Pets and minor modifications such as hanging pictures or installing new shower heads will be allowed in most rental properties as a new tranche of rental reforms take effect on Monday.
Under the changes a landlord would be only able to refuse if written laws, local laws or by-laws prevent them, or if a good reason can be provided to the Commissioner for Consumer Protection.
Housing Minister John Carey, Premier Roger Cook, and Commerce Minister Sue Ellery.
Disputes about pets and minor modifications will be heard in new processes with the Commissioner for Consumer Protection to hear from both sides before making an independent ruling.
As part of this next stage of the state government’s rental reforms taking effect on Monday, rent increases are only allowed once every 12 months, down from six months previously.
RSPCA WA chief executive Ben Cave said the organisation had long advocated for reforms to make it easier for tenants to keep pets.
“The current tight, competitive and expensive rental market has brought the need for changes to rental laws into sharp relief,” he said.
“More than 2000 animals were surrendered to RSPCA WA in the past 12 months and our tracking shows over a quarter of all surrender requests in that time were linked to housing issues.”
Cave said not being able to secure a pet-friendly rental was among the top three reasons why people said they could no longer keep their pets.
“It’s heartbreaking, not just for owners and their animals, but for the staff here too who manage these traumatic separations,” he said.
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