This guide covers landlords (or head-tenants) and tenants (or sub-tenants) in a Residential Tenancy. This applies to the majority of share accommodation and residential property rental situations. To confirm it covers your situation visit What is my share accommodation situation?
The standard form WA Tenancy Agreement can be downloaded and used for free from WA Department of Commerce.
In Western Australia, this standard form Residential Tenancy Agreement should be used for agreements between:
Note: Although the form has labels for a ‘landlord’ and ‘tenant’, these are just convenient labels—in sub-letting situations, the head-tenant should be listed as ‘landlord’ and the sub-tenant as ‘tenant’.
The agreement has two purposes. Firstly, it allows the landlord and tenant to list the details of the tenancy, such as names of the parties, the length of the agreement, amount of the rent, and how any payments should be made.
Secondly, the agreement includes the terms and conditions of the tenancy. This includes: rent, maintenance, and rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords.
In Western Australia, a residential tenancy agreement can be written or oral. Regardless of whether the agreement is written or oral, the standard terms created by the Western Australian Government apply.
Written agreements secure the tenancy and provide certainty
The WA Government has created a Standard Form Tenancy Agreement that must be used by for all residential tenancies
As well as providing space for the relevant details, the standard form agreement also conveniently lists the standard terms that must apply under Western Australian law to all agreements.
If the agreement is written, landlords must give a copy of the agreement to every tenant when signing the agreement.
Before entering an agreement, the landlord should give the tenant a tenancy information sheet. These are forms 1AC for written agreements or 1AD for oral agreements
Both Landlords and Tenants should take the time to read the terms and the information sheet before signing the agreement.
There is no minimum or maximum length of agreement under Western Australia law.
If, however, you are renting a premises for a holiday, then you should not use a residential tenancy agreement.
If the tenant is renting a room in a share house, it is very important that the agreement detail which parts of the premises the tenant has exclusive possession of, and which parts the tenant has shared use of.
A common situation is for the tenant to have exclusive possession of their own bedroom and shared use of kitchen, bathroom and laundry facilities. By describing in the agreement which parts of the property the tenant does and does not have exclusive possession over, the rights and obligations of all parties are guaranteed.
The tenant and landlord can agree for additional terms to apply to the agreement in addition to the standard terms. These should be listed on the residential tenancy agreement.
Any additional terms cannot contradict or change the standard, and also cannot try to exclude any of the legal rules in Western Australian law from applying to the agreement.
The terms of the agreement can only be changed with the written consent by both the landlord and tenant(s).
Transferring money safely
When paying your deposit, bond or rent by cash make sure you get a receipt. With modern phones this can be as simple as an SMS or email confirming the amount, date and what it is for. Keep a copy of this incase you need it later.
Never ever transfer money to a bank account outside of Australia or use a untraceable money transfer system such as WESTERN UNION. If anyone asks you to do this on any website it is likely to be a scam and you are almost guaranteed to lose your money.
If this ever happens on Flatmates.com.au report the member immediately so we can investigate and take the appropriate action.
WA Bonds
WA Rental Payments
WA Holding Deposits
These legal guides provide a brief summary and introduction of the laws and regulations affecting share accommodation. They do not cover all cases in all legal jurisdictions and might not apply in your specific share accommodation situation. It is important that you use this information as a guide only and seek independent Legal Advice or consult the Relevant Acts. We do not accept any liability that may arise from the use of this information.