WA Rent Reforms – What You Need to Know if You’re Renting

New rental reforms have just passed in WA Parliament, aiming to protect tenants and provide more clarity for landlords.

These new laws to the Residential Tenancies Act are in place to improve the rights of both tenants and landlords. The reforms will help thousands of West Australians feel more at home in their rental properties.

The changes begin in stages from May 2024 and include:

• Rent bidding ban - A tenant cannot be pressured into paying more money to help them secure an available rental property. Properties must be advertised at a fixed rental amount, rather than advertising or welcoming offers within a bracket. Landlords and their agents will be able to accept offers of more than the rental amount when the offer is freely given by tenants. However, they cannot encourage or pressure a tenant to offer more than the rental amount.
• 12 month rent rises - Now limited to once every 12 months, instead of every six months.
• Pets welcome - In most cases pets are allowed, however tenants must seek permission. Tenants will need to fill in an approved form to give to the landlord or agent. A landlord can place ‘reasonable conditions’ on having a pet – for example the number of pets, if a pet must remain in a cage, or the carpets must be professionally cleaned at the end of the tenancy.
• Minor modifications - To help make a rental feel like a home small, personalised changes (known as minor modifications) will be allowed in most cases. The list of minor modifications allowed has not been finalised and may include:
  • Hanging pictures on the wall
  • Putting up flyscreens
  • Installing a water-saving shower head
  • Planting a vegetable garden
• Bond Release - A streamlined bond release process that will be much simpler and prevent disputes from going to court.
• Retaliatory Action - If a tenant believes their landlord or agent is taking action against them for exercising their rental rights, they can challenge that action in the Magistrate’s Court. Retaliatory actions include rent increases or non-renewal of tenancy agreements in response to tenants seeking to enforce their rental rights, asking for basic maintenance or following a complaint tenants have made about their landlord or agent.

The first of these reforms to be implemented will be the ban on rent bidding, which will take effect in May 2024, with the remaining reforms rolling out over the coming year. You can check out the full details of the reforms (and familiarise yourself with your rights as a renter) at the Consumer Protection website.

If you are looking for a new Property Management team for your investment property, please contact our Business Development Manager Amanda Leipold on AmandaL@summitrealty.com.au or 08 9592 8188.