The couple moving east to escape Western Australia’s crushing rental prices
Megan Neal and Ben Morey are excited to move into their duplex in East Victoria Park in 2022.
The house was a little run-down, but the location was great, and the $400 a week rent was manageable for such a central location.
Nearly four years later, they’re paying $310 more a week and maintenance issues are becoming bigger problems as water leaks from the roof during rain and mold grows on laundry.
Despite these problems, the couple, who were both on JobSeeker, wanted to stay at home. In January they were told they would be released by the end of April.
Morey now found work on the east coast and they decided to uproot their lives to avoid WA’s devastating rent crisis.
“The last rent increase was up to 80 percent of our income and actually took effect on Christmas Day, which meant that we really wouldn’t be able to survive without our parents looking out for us and loaning us money,” Neal said.
Maintenance problems at home turned into bigger problems
“I haven’t felt very well in a long time. It’s really hard living in a place where I know it’s probably making us sick and the stress of trying to figure out how we’re going to afford anything every week is like constant stress and fear,” Neal said.
Neal and Morey raised affordability and maintenance issues of the homes they rented to Consumer Protection in December; Neal believed this contributed to the leases not being renewed.
Neal was one of 732 people who responded to WA Greens’ tenant rights survey earlier this year, which painted a grim picture of the state’s rental market.
More than 70 percent of survey respondents said they are currently renting because they cannot afford to buy a home and think they will never be able to afford one.
About 72 percent said their rent was unaffordable, and 67 percent said their rent increased during the last renewal.
Of those, 24 percent said it increased by more than $50 a week.
Nearly 63 percent of survey respondents said their lease had been terminated at least once through no fault of their own.
Nearly 30 percent said they saw their rent listed for more than they paid.
Greens housing spokesman Tim Clifford said the Cook government needed to do more to help Western Australia’s 700,000 tenants, such as introducing a permanent cap on rent increases and banning unjustified evictions.
“More than 80 per cent of renters responding to our survey are experiencing financial stress directly linked to the cost of housing, and for more than two-thirds of WA renters, they are stuck between a rock and a hard place, with renting literally too expensive and saving for a home too expensive,” he said.
“Rents in WA have risen by more than 66 per cent in the last five years, more than three times the growth in wages. This is simply unsustainable.
“How is it that in a wealthy state like Western Australia, so many people in the community can barely afford housing or have to make the difficult decision to go without other necessities to ensure they do not become homeless?”
Real Estate Institute WA states average house rental price increased from $375 in 2020 to $730 this year. The average unit rental cost increased from $340 to $700 during the same period.
Neal said the government should provide some form of rent stabilization.
“Because right now, landlords can increase the rent as much as they want, even if they know we can’t pay it,” he said.
“I definitely think evictions without cause need to end so they don’t throw people out like they did to us.”
The survey comes after REIWA revealed Perth’s vacancy rate continued to fall to 2 per cent in March from 2.2 per cent in February.
REIWA President Suzanne Brown said recent media coverage of controversial changes to capital gains tax, as well as the Cook government weighing an unjustified ban on evictions, had spooked property investors, which would further impact supply.
“Adequate supply is key to a healthy rental market and we rely on investors to provide more than 86 per cent of private rental supply in Western Australia,” he said.
“Ongoing speculation around these potential changes is causing a lot of uncertainty for investors and our members are now reporting that some investors are withdrawing from the market to invest their money in more stable assets.”
The unjustified eviction notice came from Anglicare WA, which said it was recently understood the Cook government was considering a ban.
Cook did not deny the reports on Tuesday but said his government was currently considering a number of proposed tenancy law reforms.
“We have always said that there will be more tranches of reform in this area,” he said.
Cook said next May’s budget will be a “housing budget.”
“This will be a budget that continues to focus on our priorities like jobs, healthcare and housing, so there won’t be any surprises with that,” he said.
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Hamish Hastie is WAtoday’s state political correspondent and the winner of five WA Media Awards, including the 2023 Beck Award for best political journalism.Connect with: X or email.
