The WA Government is continuing to modernise WA’s rental laws, with the next phase of reforms to the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 set to remove no-grounds terminations.
This forms part of a range of changes that will deliver a fairer, more modern rental system which strikes a balance between the rights of both landlords and tenants.
What is ‘no grounds termination’?
Currently under the Act, landlords are permitted to ask tenants to leave without giving a reason.
If a tenant is on a periodic lease, the landlord can give 60 days’ notice to end the tenancy at any time. If the lease is for a fixed term, the landlord only needs to give 30 days’ notice at the end of the fixed term to notify the tenant that the lease won’t be renewed.
The landlord doesn’t have to explain why they are ending the tenancy, so termination without grounds happens even though the tenant has paid their rent on time and taken good care of their rental home.
What is the difference between ‘eviction’ and ‘termination’?
The terms ‘termination’ and ‘eviction’ are often used interchangeably in everyday speech. The Residential Tenancies Act 1987 (RTA) does not use the term ‘eviction’.
A landlord may issue a tenant with a notice of termination either without specifying any grounds for a periodic tenancy, or at the end of a fixed-term tenancy, or on certain specified grounds such as breach of the agreement. The notice will specify the day on which the tenant is required to deliver up vacant possession of the premises in accordance with the relevant notice period that applies. If a tenant does not vacate the premises as required in the notice, the landlord may need to apply to court for an order terminating the tenancy agreement and requiring the tenant to vacate the premises.
What exactly will change under these proposed reforms?
Landlords will only be able to terminate a tenancy when there is a valid reason. An expanded list of grounds is proposed:
- The tenant has repeatedly broken the rules in a serious way within a set period (e.g. 12 months) - for example, repeatedly causes a nuisance.
- The tenant has threatened the landlord or the property manager.
- The tenant no longer meets the requirements of the tenancy - for example, they no longer work for the landlord or no longer qualify for community housing.
- The property is going to be used for something else, such as running a small business.
- The landlord or a close family member needs the property to live in.
- The property is going to be demolished, redeveloped, or significantly renovated, or it is needed for a public purpose.
These are in addition to the existing grounds of:
- Sale of the property with vacant possession.
- Non-payment of rent.
- Damage to the property.
- Using the premises for an illegal purpose.
Bottom line: Problem tenants can still be removed - just with a clear and lawful process. Landlords can also end a tenancy for other genuine reasons.
What does this mean for me as a renter - can a landlord still ask me to leave without explanation?
No, they have to give a specific reason and go through the appropriate channels to end a lease.
Will landlords lose the ability to evict problem tenants?
Landlords will retain the ability to end tenancies of problem tenants (for example where a valid termination notice has been issued and the tenant has not provided vacant possession) by applying to the court for an order terminating the agreement and for possession of the premises. Where a termination has been actioned, it must be fair, transparent and justified.
What changes is that tenants can’t be asked to leave “just because” the landlord does not want to renew the tenancy agreement.
These changes preserve landlords’ ability to regain full access to properties when genuinely needed for their own purposes. The list of valid reasons will be comprehensive.
Why does the state government want to remove ‘no grounds terminations’?
More people in Western Australia are renting for longer and at different stages of life. Many see their rental property as their long‑term home.
Allowing landlords to end a tenancy without a reason makes it hard for renters and their families to feel safe and secure. Removing no‑grounds terminations will give renters more certainty, stability, and protection, helping create a fairer and more secure rental system.
These changes also bring WA’s tenancy laws into line with most other Australian states and territories, and follow national recommendations to improve protections for renters, including people with disability.
Will removing no grounds termination cause landlords to leave the rental market?
These changes aren’t about limiting a landlords’ ability to end tenancies. It’s about changing how landlords being fair and transparent about reasons for ending a tenancy.
Research consistently shows that decisions to invest in rental properties are overwhelmingly driven by economic factors - not changes to tenancy laws.
In fact, the experience in other states clearly shows that removing no‑grounds terminations hasn’t harmed their rental markets. Those markets still attract investors and are working well.
Rental supply trends continue to be driven by taxation policy, access to finance and interest rates, construction costs and population growth — not tenancy law changes.
Even if some landlords choose to leave the market as a result of these reforms, the property itself doesn’t disappear. There are several ways it can continue to contribute to housing supply, including:
- Another investor may buy the property and keep it as a rental.
- A developer may replace one older home with several new homes, increasing density and creating more affordable options.
- The home may be sold to an owner/occupier who was previously renting, which in turn frees up another rental property.
Overall, these reforms are about balance and keeping the rental market healthy and sustainable.
When will these changes come into effect?
Drafting of the new laws will commence straight away. Key stakeholders will be consulted extensively to ensure that the proposed reforms will work as intended. This will include representatives of tenants, landlords, the community housing sector and relevant government agencies.
The Government will introduce a Bill to Parliament following the consultation process.
How will this be enforced? Will there be penalties for landlords who do the wrong thing?
If a tenant believes that a landlord does not have a valid reason for ending the tenancy, they will be able to apply to the Court to challenge the termination notice.
The Act already includes a penalty if a landlord falsely claims to be selling the premises in order to terminate the tenancy.
Can landlords still regain possession if they want to sell?
Terminating to sell remains a lawful ground with defined notice periods and documentation.
Will this make being a landlord too difficult and favour the tenant?
Clear grounds for termination help landlords plan ahead, reduce conflict and avoid sudden vacancies or legal uncertainty.
Landlords will still be able to evict tenants who don’t pay rent, damage the property or behave in an antisocial way under the existing grounds and via a normal breach notice.
The only change this reform makes is to protect good tenants from arbitrary terminations, which will improve security of tenure and prevent homelessness.
The reforms provide clearer rules, more certainty about when and how a tenancy can end, and in most cases, will reduce the need to go to Court.
Will the change increase the number of times I have to go to Court?
Clear grounds for termination help landlords plan ahead, reduce conflict with tenants, and avoid sudden vacancies or legal uncertainty.
The fact that a tenant is clear on the reason for the termination and has been provided the correct notice period will reduce ambiguity and disputes in most cases.
I won’t be able to sell my rental property anymore as interest from investors in buying properties to rent will reduce.
Research consistently shows that decisions to invest in rental properties are overwhelmingly driven by economic factors - not changes to tenancy laws.
Landlords will still be able to terminate where tenants don’t pay rent, damage the property or behave in an antisocial way under existing grounds by using a breach notice.
Has any consultation been undertaken already?
Since the review commenced in 2019, the Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety has met with all key stakeholder groups including the Housing Department of Housing and Works Authority, government regional officers housing and remote Aboriginal communities housing, Circle Green Community Legal, Shelter WA, the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA), the Property Owners Association of WA and the Tenants Action Group of Western Australia (TAGWA).
What should landlords do to prepare?
Landlords should keep doing what they already do to manage a tenancy, including:
- Maintaining good records of their rental properties and tenants (repairs, breaches, inspections)
- Understand existing and proposed changes to residential tenancy legislation, and in this case, termination grounds
- Seek advice early when planning on ending a tenancy either from the property manager or Consumer Protection’s website
Will rent control measures, such as rent caps be introduced?
Rent caps have not been introduced in any Australian state or territory, apart from the ACT.
Western Australia’s rental market is very different to the ACT’s. WA covers a much larger geographical area and includes a wide range of regional and remote communities. Because of this, rent controls could have wide‑ranging and unpredictable impacts across the state.
International research into rent control shows mixed results. Some studies suggest that rent caps can have negative effects on the property market, particularly if they apply in some regions but not others. This could unintentionally reduce housing supply or discourage investment in certain parts of the state.
For these reasons, the Government has decided not to introduce rent caps at this time but will continue to monitor rent prices.
It’s also important to note that the Government has already taken steps to help limit excessive rent increases. These include rules that prevent rent from being increased more often than once every 12 months, as well as a ban on rent bidding.