What it does
The Residential Tenancies Act 1987 (WA) (the Act) is the primary statute regulating the creation, operation, variation and termination of residential tenancy agreements in Western Australia. At its core, it implies a set of standard terms into every residential tenancy agreement (s.38–s.50ZE) while permitting limited contractual variation, subject to the prohibition on contracting out of its protective provisions (s.82). The Act applies to any agreement granting a right to occupy residential premises for valuable consideration, whether in writing or not (s.3 definition of “residential tenancy agreement”; s.5(1)). It expressly binds the Crown subject to limited exceptions (s.4).
The legislation performs several interlocking functions. First, it prescribes mandatory formalities for the formation of agreements. A written residential tenancy agreement must be in the approved form (s.27A). The lessor must provide prescribed information to the tenant at or shortly after commencement (s.27B) and both parties must complete and exchange property condition reports at the start and end of the tenancy (s.27C). These requirements create an evidentiary baseline for later disputes about the state of the premises.
Second, the Act strictly controls financial aspects of the tenancy. Rent must be offered at a fixed amount (s.27AA) and cannot be demanded in advance beyond two weeks (s.28). Security bonds are capped at four weeks’ rent plus a prescribed pet amount (s.29(1)(b)), must be paid to the bond administrator within 14 days (s.29(4)(b)), and are held centrally rather than by the lessor or an authorised financial institution (Part 5A; Schedule 1 clause 3). Rent increases are regulated: for non-income-based rent, increases require 60 days’ written notice and cannot occur more frequently than every 12 months (s.30(1)); income-based rent variations follow a parallel regime (s.31A). Excessive rents can be challenged (s.32), and landlords must mitigate their loss (s.58).