New figures reveal Western Australia has experienced the steepest rent increases in the country, reigniting the WA Make Renting Fair Alliance's call for rent caps.
The latest Cotality figures show rents in Western Australia have spiked by about two-thirds (66%) over the past five years, outpacing wage growth (18.5%) while vacancy rates remain near historic lows.
According to the data, annual rents in regional WA have risen the most across Australia in the year to January 2026 at 10.1 per cent. Rents in Perth rose 6.2 per cent over the same period - higher than the national increase of 5.4 per cent.
The figures show the ACT, which has rent control, is the only market where rents and wages have remained broadly aligned.
The data comes after a Make Renting Fair report on the case for rent caps found WA renters are paying nearly $20,000 extra per year in rent compared to four years ago.
The WA Make Renting Fair Alliance has sent letters to all WA MPs this week outlining how much rents have increased in their electorate and calling on them to back rent stabilisation measures, which could for example limit rent increases to the rate of inflation or a fixed percentage.
Make Renting Fair spokesperson and Shelter WA CEO Kath Snell said: "Western Australia is at the epicentre of Australia's rental crunch. Western Australians are being forced to accept higher rents which is leading to homelessness, severe housing stress and overcrowding.
"These figures show that even with WA's wages growing faster than the national average, it's not enough for people to afford runway rents that are outpacing all states and territories.
"Over the past year, regional WA has experienced the steepest rental increase in the country, while Perth's rents have risen above the national increase. This is on top of huge hikes over recent years.
"WA simply doesn't have enough affordable rentals to keep up with soaring demand.
"Rents in WA are rising for a range of reasons: tight vacancy rates as demand for homes increases, decades of underinvestment in social housing, no rent caps, and short-term holiday accommodation displacing long-term rentals.
"This perfect storm leaves tenants with little to no bargaining power. In a system like this, we need to see reasonable limits on rental increases so we don't deepen housing insecurity.
"We need the right housing supply in the right places for the people who are doing it tough - but while we are waiting for these desperately needed long-term affordable homes we need a cap on rents to stop the worst impacts right now.
"Without safeguards like rent caps and a serious commitment to increasing affordable housing supply, there is a risk that rents in WA will continue to rise at exponential rates."
