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February 12, 2026 — 5:00am
Another set of dire figures laying bare Western Australia’s rental crisis has turned up the pressure on state and federal governments as to address lagging housing supply.
Cotality data shows rents have outpaced wage growth by more than two-thirds in the past five years.
Since 2020 rents jumped by 66 per cent over five years, while wages grew by 18.5 per cent in the same period.
The new data followed the Cotality Quarterly Rental Review report in January that found Perth’s rents had risen by 5.9 per cent over 2025 to sit second-highest in the nation, behind only Sydney.
The most affordable suburbs in Perth ranged from $473 per week in Orelia to $540 in Kelmscott. Meanwhile, Melbourne’s Melton South averaged $376 per week, with Sydney’s cheapest suburbs averaging $472.
WA Liberal Senator Dean Smith put the blame for the “alarming” figures at the feet of state and federal Labor governments fuelling demand through immigration and failing to deliver on housing supply promises.
“While wages in WA have only grown 18.5 per cent, rents have increased a crippling 66 per cent in five years – most of that time under Federal Labor and all of it under WA Labor,” he said.
“This is the steepest increase in Australia, 50 per cent greater than the national figure of 43.9 per cent, and it is causing WA renters unprecedented financial pain on Labor’s watch.”
“It is the direct result of Labor’s failure to deliver housing supply and an unmodelled immigration policy that has pushed demand beyond what the market can absorb.”
“Without urgent action, including to lift construction and cut red tape, the rental crisis in the west will continue to deepen.”
However, WA Housing Minister John Carey this week rejected criticism his government was not doing enough to boost housing supply, pointing to a $6.3 billion investment since 2021 in social and affordable housing, and homeless programs.
Carey said WA was not alone in facing “extraordinary housing pressures” – and there wasn’t a “single silver bullet”.
“There’s not one easy solution for this, but that is why you’re seeing this government undertake unprecedented measures, whether it’s the record investment, whether it’s cutting red tape from granny flats to broader housing development, or unlocking land through our new housing infrastructure fund,” he said.
WA’s commitment to the Albanese government’s Housing Accord – requires about 6500 homes to be built in the state per quarter.
Currently, WA is about 4500 homes behind its Housing Accord target, but the state government is confident the steady increase in the construction workforce is helping.
“The latest ABS Employment by Industry data shows that Western Australia’s construction workforce was 161,100 in the December quarter 2025, and averaged 153,800 in 2025,” a spokesman for Carey said.
“The construction workforce has increased significantly in the last four years, up from 128,000 in 2021, an increase in 20.2 per cent over this period.”
WA Council of Social Services boss Louise Giolitto said the new data was deeply concerning but reinforced what they already knew: runaway rents were forcing more and more Western Australians into financial hardship.
“Our recent Cost of Living Report showed that families with two working parents and age pensioners who are renting their homes are struggling to meet the cost of survival,” she said.
“We need greater protections for vulnerable renters, who have little bargaining power against soaring rent increases in this market.
“This includes improving tenancy laws to end no-grounds terminations and introducing longer notice periods for rent increases, as well as extending the WA Rent Relief Program to support renters in financial crisis.”
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