REIWA calls for changes to rental legislation

Real Estate Institute of WA (REIWA) released statistics on October 1 which showed in September 2020, Busselton had just 14 rental vacancies.

This is down from 79 vacancies for the same time last year.

For the South West region there were 355 vacancies in September 2019 and this year there are just 109.

REIWA deputy president Lisa Jones said a factor in the problem was the state government's extension of the COVID-19 rental laws.

The emergency residential tenancy laws has a range of measures to help those struggling financially from the pandemic.

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This includes landlords not being allowed to increase their rents and are encouraged, but not forced to reduce rents for tenants in financial hardship.

Tenants can also access support if they cannot pay their rent due to financial hardship from COVID-19.

The emergency residential tenancy laws were due to expire in September but the government extended the laws until March 28, 2021.

WA commerce minister John Quigley said while the state was in recovery, the threat of a second wave was still real and this extension would provide stability.

"For residential tenancies, low vacancy rates for rental properties have, and will continue to force rents to rise, and this together with the current unemployment rate, as well as changes to JobKeeper, means families may find themselves in financial hardship," he said.

"During the extended emergency period, the McGowan government will introduce a landlord's hotline, which will provide individualised guidance to landlords, connecting them with tenancy experts to answer questions and explore options in relation to the moratorium."

Ms Jones said people were understanding of the law in the first six months but now their good will had 'eroded'.

"Owners feel it is an imposition because COVID-19 is under control in WA," she said.

"Part of the imbalance is because the market has been soft for a few years so there is less supply and the vacancy rate has been consistently contracting over the last 18 months."

She said if the moratorium was lifted at the original date, there would be a small amount of turnover in the rental market to ease pressure.

Other areas such as Bunbury and the Peel have also seen a dramatic decline.

In September 2019 Bunbury had 147 places to rent and in 2020 there are 56 vacancies.

There were 339 homes available to rent in the Peel region in September 2019 and this year there are just 78.