In light of an ever-tightening West Australian housing market, it has been decided that no-grounds evictions will be banned.
Landlords will thus no longer be able to terminate a tenant’s lease without providing a specific cause.
Throughout the state, there have been many renters expressing frustration with the lack of security and stability over one’s place of residence. As rents keep climbing, West Australians feel they are not getting in return what they are paying for.
As it stands now, Western Australia and the Northern Territory are the only jurisdictions in the country that allow the practice, and Commerce Minister and Attorney-General Tony Buti believes that needs to change.
“The market is a very tight market. People are feeling pressure. Tenants need security,” he argued, speaking to 102.5 ABC Perth.
At a Monday press conference, Dr Buti expressed particular confidence in the decision based on insight gained from the same policy implementation in other states.
“We’ve closely examined what’s happened in other states when they’ve removed no-grounds termination, and it appears the market hasn’t been affected.”
The prior administration under Mark McGowan had expressed reluctance towards a policy shift on this issue, with Premier McGowan and Commerce Minister Sue Ellery claiming that outlawing the practice of no-grounds eviction would potentially drive investment away from the state and compound housing supply issues.
Dr Buti described the decision as: “ensuring that we have a common-sense approach and ensuring there’s a balance between the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants.”
According to Dr Buti, the decision will have no impact on landlords’ rights to evict tenants for stated reasons, such as property damage or consistent failure to make rental payments.
While many renters are very happy with the decision, concern has emerged in some quarters. Real Estate Institute of WA (REIWA) president Suzanne Brown has expressed fears that this will disrupt investments in the state’s private housing market.
“Our main concern is that we feel it will further impact supply,” she said on 102.5 ABC Perth.
“We’ve already seen a mass exodus of investors post-COVID, and we’re still operating below the supply peak that we hit in 2021, so we’re dealing with five years of really low supply.”
Mrs Brown said no-grounds terminations were generally only used in worst-case scenarios with disruptive tenants.
“The only times we would be using that no-grounds termination clause would be where, potentially, the property manager is concerned,” she said.
“We would use that notice very, very rarely. Taking that right of shelter away from a family, a couple, a single person, an elderly person, it’s not a pleasant experience.”
Anglicare WA chief executive Mark Glasson feels differently and believes the evidence does not indicate outlawing no-grounds evictions will impact private investment in WA.
“You’ve got plenty of grounds still available to evict people who are problematic tenants,” he said.
“We know that the use of no-grounds evictions has been weaponised by some landlords, and it’s also prevented people from asking for reasonable improvements to their houses.”
