The rent increase rules WA landlords work under are simpler than most people expect. Rent can go up once every twelve months, and the tenant has to be given at least sixty days written notice on the prescribed form. That applies whether the agreement is periodic or fixed term. Everything after that is detail, and the detail is where owners come unstuck.
How often can rent be increased?
Once in any twelve month period. Consumer Protection WA is explicit that this covers both periodic and fixed term agreements, so there is no version of a residential tenancy in this state where rent can be lifted twice in a year.
The twelve months runs from the date of the last increase, not from the start of the current agreement. That distinction matters more than it sounds, and it is the one covered further down.
How much notice does a tenant get?
At least sixty days, in writing, on the prescribed form. For a residential tenancy that is Form 10. For a residential park it is Form RP10.
Sixty days is a floor, not a target. A notice that does not meet the requirements does not take effect the way the owner expected, so the date it is served matters as much as the figure written on it. If the intention is an increase from 1 July, the notice needs to be out the door well before the end of April.
What is different about a fixed term agreement?
For a fixed term agreement, the amount of the increase, or the method of working it out, has to be set out in the agreement itself before any increase can be applied. A percentage, a fixed dollar figure, or a link to inflation are all methods. If the agreement is silent on the point, there is nothing to apply, and serving sixty days notice does not fix it.
Periodic agreements do not need a pre agreed formula. Sixty days notice and the twelve month gap are the requirements.
The practical consequence is that the rent review for a fixed term tenancy is decided when the lease is drafted, not when the market moves.
Does renewing the lease reset the clock?
No. Where an agreement is renewed with the same tenant, or with at least one of the original co tenants still in place, the tenancy is treated as continuous. Twelve months still has to have passed since the last increase.
This is the one that catches owners out. A landlord who increased the rent in March and then signs a fresh twelve month agreement in September has not created a new starting point. The next increase is still measured from March.
What about rent bidding?
Rent bidding is prohibited in Western Australia. A landlord or agent cannot invite offers above the advertised rent and cannot accept them, and a prospective tenant cannot be pressured into offering more than the advertised price.
In practice that means the advertised figure has to be the figure the owner actually wants, because it is the figure the property will be let at. Underquoting to draw a crowd and letting the market bid it up is not available here.
What this means for a Perth landlord
Three habits keep a portfolio out of trouble.
Diary the anniversary of the last increase rather than the anniversary of the lease, because those two dates drift apart the moment a tenancy is renewed.
Draft fixed term agreements with the increase method already in them. It cannot be added later, and a lease without one locks the rent for the term.
Serve notices with room to spare. Sixty days is the minimum, and a review served a fortnight late costs a fortnight of the difference, every time, for the rest of the tenancy.
None of this is onerous. It is simply unforgiving about dates.
The short version
Once a year, sixty days notice, on the right form, measured from the last increase rather than the last lease. Fixed term agreements need the method written in before the tenancy starts. No bidding above the advertised price.
If you would rather not track any of it yourself, that is what a manager is for. Our residential property management service administers rent reviews against each property’s own dates, so an increase is prepared and served on time rather than noticed six weeks late. If you own a rental in Perth and are not sure when your last increase actually was, that is a good first thing to have checked.
These rules come from the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 and the guidance published by Consumer Protection WA. This article is general information and not advice.
