WA is facing a housing crisis, with some of the lowest rates of rental availability in Australia, which is making it very difficult for renters to find suitable accommodation.
Given the lack of rental availability and the power imbalance that exists between renters and landlords, many renters don’t feel they can exercise their rights under the Residential Tenancies Act for fear of being evicted without a legitimate reason and face homelessness as a result.
Weekly rental prices have risen by 52% in the past three years
WA is the rent-rise capitial of the country
essential workers can only afford to rent 1% of rental properties across wa
Social housing waitlist grew to 33,987
Removing no grounds evictions ensures that landlords can still exercise their rights to evict tenants who don’t pay rent, damage the property or behave in an antisocial way under the existing grounds, while also ensuring tenants aren’t evicted by landlords who wish to side step tenant protections and impose an excessive rent increase or ignore legitimate repair requests. This reform would provide greater certainty and protection for consumers alike.
WA is the only Australian state that hasn’t removed or committed to removing no grounds evictions, with every other state acknowledging that this practice must go.
Why is that the case? Well, the government has an unwavering stance that scrapping no-grounds evictions will spook investors - an argument based on biased data. If our government truly cares about improving the balance, they should consider the evidence put forth by the Australian Housing and Research Institute that states, “It does not support the contention that tenancy law reforms have caused landlords to disinvest.”
Instead, they are fuelling this housing crisis which disempowers renters and favours investors. Achieving real balance means a refocus on fairer conditions for the 30% of West Australian's who rent.
Help is available for residential tenants who need further advice, require assistance in negotiating with their landlord or property manager, or have a tenancy-related legal issue through the Tenancy Advice and Education Service (TAES).
Circle Green offers state-wide telephone-based assistance, or you can contact one of the TAES providers listed below that are closest to you.
Consumer Protection provides advice and information for Western Australian consumers, businesses, landlords and tenants.
As a tenant, you will need to know your rights and responsibilities. Consumer Protection offers a range of resources to help you navigate this and are available to provide advice on what your next steps should be.
Shelter WA is the peak body in Western Australia for the community housing and homelessness sectors. Advocating for a vision that all people living in Western Australia have housing that enables them to thrive.
They offer a range of resources and advice to help you navigate the rental market, affordable housing and shelter.
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Office Location:
Unit 3, 2 Parliament Place,
West Perth WA 6005
Telephone: (08) 9481 6070