, repaired or demolished, or face a maximum $20,000 fine.

Anyone who refuses to answer questions from an inspector could face a maximum penalty of $10,000.

The Government would continue to be able to fix a maximum rent for tenants living in a house subject to an order.

The new Bill will extend the reach of the laws to remote areas, such as the APY Lands and towns such as Oodnadatta, which are not currently covered.

Opposition MP Adrian Pederick described the laws as “Big Brother” intrusion.

“If people want to live in a tent by the river, or a humpy — some sort of primitive man-made construction — that is their choice,” he told Parliament.

Liberal social housing spokeswoman Rachel Sanderson said the laws could disproportionately disadvantage renters or homeowners who are “living the way they are ... due to a lack of money and/or time to get things fixed”..

Ms Sanderson said it “bothers” her that “in this Bill, where there might be risk of your ceiling falling in on you, which is dangerous, somebody can actually break into your house with reasonable force, yet when a child such as Chloe Valentine is left in danger of negligence (living with her mother), you have to actually notify the parent that you are coming around”.

A spokesman for Social Housing Minister Zoe Bettison said powers of forced entry “would only be used in exceptional ... circumstances”.

“Visitors or residents at a property, including children, may be at risk because of unsafe conditions or structures,” he said.

“Issues such as structural failure of fences or gates on the perimeter of properties can, and have, caused death and injury to members of the public.”

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