Growing number of reliable tenants find themselves homeless in rental squeeze

Perth law student Diane Palmer never expected to become homeless at the age of 52.

But that's how she found herself earlier this year, after she was evicted from her home of two-and-a-half years.

“One would think that, if you pay your rent, you take care of the property, how can you be evicted?” she asked rhetorically, “because you don't agree to an unlawful condition and [you] stand up for your rights.”

Ms Palmer said this condition was a request in a new lease contract by her landlord to access her property several times a week, for an unspecified period of time, and with little or no notice.

Ms Palmer says she refused to give in to the landlord's request to access the property several times a week, with little or no notice.(Pixabay: Sephelonor)

Refusing to sign a new lease under those conditions, Ms Palmer tried unsuccessfully to find a new rental property to move to, a tough job in the Perth market where vacancies are around 1.1 per cent and rents are soaring.

When she was eventually evicted, it was a costly and emotional experience.

She said she was forced to give up many of her pets, pay big bills for removalists and storage units for her possessions, and rely on the kindness of friends for somewhere to sleep.

In their negotiations, she said, she felt her landlord used his ability under Western Australia's laws to terminate her lease for no reason, to pressure her to accept his requests.

“These laws give the landlord a lot of power and, with the situation at the moment, the tenant has even less power because they can't just choose to up and go,” she said.

'No-grounds terminations' under scrutiny

The power to end a lease without giving a reason is known as a “no-grounds termination”.

Overseas and around Australia, some governments have already done away with no-grounds terminations — or signalled their intention to do so — to give greater long-term housing security to tenants.

For example, such provisions have been outlawed in Germany and Scotland, while the UK government last month announced it intended to abolish them in England.

The cost of renting in Perth has dropped and more properties are coming onto the market.(ABC News: Kathleen Dyett)

The Victorian government broadened the reasons a landlord may give to terminate a lease when it decided to remove no-grounds terminations several years ago.

It's a move being considered by the West Australian government in a long-awaited review of rental tenancy laws.

Under these laws, landlords can terminate a periodic lease at any time via a no-grounds termination, which means they don't need to provide a reason but must give 60 days' notice.

Landlords also do not need to provide a reason for not renewing a fixed-term tenancy, but must give 30 days' notice.

'A lot of it is just about money'

Tenants' advocates such as Danika Adair-La and Paul Harrison of the Northern Suburbs Community Legal Centre say they are seeing how the laws are being used to evict good tenants in today's tight rental market.

A dispute over an end-of-lease inspection and a water bill has led to a renter being accused of defamation.(Supplied: Pexels)

Ms Adair-La said no-grounds terminations used to be a minor part of her court workload but now comprised about 40 per cent.

“We're finding a lot of it is just about money,” she said.

“They will find somebody to pay that.”

It's not just the increased number of no-grounds terminations which has shocked her, but also the type of people who are being evicted.

Danika Adair-La and Paul Harrison are dealing with a big increase in no-grounds terminations.(ABC News: Rebecca Turner)

“We're having professionals [who] earn good money, have never been in rent arrears, keep the property well maintained, may have lived in the property for eight, nine years and they're finding themselves with a non-renewal of lease and are having to find somewhere else to go,” she said.

Mr Harrison said the prospect of being evicted or not getting a good reference was preventing many tenants from speaking up about problems with a property.

More and more Australians are facing a future of renting.(ABC News: Markus Mannheim)

“People are having to make tough decisions — keep a roof over my head but put up with a very poor property and substandard conditions or do I try and enforce my rights and not get my lease renewed,” he said.

Law change will lead to higher rents: REIWA

Community legal centres are mounting a campaign for the abolition of no-grounds terminations, with Ms Adair-La saying she supported the Victorian move to give landlords a broader range of options to remove a tenant.

But the real estate industry opposes any change to the laws.

REIWA president Damian Collins said removing no-grounds terminations would take away the rights of property owners and exacerbate Western Australia's rental problems.

“The private sector provides 85 per cent of all rental properties,” he said.

REIWA president Damian Collins is opposed to changing rental tenancy laws.(ABC News: Jessica Warriner)

“So, every time you take away a right that a property owner has — and if at the end of a lease term if they don't want to extend that lease, they should have that right — well, then all that will simply mean is fewer investors in the market and rents are going to go up, it's simple maths.”

The West Australian government is expected to release its recommended changes to the laws before the end of the year.

By then, Ms Palmer should be well and truly settled in her new home, after signing a lease for a new property last week.

It took Diane Palmer about six months to secure a new rental property.

After six months of trying to find a new home, she said she was feeling good about her future after positive negotiations with her new landlord.

“I feel like a respected human being,” she said.

“I did not feel respected at all in my previous relationship with the landlord.”