Tenant Rights Western Australia: What the 2024 Reforms Mean for Landlords

Western Australia's residential tenancy laws have undergone the most significant rewrite in decades. The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2024 changed the rules for landlords in ways that aren't always well understood, particularly by investors managing properties from interstate. Getting these wrong doesn't just create compliance headaches — it can mean a dispute that plays out in the Magistrates Court or before the State Administrative Tribunal.

The reforms were aimed squarely at rebalancing power in a rental market where tenants were losing, badly. Perth vacancy rates had been hovering near 0.6%, meaning tenants were competing for almost every available property. Rent bidding was common. Landlords were raising rents every six months. Tenants with pets were routinely refused. The government's response was legislation. Here's what it actually changed.

The Rent Bidding Ban

Landlords and their property managers are now strictly prohibited from soliciting, encouraging, or accepting any offer above the formally advertised rent price. You cannot advertise a property at $650 per week and then select a tenant who offers $700. The advertised price is the ceiling.

This doesn't prevent you from setting your initial asking rent at whatever rate you believe the market will support — that discretion remains. What it removes is the ability to auction rental properties to desperate tenants, which had become an informal but widespread practice in Perth's tightest suburbs.

From a practical standpoint, the ban also protects landlords from awkward situations where tenants voluntarily offered more. If a tenant offers above the advertised price, accepting it is now a breach of the Act.

12-Month Rent Increase Caps

Previously, WA landlords could increase rent every six months on periodic leases and at any point in fixed-term leases (if the contract provided for it). The 2024 amendments changed this to a maximum of once every 12 months, for both periodic and fixed-term tenancies.

The notice requirement remains 60 days' written notice before the increase takes effect. There is no cap on the size of the increase itself — you can raise by 15% if that's what the market supports — but you can only do it once a year.

For investors, this changes the cash flow modelling significantly. If you price a new tenancy below market, you're locked at that rate for 12 months. The discipline this creates is straightforward: set initial rents at current market rates, not slightly below to attract tenants quickly. The cost of underpricing at the start is absorbed across the full 12-month period.

It also changes how you think about lease renewal negotiations. In a rising market, a tenant on a periodic lease who is paying below current market rates represents a gap that you can only close once per year. If the market has moved 8% and you missed the 12-month window, you've given up income that can't be recovered retroactively.

Expanded Pet Rights

Tenants now have a statutory right to keep pets. The previous blanket prohibition is gone. A tenant must still seek permission using a prescribed form, but a landlord can only refuse on legitimate grounds — primarily strata by-law restrictions that genuinely prohibit animals, or documented structural reasons why the specific property is unsuitable.

If a landlord wishes to refuse, the matter goes directly to the Consumer Protection Commissioner for determination, not to the Magistrates Court. This was designed to be faster for both parties. The Commissioner can consider evidence from both sides and make a binding decision.

The practical implication for landlords is that "no pets" is no longer a default you can enforce. Properties with strata by-laws that explicitly prohibit animals are one of the few defensible refusal grounds. For freestanding houses, refusing a pet will likely fail unless there is a genuine physical reason specific to the property.

A separate pet bond — in addition to the standard security bond — can still be charged to cover any additional cleaning or damage risk.

Minor Modifications

Tenants can now request minor modifications to the property: picture hooks, vegetable gardens, water-efficient showerheads, child safety locks, accessibility modifications, and similar changes. Landlords can still refuse, but only on specific prescribed grounds relating to safety or structural integrity.

The intent is to allow tenants to make the property genuinely liveable for the duration of their tenancy. For landlords, the key risk management step is ensuring that any modifications are documented, that permission is granted in writing, and that the lease specifies how make-good is handled at the end of the tenancy.

Anti-Retaliatory Action Protections

The reforms introduced explicit protections against landlords taking action against tenants who exercise their legal rights. If a tenant requests repairs, makes a pet application, or raises a compliance matter, and a landlord then issues an eviction notice or delivers a substantial rent increase, the tenant can challenge this as retaliatory action.

Courts can now look at the timing and circumstances of landlord actions. A rent increase of 30% delivered three weeks after a tenant requests plumbing repairs will invite scrutiny. This doesn't mean landlords can't raise rents or issue legitimate notices — it means the timing and proportionality will matter if a dispute arises.

The "No Grounds" Question

This is the single most searched aspect of WA tenancy law among property investors, and the current answer is often misunderstood.

Western Australia has not abolished no-grounds evictions. This is in contrast to Victoria and the ACT, where no-grounds terminations are prohibited. WA landlords retain the legal right to terminate a periodic lease without stating a reason, provided they serve the correct statutory notice: typically 60 days for a periodic lease. If a property has been sold and the settlement contract requires vacant possession, the notice period can be reduced to 30 days.

However, the 2024 Act introduced a Phase 2 reform — the abolition of no-grounds evictions — which was included in the legislation but with implementation dependent on further regulatory work. This phase is listed as pending/active. Investors should monitor whether this phase comes into force during their ownership period, as it would require that all lease terminations be justified against a codified list of permissible reasons.

If no-grounds evictions are eventually abolished in WA, landlords will need to rely on grounds such as the property being required for owner-occupation, plans for major renovation, or genuine sale requiring vacant possession. This places much greater weight on tenant selection — a problematic tenancy becomes significantly harder to end.

Security Bonds and Dispute Resolution

The maximum bond remains four weeks' rent. A separate pet bond is permitted in addition.

Bond disputes are now streamlined: tenants can apply directly for release of the bond, with contested claims referred to the Magistrates Court or SAT depending on the financial amount. The process is faster and more accessible than the previous system, which means landlords who haven't documented property condition thoroughly will face a harder time making successful bond claims.

Property condition reports at both the start and end of each tenancy are not optional in this environment — they're the primary evidentiary document in any bond dispute.

Managing WA Properties from Interstate

The 2024 reforms increase the operational complexity of self-managing a Perth property from Sydney or Melbourne. Notice periods, pet application processes, modification approvals, and anti-retaliatory action provisions all require active management and documentation. Missing a 60-day notice window, failing to respond to a pet application within the required period, or handling a bond dispute incorrectly can all create legal exposure.

For interstate investors, the case for using a qualified WA property manager has strengthened with these reforms. The management fee — typically 8–10% of rent — buys compliance expertise that is increasingly worth the cost.

The Western Australia Investment Property Guide covers the full tenancy law framework alongside acquisition costs, land tax obligations, and the WA settlement agent process.

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