The Make Renting Fair campaign has achieved so much this year – here’s a recap on all the things we accomplished together!
💥Hours and hours of advocacy – The Make Renting Fair campaign team spent a huge number of hours meeting and working with members of Parliament and key stakeholders alike. In fact we met 25 MPs, held multiple meetings, and another 2 webinars this year!
💥Key changes to the Residential Tenancies Act – It was great news that we secured 5 key changes to the RTA announced in May and tabled in parliament in November. It will finally see rent increases limited to once every 12 months, and that rent bidding (offering above the advertised price when there are multiple applications) will be banned. And we all know that not having to give up your pet to keep a roof over your head, plus being allowed to make minor modifications as right to make your rental home more of a home, is a huge step forward.
💥A brand new website! – The Make Renting Fair are stoked with our brand-new website which includes updated resources and fact sheets and makes it easier for supporters to get involved and find the information they need to make change!
💥Reforms to short term rentals in WA – We were shocked to learn of the true impact of short term rentals to the rental market – there are currently 3 airbnbs for every 1 long term rental in WA – and implemented a timely research, advocacy and media push, which successfully led to significant reforms being announced last month. Alliance members Shetler WA and the Western Australian Council of Social Service (WACOSS) welcomed the introduction of a $10,000 incentive to bring back short term rentals into the rental market and the introduction of a 90-night threshold (before Development Application is required) for whole properties let as Short-Term Rentals as a pathway to significantly and immediately increasing supply of rentals for Western Australians. We’ll be watching in early Feb when the changes will be introduced to parliament!
💥 Made a submission to The Worsening Rental Crisis in Australia Inquiry – Make Renting Fair together with many Alliance members made a submission to the Inquiry which handed down a number of recommendations backing in our Tenancy Ten asks.
💥Secured the WA Rent Relief Program – $24.4M was announced by WA government in November and is being supported by Alliance members Anglicare WA, Vinnies, Shelter WA and WACOSS.
💥New Alliance members – We now have 31 alliance members and recently welcomed a number of incredible new members to the Make Renting Fair alliance, including Curtin University Student Guild, The Rent Network, Consumers of Mental Health WA, Community Employers WA (CEWA), Pilbara Community Legal Services and Regional Alliance West.
💥Huge media support and presence – We’ve had an absolute blast in the media with 147 media mentions of Make Renting Fair over 366 days – that’s one every 2 days! We were buoyed by the incredible support across all stations – including this editorial in the West out over the weekend.
We’re gearing up for a huge 2024, with your support and the momentum building for renters, we’ll fight hard for the next tranche of reforms to make life fairer for WA’s 700,000 renters.