As many businesses prepare to reopen, WA’s plumbing regulator is urging owners and managers of recently unoccupied buildings to ensure that hot and cold water services are thoroughly flushed before use to clear potentially hazardous stagnation. Building and Energy is supporting an advisory note issued by the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB), which warns that water quality could change if it...

If you’re a tenant who’s lost their job in the coronavirus crunch, you may be wondering how to afford what’s likely the household’s biggest weekly expense – the rent. To relieve some of the burden, the State Government has announced a $30 million residential rental relief scheme, which will see payments equivalent of four weeks’ rent up to a maximum of $2000 granted to landlords on behalf of...

A Caversham real estate agency and its property manager have been fined a total of $12,000 by the State Administrative Tribunal for overcharging eight owners of Pilbara rental properties 132 times. Arcturus Nominees Pty Ltd , trading as Polaris Realty , was fined $8,000 and property manager Robyn Dale Staggard was fined $4,000 for failing to exercise due care, diligence and skill, breaching the...

A six-month moratorium on residential tenancy evictions will now become law, with legislation introduced by the McGowan Government passing the Western Australian Parliament. The new laws implement the decision of the National Cabinet and are designed to prevent tenants from having to move out or being made homeless during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, tenants can still have their leases...