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Labor likely to announce a ban on "no grounds" rental terminations in the upcoming May 7 State Budget.
If enacted, these new laws would create a fairer WA by requiring landlords to provide a valid reason to end a tenancy, rather than evicting people without cause. This move will bring WA in line with other states and aim to provide better stability for renters.
What are "no grounds" evictions?
Currently in WA, a tenant can be evicted without a reason under what is known as "no grounds" evictions or terminations. This happens at the end of a fixed-term lease or at any time during a periodic lease when the tenant hasn’t breached lease conditions, but the landlord wants them to leave. In this instance the landlord doesn’t need to give a reason, but they do need to provide a notice period of 30 days for a fixed-term lease or 60 days for a periodic lease.
What are the benefits of ending no-grounds evictions?
While the Residential Tenancy Act reforms of last year increased protections for renters, the renting landscape remains significantly unbalanced in favour of landlords and property managers.
Comments attributed to Mark Glasson, Anglicare WA CEO:
"Ending no-grounds terminations would be one of the most significant reforms the State Government could enact to protect more than 700,000 West Australian renters. As house prices rise further out of reach for many people in this state, more and more people are renting, particularly younger people, older women, and single parents, and the number of people trying to enter the market will only continue to grow."
You can’t end somebody’s employment contract without good reason, so why do we allow it when it comes to somebody’s home? We constantly hear from renters who are afraid to ask questions about their rights – quietly putting up with bathroom mould or broken air-conditioning – out of fear it will lead to their lease not being renewed. No-ground evictions are the single biggest contributor to the unfair power imbalance facing renters and can act as a constant source of stress and uncertainty when it comes to housing security. Alongside rent stabilisation and minimum standards for rental properties, these reforms are desperately needed for a healthier, more stable residential tenancy system in WA.
What would this mean for landlords?
With the proposed reform, nothing changes if a landlord wishes to evict a bad tenant. A landlord still maintains all abilities to evict tenants who don’t pay rent, damage the property or behave in an antisocial way under the existing grounds using a normal breach notice. The only change this reform makes is to protect good tenants from arbitrary evictions, which will improve security of tenure and prevent homelessness.
