The WA Government has announced a $24.4 million fund to help renters at risk of eviction as the state faces a stubbornly low rental vacancy rate and cost-of-living

"We know … that there are many people falling through the cracks of relief services," Premier Roger Cook said.

"Many of those people might have jobs but are just simply doing it tough or might have had some financial disruptions or impacts on their lives and they're struggling to dig themselves out of a hole.

 

Roger Cook says the program is designed to help those falling through the cracks of relief services.( ABC News: Nicolas Perpitch )

"We don't want them to go out onto the streets, we don't want them evicted."

Eligibility scrutinised

Mr Cook said those able to access the program would be identified by community services organisations, like Anglicare WA and Vinnies WA.

"The organisations will identify tenants in need through their existing services and networks and will assist those tenants in applying for rent relief," he said.

"These organisations will assess applications and determine the level of funding."

The landlord or property owner must agree to continue a tenancy of at least three months for the funding to be provided.

Commerce Minister Sue Ellery said the program was expected to reach around 4,500 households, benefiting around 13,000 people.

 

A for lease sign at a rental property in the inner-northern Perth suburb of Dianella.(ABC News: Gian De Poloni)

"Some of the criteria include they need to be able to demonstrate rental stress, so that means that more than 30 per cent of their income is going on rent, it means they have restricted access to any savings and they need to be able to demonstrate they're at risk of eviction.

Ms Ellery said she did not expect landlords would present problems.

"What property owners want and landlords want is good tenants who pay their rent, this helps this happen," she said.

 

Sue Ellery says $3.5 million of the total fund will be given to the service organisations to cover costs associated with assessing a tenant’s criteria.( ABC News: Nicolas Perpitch )

"These people are not bad tenants in any other definition, they have financial issues, and this is about addressing that."

Vinnies WA said it had recorded a 30 per cent overall increase in requests for help through its emergency relief program as compared to this time last year and a 40 per cent increase in new clients over the same period.

Housing demand impact

Housing Minister John Carey said the COVID-19 pandemic had "radically re-shaped our housing market in so many different ways".

"We've had supply chain issues, skilled labour shortages, but also an unprecedented demand for housing in WA," he said.

 

First-homebuyers in WA were propped up by about $55,000 during the pandemic.(ABC News: Gian De Poloni)

"You only have to look at the latest population growth story to see the demand for housing, WA has the highest population growth at 2.8 per cent.

"To break that down, that's around 1,500 people choosing to make Western Australia their home each week, this is causing pressure on the rental market."

According to the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA), Perth's rental vacancy rate was 0.7 per cent in September, not far off the 42-year-low of 0.6 per cent it hit in December of last year.

REIWA considers a balanced rental market to have a vacancy rate sitting between 2.5 and 3.5 per cent.