In September, Ben Fitzhardinge sent an email to his real estate agency, saying he had just spoken to Western Australia's consumer watchdog, Consumer Protection. He'd been seeking advice about his rights as a tenant after a series of inspections.
Six days after the email, he received an eviction notice.
"I just went to my manager and said, look, I just got evicted. I'm not going to be able to work for the rest of the day," he recalled.
Ben feels the timing was more than a coincidence.
"I can't be sure … [but it] felt like it was connected," he said.
Ben was evicted after more than six years in WA, where no grounds evictions are lawful. Source: Supplied
WA tenancy law allows for four inspections in 12 months, and tenants have the right to negotiate a suitable date for inspections.
"I sent an email going, here is a screenshot of the law …. it says you're not allowed to. And they were like, 'No, we're going to do it. Stop emailing us'," he said.
It happened after Ben failed an inspection earlier in the year over cleaning issues and was asked by the agency to have his carpets professionally cleaned.
The 43-year-old software developer says he experienced panic attacks, anxiety and stress over the entire situation.
"I had to take multiple half-days off work, I was unable to work whilst some of this was going on," he said.
"It just felt like they had all the power over me — they could kick me out whenever they wanted."
Under no grounds evictions, renters can be asked to leave without being given a reason. Credit: Unsplash / Jaye Hache
It's an example of a "no grounds" eviction, which is allowed in WA and other parts of the country.
The Feed has contacted the real estate agency, who declined to comment.
The Feed saw emails from Consumer Protection to Ben, which paraphrased the agency's response to his complaint. According to those emails, the agency said the cause of his eviction was not the cleanliness of the property and agreed to cancel the fifth inspection.
The agency also claimed he had been videoing the inspection manager without her consent at numerous inspections.
Ben denied this, saying it was a security camera. He ultimately decided it wasn't worth fighting the eviction.
What are no grounds evictions?
No grounds evictions, also known as no cause evictions, happen when a tenant not in breach of their contract is asked to leave their rental home without being given a reason.
The laws are different depending on which state or territory you live in. It can happen at the end of a fixed-term tenancy (for example, your 6-month or 12-month lease doesn't get renewed) or during a periodic tenancy agreement that rolls over from month to month.
Ben was on a periodic agreement when he was evicted.
“That sense of stability in the world, that shelter that you get from having a place that's yours that you can feel safe in, that is really important,” Ben said.
“I felt that get completely stripped from me … I would come home and it wouldn't feel safe … and I at any moment could be kicked out for no reason.”
Wendy Stone is a professor of housing and social policy at Melbourne's Swinburne University of Technology. She believes no grounds evictions should be eradicated.
Wendy Stone studies housing and social policy at Swinburne University of Technology. Source: Supplied
She said the rules on eviction across Australia are inconsistent and confusing, and is calling for a national overhaul of the rental sector.
“When individuals or organisations do invest in housing, they are becoming a housing provider. And if we really get down to basics, housing is a fundamental human right,” she said.
What are the rules for no grounds evictions in each state?
No grounds evictions for both periodic and fixed-term tenancies have been banned in the ACT and South Australia. In Victoria, no grounds evictions can only happen at the end of the first term of a fixed-term tenancy.
Queensland and Tasmania have ended no grounds evictions for periodic tenancies. The end of a fixed-term agreement is still considered a reason for eviction in both states.
In March, the NSW Government announced it would ban no grounds evictions, but is yet to do so.
Meanwhile, no grounds evictions are allowed for all tenancies in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
Source: SBS
Leo Patterson Ross, chief executive of the Tenants' Union of NSW, believes it should only be reasonable to evict a tenant if they breach their tenancy agreement (for example, not paying rent or causing damage) or the property is no longer available to rent.
For example, if the owner is moving back in, demolishing the home or conducting extensive repairs or renovations.
Patterson Ross said states that have banned no grounds evictions for periodic leases – but effectively not for fixed-term leases - don't go far enough.
"Some people get a bit confused and say, 'Well, isn't the end of the contract a reason itself?'," he said.
"But if you think about the equivalent of your mobile phone contract or your gym contract, at the end of that 12 months … if the gym doesn't want you to come anymore, they're going to tell you why."
Landlords and real estate sector oppose 'broad brush' legislation
Jason Smith says he's sympathetic to renters — but believes ending no grounds evictions is not the solution. He's rented for most of his life, but is now a landlord who owns four rental properties in WA.
"It's certainly not going to encourage any landlords into the market in a time where we're desperately short of rentals. It's going to have the opposite effect," he said.
Jason said no grounds evictions allow landlords to amicably part ways with what he calls a "D+" tenant: "I wouldn't rent to you again, but maybe you should rent somewhere in a different area where no one cares if you make a lot of noise."
If WA bans no grounds evictions in the future, he's concerned more landlords will turn to the courts system to evict tenants and have them permanently blacklisted.
He said he's had tenants destroy properties in the past, but opted for a no grounds eviction instead of taking them to court.
"Just being able to sort of say, 'Thanks, but no thanks' at the end of the lease is far better," he said.
The Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA) welcomed WA's decision to keep no grounds evictions, after the government pushed back against calls to ban the practice in August.
"WA investors have made it quite clear that increasing restrictions and removing no grounds terminations will see them leave the market and put their money into other asset classes," REIWA chief executive Cath Hart said at the time.
Jason would rather see laws aimed at punishing landlords who evict for retaliatory reasons — like a dodgy landlord blacklist.
"We have a database for dodgy tenants. We should have the same thing for landlords because they give landlords who try to do the right thing a bad name," he said.
How many people are being evicted on no grounds?
It's hard to know how many renters are evicted without cause — real estate agencies and landlords aren't required to report on why they've evicted someone.
Patterson Ross said we have a better idea of the figures in NSW, where there is an optional End of Tenancy Survey conducted by the state's consumer watchdog, Fair Trading.
Results from the survey indicated four in 10 terminations issued by landlords were on no grounds, between September 2021 and 2022.
Source: SBS
"Sometimes this was explicit, so that the landlord could increase the rent well beyond what they thought that households could hack," Patterson Ross said.
Renters' advocates are concerned no grounds evictions make it easier for rental providers to retaliate against tenants for standing up for their legal rights. For example, asking for repairs, making valid complaints or challenging a rent increase.
Swinburne's Wendy Stone said renters often avoid asking for repairs, out of fear of retaliation.
"People put up with very poor conditions sometimes in order to not rock the boat and not draw attention to themselves," she said.
"We know that some of the most time-poor, money-poor people are living very precariously in the private rental sector. Those people, if they face discriminatory behaviour, don't always have the time to go to the tribunal."
A spokesperson for Consumer Protection WA told The Feed that if a tenant believes they were evicted due to a complaint they made to a public authority in the previous six months, they have a right to challenge the eviction in court.
Ben has temporarily moved in with a family member while he searches for a new home — he's now hoping to buy instead of renting. He doesn't regret putting in that consumer complaint.
"I'm in a position where I can stand up for myself, and I know if something goes wrong, I'll probably be okay," he said.
"That's part of the reason why I put the complaint in … if they're doing it to me, they're doing it to other people."
