Renting or hiring a house or apartment Important electrical and gas safety information you need to know before you rent or hire a property. Renting or hiring a house or apartment fact sheet – Electrical and gas If you rent or hire a home or apartment, your landlord has a duty under electrical and...
Help is available for residential tenants who need further advice, require assistance in negotiating with their landlord or property manager, or have a tenancy-related legal issue through the Tenancy Advice and Education Service (TAES). TAES is delivered by community legal centres across Western...
Over one third of Western Australian households already have solar PV systems, with numbers growing rapidly. These systems comprise grid-connected, stand-alone and hybrid, incorporating grid and battery back-up. Grid connect systems enable surplus power not used by the household to be fed back into...
Changes to residential parks law ( Residential Parks (Long-stay Tenants) Act 2006 (RP Act) and the Residential Parks (Long-stay Tenants) Regulations 2007 (Regulations)) commenced on 31 January 2022. The changes affect long-stay tenants in residential parks living in a relocatable home within a...
Western Australian electrical safety regulations require all lighting points to have earth protection using a conductor connected to the main earth of the building’s electrical installation. The earthing conductor must be connected to a suitably robust earthing terminal of the lighting point (...
In 2019, Consumer Protection began reviewing the Residential Tenancies Act to consider potential improvements required to keep pace with Western Australia’s changing tenancy market. Following extensive consultation, the first phase of rent reforms was passed by...
There are two ways the property you're renting can be repossessed by: the mortgagee such as a bank or other financial lender, or a person with superior title such as a Government authority. An application to the Supreme Court must be made for possession of the rental property. During that process...
The State Government has been working to make retirement village laws fairer for residents whilst supporting the sector with the introduction of reforms to the Retirement Villages Act 1992 . Every stage of the retirement living journey has been considered, from making it easier to choose a suitable...
9 January 2023 What happens to your tenancy during a disaster Tenants and landlords each have responsibilities if a cyclone, storm, fire, flood, earthquake or some other disaster affects a rental...
23 December 2022 Pool safety – it’s everyone's responsibility Homes with pools, spas or portable pools must be safe to protect young children from injury or drowning. Royal Life Saving Australia...
8 November 2022 Energy Policy WA survey Energy Policy WA is conducting a survey among embedded networks stakeholders to better understand their experiences and inform policy. Embedded networks are...
21 November 2022 Have Your Say About Family Domestic Violence Tenancy Laws Consumer Protection is keen to hear from you if you, or someone you know is a tenant who has been impacted by family...
Status: CLOSED Friday 16 December 2022 Public consultation is now closed. It makes up part of a review of the family domestic violence provisions included in: Division 2A of the Residential Tenancies...
Use this checklist to help ensure you meet your obligations when you dispose of belongings the tenant(s) has left behind at the end of a residential tenancy or a residential parks long-stay tenancy...
20 July 2022 How to increase the bond after a rent increase A bond can be increased during a long-stay tenancy if there is a rent increase. This bulletin explains the steps involved and what’s...
20 July 2022 Don't let bond top-ups get you down Following an increase in rent, it is common for the landlord or agent to ask you to pay money to increase the security bond. Sometimes this is called...
Please note this content was correct at the time of issue. As COVID-19 restrictions may change, please visit WA.gov.au to find the latest COVID-19 information. 28 June 2022 How does COVID-19 affect...
Everyone has the right to privacy in their own homes, and those living in rental properties across Western Australia are certainly no exception. Claims of private landlords and property managers arriving unannounced for inspections, maintenance and rent collection are fairly common issues reported to Consumer Protection – in the past two years, our team has fielded 177 enquiries and 36 complaints...
Investigators from the State Government’s electrical safety regulator, Building and Energy, are on site at a property in Nollamara where an electrical worker tragically died this morning. The 24-year-old electrician was found deceased in the home’s roof space. Western Australia’s Director of Energy Safety, Saj Abdoolakhan, has extended his deepest condolences to the electrician’s loved ones. “Our...
Rising rents and a lack of available homes have prompted many Western Australians to seek out share houses as a way of keeping a roof over their heads at a price they can afford. Before taking on a housemate, or becoming one yourself, it’s crucial that everyone understands the arrangement they have agreed to, as the law applies differently to boarders and lodgers than it does to co-tenants or sub...
When it comes time to move out of a rental property, knowing what’s involved in advance can help ensure things run more smoothly. How much notice to give depends on whether a fixed-term or periodic tenancy is being wound-up. Even though a fixed-term tenancy is for the period agreed in writing, it does not end automatically – notice must be given by either party 30 days’ before the expiry date, or...
Western Australia’s rental market has never been tighter, but it doesn’t mean tenants should accept living in homes that are falling into disrepair, have mould or electrical safety issues. So far this year, Consumer Protection has received 367 enquiries and 32 complaints about rental repair and maintenance issues, but we suspect these figures are only a small proportion of the actual number of...
When you walk away from a tenancy, an important next step is working out how the security bond paid at the start of the lease will be distributed between tenant and landlord. Tenants may be relying on getting back the money to help with finding a new place to live, while landlords may need some – or all – of the funds to cover damage or cleaning costs. In 2022, only 36 per cent of tenants...
Updated guidance on management of high-voltage electrical installations Publication issued by Building & Energy and endorsed by WorkSafe Revised version aligns with current regulations including new WHS Act Owners and managers of premises with high-voltage electrical installations can now access updated guidance from WA’s energy and workplace safety regulators. Facilities such as large...
Building and Energy is investigating polybutylene pipe failures in some new homes Affected consumers should contact their builder in the first instance Pipe manufacturer, Iplex Australia, has announced interim remedy arrangements Western Australia’s building and plumbing regulator is investigating the cause of water leaks from burst polybutylene pipes, which have mostly occurred in homes built in...
A lack of available rental homes means it’s becoming harder and more expensive for many WA tenants to keep a roof over their heads. As Perth’s rental vacancy rate reportedly drops to 0.7 per cent and average weekly rents rise to $535, existing tenants may be asked to pay more to remain in the same property. There are strict rules surrounding how often rent increases are allowed to happen – they...
Willetton man managed five properties over four years without holding a licence Tenancy bonds were collected but not lodged with the Bond Administrator Unlicensed operators undermine professional standards of the industry A Willetton property manager who operated without a licence and failed to lodge eight tenancy bonds with the Bond Administrator was fined a total of $18,000 by the Perth...
