WA Tenant Rights This Spring: Pets, Repairs & Pool Safety
Your Rights as a WA Tenant This Spring: Pets, Repairs & Reticulation
Spring in Perth means longer days, warmer weather, and a lot of confusion over who's actually responsible for what at a rental property. If you're renting in WA, here's where the line sits.
Pets: The Rules Just Changed
Since March 2026, the maximum pet bond a landlord can charge in WA is $350. Landlords also have limited grounds on which they can refuse a pet outright; it's no longer an automatic "no." If your landlord is quoting an old figure or a blanket refusal, it's worth checking whether their lease terms have actually kept pace with the law.
Reticulation: Yours vs Theirs
As a tenant, you're generally responsible for the basics: mowing lawns, maintaining the garden, and setting your reticulation controller to your council's designated watering days. But if the fault is structural, a broken solenoid, damaged underground pipework, or a dead control box, that's on your landlord, not you. Report it in writing and keep a copy.
Repairs: What Counts as Urgent
Not every repair request gets treated the same way. Urgent repairs — anything that creates a safety risk, like a broken pool barrier, a gas leak, or a major water leak — must be actioned within 48 hours. If your landlord or property manager can't be reached, or doesn't act in that window, you have the right to arrange the repair yourself and be reimbursed for reasonable costs. Non-urgent repairs don't carry the same timeframe, but they still need to be actioned within a reasonable period.
Pool Safety: Not Just a Landlord Problem
If your rental has a pool or spa deeper than 300mm, WA law requires a compliant safety barrier, minimum 1.2m high, self-closing, self-latching. It's ultimately your landlord's responsibility to keep it compliant, but you're required to report any fault immediately. A broken pool gate isn't a "get to it eventually" item; it's an urgent repair.
Know Where You Stand
Most tenant-landlord friction this time of year comes down to one thing: nobody was clear on whose job it was. Read your lease agreement, keep every maintenance request in writing, and don't assume; rather check.
Renting through Perth Rental Specialists? Every maintenance request is logged, actioned, and tracked — so you're never left chasing an answer.