WA Rent Reforms

The minimum 12 month period before rent can be increased allows tenants time to assess the affordability of premises and plan their budget.

The new law will make WA consistent with other states and territories such as the ACT, South Australia, Tasmania, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria which require a minimum of 12 months between rent increases.

There must be a minimum of 12 months between rent increases.

Example A: You enter into a periodic tenancy agreement on 1 August 2024. The earliest date the rent could be increased is 1 August 2025. The landlord is required to give at least 60 days notice before a rent increase is payable.

Example B: If you enter into a tenancy agreement on 1 August 2024 for a fixed term of 2 years, the earliest date the rent could be increased is 1 August 2025. For rent to be increased during the 2 year fixed term of the lease, the tenancy agreement must set out the amount of method of calculating the rent increase.  The lessor is required to give at least 60 days notice before a rent increase is payable.

Once the reforms come into effect the changes will apply to your periodic agreement, regardless of when it was signed. The next rent increase must be at least 12 months from the previous increase.

Example: You enter into a tenancy agreement on 1 March 2023 and the rent is increased at 6 monthly intervals. The most recent rent increase was 1 March 2024. The earliest date the rent could next be increased is 1 March 2025.  The landlord is required to give at least 60 days notice before a rent increase is payable.

Any rent increases agreed to between the parties and set out in fixed term agreements signed before 29 July 2024 would apply. These agreed rent increases can apply at 6 monthly intervals – but only if the amount or method of calculating the rent increase is set out in the agreement. At the end of the current term set out in an existing fixed term agreement, the new provisions will apply and there must be at least 12 months between rent increases.

Example A: You enter into a tenancy agreement on 1 July 2024 that commences on 1 August 2024. The agreement sets out that rent increases may apply at every 6 months in the amount of $50.00. The rent increases set out in the agreement will apply until the term ends. Once the term ends, the next rent increase must be at least 12 months from the most recent increase under the agreement.

Example B: You enter into a tenancy agreement on 1 March 2024 for a 2 year fixed term that provides that the rent is to be increased by a set amount every 6 months.  The rent increases set out in the agreement will apply until the 2 year term ends.

If the tenancy continues after 1 March 2026 (e.g. you agree to a new fixed term lease), rent can only increase every 12 months calculated from the most recent rent increase. Assuming this is 1 September 2025, the next date the rent can be increased will be 1 September 2026.

No. Where there are “rolling” fixed term leases between the same parties for the same premises, this will be treated as a continuous agreement for the purpose of calculating the timeframe and rent can only be increased once every 12 months.

Example: You enter into a tenancy agreement on 1 August 2024 for a fixed term of 6 months. At the expiry of the 6 months, you agree to an extension of that fixed term for another 6 months. The earliest the rent could be increased is 1 August 2025 – that is, rent cannot be increased at the end of the first 6 month fixed term. The lessor is required to give at least 60 days notice before a rent increase is payable.

For a periodic tenancy agreement, from 29 July 2024 there must have been at least 12 months since the previous rent increase.  Even if a notice of rent increase is given before 29 July 2024, it will not apply unless the date of the rent increase is at least 12 months from the previous rent increase.

Example: The rent was last increased under a periodic tenancy agreement on 15 February 2024.  On 31 May 2024, the landlord gave the tenant notice that the rent will increase on 15 August 2024.  This rent increase will not apply - the next rent increase must not take effect before 15 February 2025.

For a fixed term agreement signed before 29 July 2024, the notice of rent increase will still apply if it relates to a rent increase that is written into the agreement and the tenant is given at least 60 days notice.

Example: A fixed term agreement was entered into on 15 February 2024 and includes rent increases of $50 every 6 months. On 31 May 2024, the landlord gave the tenant a notice that the rent will increase by $50 on 15 August 2024. This rent increase can apply because it was agreed before 29 July 2024.

Yes – a landlord must always give 60 days’ notice to increase the rent.

Example: You enter into a tenancy agreement on 1 August 2024 for a fixed term of 12 months and rent of $500. At the expiry of the 12 months, you agree to renew the tenancy agreement for another 12 months from 1 August 2025 with a rent increase of $50 to $550. The landlord is required to give at least 60 days’ notice before the rent increase is payable under the renewed agreement (i.e. for the increased rent to be payable from 1 August 2025, the landlord must give notice not less than 60 days before this date).

Yes, on reasonable grounds. You can refuse consent for your tenant to keep a pet without making an application to the Commissioner for Consumer Protection where keeping the pet would contravene a written law, local law or scheme by-law. 

You may make an application to the Commissioner for Consumer Protection to refuse consent for your tenant to keep a pet in a range of circumstances. This includes:

• The premises are unsuitable for keeping the pet.
• Keeping the pet would exceed a reasonable number of pets being kept at the premises.
• Keeping the pet at the premises is likely to cause damage to the premises that could not be repaired for less than the amount of the security bond.
• Keeping the pet at the premises would pose an unacceptable risk to the health and safety of a person.
• Keeping the pet at the premises is likely to cause the landlord undue hardship.
• The pet is a ‘dangerous dog’ as defined in the Dog Act 1976 (WA).

You can place reasonable conditions on your consent for the tenant to keep pets. Conditions include:

• Conditions about the number of animals that may be kept at the premises.
• Conditions about the cleaning, maintenance or fumigation of the premises in relation to the keeping of the pet.
• Conditions that you have had approved by an application to the Commissioner for Consumer Protection.

Yes. The tenant is responsible for repairing any damage caused by the pet.

The tenant will be responsible for any nuisance caused by a pet kept at the premises.

Tenants who currently have pets or wish to have a pet often face limited choice in the number of rental premises available, or they face uncertainty if they move to another rental property. Tenants can be faced with the significant emotional stress of having to abandon a much-loved pet to secure housing.

Under the new laws, landlords will be permitted to refuse consent to have a pet where it is reasonable to do so.

The landlord may also place reasonable conditions on the keeping of a pet, such as that it must be kept outside.

There are limited circumstances in which a landlord can refuse consent for a tenant to keep a pet. Some are subject to the approval of the Commissioner while others – such as where there is a strata scheme by-law that prevents the keeping of pets at a property – are not.

The blanket statement ‘no pets allowed’ in an advertisement would in Consumer Protection’s view convey a false or misleading representation that the landlord can lawfully refuse a tenant having a pet under any circumstances. Landlords and agents could use more specific wording to note – for example – that there is a strata scheme by-law that prevents the keeping of pets at a property.

It depends on the type of modification that the tenant is asking to make and why you want to refuse.

If the modification is on the list that is prescribed in the Residential Tenancies Regulations, you will only be able to refuse consent in limited circumstances. 

You will be able to refuse the request without making an application to the Commissioner for Consumer Protection in a few situations, such as where the modification would disturb material containing asbestos or a written law or scheme by-laws prohibit making the modification.

You will be able to make an application to the Commissioner for Consumer Protection to refuse in other circumstances such as where the modification would result in additional maintenance costs, would make the premises unsafe or the action required to reverse the modification is not reasonably practical.

You may also impose reasonable conditions on making the modifications. For some modifications this includes that the work must be undertaken by a qualified person.

For other more significant modifications, landlords will be able to refuse consent, but consent cannot unreasonably be withheld.

You can place reasonable conditions on your consent for the tenant to make minor modifications. “Reasonable conditions” include:

• Conditions that you have had approved by an application to the Commissioner for Consumer Protection.  This may include conditions that are specific to your premises, such as the placement and direction of security cameras on the exterior of the premises.
• For certain types of modification, that the work must be done by a qualified person.

Yes. Unless otherwise agreed, the tenant will be required to either:

• restore the property to the condition it was in immediately before the changes were made (allowing for fair wear); or 
• pay an amount equal to the reasonable cost of restoring the property.

The rental sector is growing and more Western Australians are renting for longer and through different life stages.

An increasing number of WA tenants see their rental property as their long-term home. Allowing tenants to make small modifications to the rental premises helps them feel at home and allows them to stay for longer.

Landlords will still be able to refuse consent for major modifications, such as those that affect the structural integrity of the premises.

Decisions of the Commissioner for Consumer Protection will be transparent and based on evidence provided by the tenant and landlord. A written decision of the Commissioner for Consumer Protection will be provided to the landlord and tenants so they can read the reasons why the bond was disposed in a particular way.

If parties are not satisfied with a decision of the Commissioner for Consumer Protection, they can appeal it to the Magistrates Court. The Magistrates Court will then make an order.

The rules about when the landlord is entitled to the bond money will not change. If the tenant damages the property, or there is unpaid rent, the landlord may recover the debt from the bond.