Western Australia's renting rules: rent rises, pets, bonds and notice

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Kooky

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Renting a home in Western Australia runs on one statute, the Residential Tenancies Act 1987, and that statute was rewritten in stages from May 2024 by the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2024. The questions tenants, landlords and property managers ask have not changed: how much can the rent go up and when, can a dog move in, who holds the bond and how does it come back, how much notice ends a lease. The answers have.

This guide follows the rules as the state's regulator, Consumer Protection, sets them out on its own pages, and as the Western Australian Government announced them. It covers the ban on rent bidding, the limit on rent increases, pets and changes to the home, the bond from lodgement to release, and the notice periods that end a tenancy. Where the pages give a penalty, a form number or a section of the Act, it is quoted. Where they are silent, the guide says so.

Consumer Protection (Western Australia), rent increases and renting with pets pages, as read in October 2026.

Three starting dates

The reforms did not arrive on one day, and the date matters whenever an older agreement is in play.

The first stage began on 16 May 2024. The Western Australian Government's announcement of that day brought in two things: a ban on soliciting rent bids, and the right of a tenant to challenge retaliatory action by a landlord in court.

The second stage took effect on Monday 29 July 2024, according to the government's announcement of 10 July 2024. From that date rent could be increased only once every 12 months, where the previous rule allowed an increase every six months. Tenants gained a general right to keep a pet and to make minor modifications, each with the landlord's permission, and the Commissioner for Consumer Protection became the decision-maker for disputes about those requests.

The third date is the bond. Consumer Protection's page on the new bonds process gives the start of the new release process as 28 March 2026. From that date one party alone can apply for the bond, and a disputed claim is decided by the Commissioner without a court hearing.

The ban on rent bidding

Since 16 May 2024, a landlord or an agent in Western Australia cannot ask or invite a prospective tenant to pay more than the advertised rent to secure an available home. The government's announcement adds a rule about the advertisement itself: the property must be advertised at a set amount. A price range is not allowed, and neither is a "rent from" figure.

The rule is aimed at the invitation, not at the offer. The same announcement says a higher rent can still be accepted when it is offered freely. A tenant who decides alone to offer above the asking rent is not breaking the law, and a landlord who accepts that offer is not either.

Consumer Protection's summary of the reform puts it in one line: tenants cannot be pressured into paying more than the advertised rent. The 2024 announcement said compliance officers would attend home inspections posing as would-be tenants.

One rent increase every 12 months

Consumer Protection's rent increases page states the rule without exception for the type of agreement: rent can be increased no more than once every 12 months, in a periodic tenancy and in a fixed-term tenancy alike.

A periodic tenancy has no fixed end date. Here the landlord can raise the rent as long as 12 months have passed since the last increase and the notice rules are followed. A fixed-term tenancy has an end date, and it carries one more condition. An increase during the term is possible only if the agreement itself provides for it, by stating either the exact increase or the way it will be calculated. The page gives a percentage, a fixed dollar amount and inflation as examples of a method.

The transition from the old six-month rule is described in the government's July 2024 announcement. For periodic tenancies the 12-month limit applied immediately on 29 July 2024. For fixed-term tenancies it applies from the end of the lease term that was running at that date. Consumer Protection adds a detail for long fixed-term agreements signed before 29 July 2024: increases already written into such an agreement continue to apply until that tenancy ends, and once it is renewed, at least 12 months must have passed since the last increase.

Renewal does not reset the clock. If the same tenant signs a new agreement for the same home, or if at least one of the existing co-tenants does, Consumer Protection treats the tenancy as continuous for this purpose. A run of six-month leases with the same household therefore allows one increase a year, not one at each renewal.

An increase needs written notice of at least 60 days. For a residential tenancy the notice is Form 10, the notice to tenant of rent increase. Consumer Protection says it must state two things: the amount of the increased rent and the day on which the increase starts.

The consequence of getting this wrong is stated plainly on the same page. If the rules are not followed, the tenant does not have to pay the increase.

A worked example shows how the two periods fit together. Assume a periodic tenancy in Perth whose rent last went up on 1 September 2025. The 12-month rule means the next increase cannot start before 1 September 2026. Counting 60 days back from that date, the notice would have to reach the tenant by 3 July 2026: 28 days remain in July after the 3rd, August adds 31, and the first day of September makes 60. The pages read for this guide do not say how the days are counted when a notice is posted, so the example assumes the notice is handed over on the day it is dated.

Challenging an increase, and retaliation

The 12-month rule limits how frequently rent rises, not by how much. For the amount, the route is the Magistrates Court of Western Australia. Consumer Protection says a tenant can apply to the court for a reduction of the rent or to argue against a proposed increase.

The page lists what the magistrate may weigh:

• rents for comparable homes in the area;
• the estimated value of the property;
• the cost of upkeep and of services the landlord pays for;
• the contents included in the rent;
• the general condition of the home;
• whether the increase is retaliatory.

That last item connects to the first stage of the reforms. Since May 2024, a tenant who believes the landlord has retaliated can take the matter to the Magistrates Court. The government's announcement gives a rent increase, a breach notice and the termination of the lease as examples of action that can be challenged. The pages read do not give a time limit for either application, and the outcome depends on the evidence in each case.

Keeping a pet: Form 25 and 14 days

Since 29 July 2024 a tenant in Western Australia can keep a pet, with the landlord's permission asked first. Consumer Protection defines the word broadly: a pet is any animal except an assistance animal.

The request is made on Form 25, the pet request form. The landlord then has 14 days, counted from the day after the form is received, to decide and to tell the tenant.

Silence is an answer. If the landlord does not respond within the 14 days, or wants to refuse but does not apply to the Commissioner in that time, Consumer Protection says the request is approved, and approved without conditions.

A landlord can refuse alone in one situation only: keeping the pet would break a law or a strata rule. The renting with pets page cites section 50D(a) of the Act for homes in a strata complex whose by-laws prohibit pets. The same applies where the council of owners must approve the animal and has not. Consumer Protection notes that the council of owners has no time limit to answer.

Every other refusal needs the Commissioner's approval, applied for within the 14 days. The grounds the page lists are:

• the premises are unsuitable, for example because there is no fencing;
• there are already too many pets at the home;
• the damage the pet could cause may cost more to repair than the bond;
• the pet would create an unacceptable risk to health or safety;
• the pet would cause undue hardship to the landlord or to another tenant;
• the animal is a dangerous dog under the Dog Act 1976.

Conditions work the same way. Two kinds can be set without approval: a limit on the number of animals, and requirements for cleaning, maintenance and fumigation, such as professional carpet cleaning every 12 months and when the tenancy ends. Any other condition, such as keeping the animal outside or a bird in its cage, applies only if the Commissioner approves it.

The tenant remains responsible for cleaning up after the animal, for nuisance such as excessive barking, and for repairing any damage it causes.

An assistance animal is outside all of this. Consumer Protection says it is not a pet, and no pet bond can be charged for it.

Minor modifications and other changes to the home

The second right created on 29 July 2024 is to make small changes. Consumer Protection calls them minor modifications and sorts them by who must carry out the work.

Changes the tenant can make without a tradesperson include picture hooks, screws for shelves and wall mounts, wall anchors, water-saving shower heads, LED bulbs, window coverings, adhesive child safety locks, locks on letterboxes and gates, wireless doorbells, flyscreens, draughtproofing and a vegetable or herb garden.

For a second group the landlord may require a qualified tradesperson: lever-style taps, phone or internet connections, painting a room, non-permanent window film, and hard-wired security lights, alarms or cameras.

The procedure mirrors the one for pets. The tenant makes the request on Form 26; the landlord has 14 days from the day after receiving it. Without an answer in that time the tenant may assume approval.

The landlord can refuse without the Commissioner if a law or a strata rule prevents the change, if the work would disturb asbestos, or if the home is heritage listed. The tenant may ask the Commissioner to review such a refusal. Other reasons need the Commissioner's approval: the tenancy is ending, the change would add to the landlord's maintenance costs, it would make the home unsafe, repairing or removing it would cost more than the security bond, or it cannot practically be reversed, such as holes drilled in tiles.

The cost stays with the tenant throughout. The tenant pays for the modification, maintains it, removes it at the end of the tenancy unless the landlord agrees to keep it, and makes good the damage, filling holes and repainting where needed.

Not every change is a minor modification, and the other requests have their own forms and clocks.

A major modification covers items such as an air conditioner, a dishwasher or a pet door. When the landlord is the one asking, the tenant cannot refuse without good reason; without agreement, the matter goes to the Magistrates Court.

One category needs no permission at all. A tenant may make security changes to prevent family violence after telling the landlord in writing. The work must be done by a suitable tradesperson, and a copy of the invoice goes to the landlord within 14 days after it is finished.

A disagreement about a pet or a minor modification no longer goes to court. It goes to the Commissioner for Consumer Protection.

In a column published by the Western Australian Government on 14 August 2025, one year after the second stage, the Commissioner wrote that a landlord must prove with evidence that one of the grounds in the legislation applies. The same column reports that fewer than five per cent of applications had been decided in the landlord's favour. Decisions are published.

The bond: how much and who holds it

A security bond in Western Australia is not kept by the landlord or the agent. It is lodged with Bonds Administration. Consumer Protection's lodging page puts the duty on the landlord: the bond must be lodged as soon as possible and no later than 14 days after the tenant pays it.

Real estate agents and property managers must lodge through BondsOnline. Bonds Administration then sends a record of payment to every party to the bond.

On the amount, the bonds process page describes the limit as up to four weeks' rent where the weekly rent is A$1,200 or less, and says the Residential Tenancies Regulations 1989 set the threshold above which a higher bond can be allowed. The pet bond comes on top: a maximum of A$350 for a residential tenancy, whatever the number of pets. It covers fumigation or damage related to the pet.

A worked example, with illustrative figures: a home let at A$650 a week, to a tenant with one approved cat. Four weeks' rent is A$2,600. Adding the pet bond of A$350 gives a maximum of A$2,950 lodged with Bonds Administration.

A pet bond taken under the earlier, lower limit does not rise automatically. Consumer Protection says it can be increased to A$350 only at the next rent increase or when a further pet request is approved.

Getting the bond back

The process that began on 28 March 2026 replaced the old joint form, which needed every signature, with the Security Bond Release Application, which Bonds Administration accepts with one. The final inspection comes first: the regulator's guide for tenants leaving a home says it takes place within 14 days of the agreement ending, and that the tenant is given the chance to attend and a copy of the final property condition report.

Some details of each stage matter. The 14 days to answer the notice cannot be extended; a manual application gets six extra days. The 10 days for submissions can be extended. A claim must be placed in a category, and the page cites section 81E of the Act for the claims that are permitted. A claim cannot exceed the bond held: anything above it goes to the Magistrates Court.

The determination costs the parties nothing. The decision can be appealed to the Magistrates Court within seven days, and Bonds Administration waits seven days from the decision before paying. The Commissioner does not decide where another dispute about the same tenancy is already before the court.

The old paper form has not disappeared yet. Consumer Protection's reform page says the Joint Application for Disposal of Security Bond is accepted until 31 December 2026 and follows the old process: payment only if everyone has signed, and disputes to the Magistrates Court.

Notice to end a tenancy

The notice periods below come from Consumer Protection's guide for tenants leaving a rental home, in the edition filed in April 2026.

A fixed-term agreement does not stop by itself on its end date. If neither side gives the 30 days' notice and no new agreement is signed, the guide says the tenancy carries on as a periodic one, and the periodic notice periods then apply.

Leaving before the end of a fixed term is a different matter from giving notice. The guide says the tenant may have to cover costs such as advertising, and rent until a new tenant moves in or until the end date. The tenant is not liable for costs they did not cause.

A notice does not remove a tenant who stays. The guide says an eviction requires a court order, and that the magistrate can delay it by up to 30 days where hardship is likely.

What the pages leave open

Three points could not be settled from the sources read for this guide.

The first is penalties. Apart from the A$10,000 and A$50,000 maximums for rent bidding, the Consumer Protection pages describe consequences without a dollar figure: an invalid rent increase need not be paid, a late answer to a pet request means approval. They state no penalty for lodging a bond after the 14 days.

The second is the landlord's notice for a periodic tenancy. The 60 days without a stated reason is the rule in the current tenant's guide, but Consumer Protection's reform page lists a second phase that would replace termination without grounds with a list of reasonable grounds. The same phase covers information given before a lease is signed, tenancy applications and personal information, minimum standards for rental homes, maintenance and repairs, and rules for boarders and lodgers. The page gives no starting date for any of it.

The third is the Act itself. The section numbers quoted here, 50D(a) for strata by-laws and 81E for bond claims, are the ones the regulator's pages cite. Anyone relying on a precise provision, a time limit for a court application or the way a period of days is counted needs the current text of the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 and its regulations, and the answer for one tenancy depends on its agreement and its dates.

Kooky, from Shaka

Kooky edits Agents Estate and builds Shaka, the payment router he made for real estate professionals. One payment comes in, and every agent, agency and party in the deal receives their signed share on closing date.

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