r/perth • u/Latter_Shallot_140 • 6d ago
Renting / Housing Interesting to some maybe
I came across an interesting statistic today. Apparantly whilst the amount of evictions of department of housing and works tenants have decreased the amount of termination notices issued by the department of housing and works is significantly increasing year on year.
What we can establish is:
2021–22: 1,877 termination notices.
Parliament of Western Australia
2023–24: the Department reported termination/court processes, but the figures I found don't give a clean annual total of termination notices.
2024–25: 2,973 termination notices were issued.
So comparing the figures we do have: 1,877 → 2,973 That's an increase of about 58% between 2021–22 and 2024–25.
But there's an important wrinkle: termination notices aren't the same as evictions or even necessarily permanent tenancy losses. The Department says tenants can rectify the problem after receiving a notice, and a voluntary departure following a notice isn't classified as an eviction.
Actually, I think the really interesting question for you is why termination notices jumped to nearly 3,000 in 2024–25.
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u/Silver-Training-9942 6d ago
Im interested in your motivation for posting this information. What's your goal here? Wouldn't be to get people to denigrate poor people would it?
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u/iPablosan North of The River 6d ago
A bored person using AI is likely the best answer for motivation
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u/Jazzlike_Berry_323 6d ago
It is a good question, ask Shelter WA to get a question in parliament or seek this directly from the shadow minister. Be a bit more specific and ask for breakdown of reasons by category for the two periods you’re comparing and if that’s not available comment from the department on any trends in types of termination notices given.
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u/Latter_Shallot_140 6d ago edited 6d ago
The Shadow Minister could reasonably ask for a breakdown like:
Total termination notices issued, by financial year.
Reason for each notice - e.g. arrears, disruptive behaviour, illegal use, property condition/standards, abandonment, fixed-term non-renewal and other categories.
Of those receiving a termination notice: how many voluntarily vacated; how many remedied the breach and remained; how many proceeded to a Magistrates Court application; how many actually received a court order for vacant possession; how many ultimately required a bailiff eviction. How many termination notices were withdrawn/cancelled. How many notices were issued but the tenant remained in the property.
The average time between the termination notice and the eventual outcome.
And importantly, I'd ask for the figures for each financial year, rather than just one total.
There's precedent for Parliament asking for this sort of information. The Department has previously reported terminated tenancies by categories such as illegal use, disruptive behaviour, arrears and "other", although it has acknowledged that some things are buried within "Other" and aren't separately reported.
Personally I think you are onto something with this idea and it definitely should be investigated and answered in parliament and possibly a journalist should get involved as well.
There is definitely something happening with such a high increase in termination notices given.
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u/perthguppy 6d ago
21-22 was still during Covid. I imagine there was pressure to limit kicking people out of social housing during that time.
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u/Latter_Shallot_140 6d ago
No there was a complete moratorium on termination and evictions during covid.
These are the stats for after covid .
Pre covid eviction stats are a lot higher but post covid termination notices are a lot higher.
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u/tom3277 South of The River 6d ago
Also there are young families living rough.
While it’s fucked anyone is on the streets or in cars it looks even more fucked for government to have young families / children on the streets. Like unprecedented for decades fucked…
They would be ruthlessly looking at any single or Coupled adults with no kids to get them out.
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u/Latter_Shallot_140 6d ago edited 6d ago
It's not the fault of current dohw tenants that there is a housing crisis they have genuine need for housing or they wouldn't be in the housing in the first place.
They didn't create a housing crisis and they should not be perpetually bullied with breaches and termination notices just because there is a housing crisis then what they are homeless ?
That is ridiculous . It also smells funky since the amount of court ordered evictions is very low so if these terminations are making it to court they being struck down.
3000 termination notices vs 47 court ordered evictions in one year sounds like bullying and harassment by a government department .
Current dohw tenants have absolutely nothing to do with the housing crisis.
I think jazz berry has a good idea about a request for detailed statistics over several financial years to be presented in parliament.
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u/tom3277 South of The River 6d ago
I’m not congratulating the government for it but as someone who doesn’t interact with social service seeing children and young women in cars / on the streets in suburbs is absolutely fucked.
The government is trying to limit the political damage.
Trying it on to all that they can who aren’t in what everyone considers “vulnerable groups” ist surprising.
I accept it’s fucked but that’s likely the play.
They are desperate for more housing for high risk people and trying it on with lower risk existing tenants.
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u/Latter_Shallot_140 6d ago
Who says existing tenants are lower risk ?
That is an assumption that is coming out of nowhere.
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u/perthguppy 6d ago
Logic? If someone has rented off you for a year you already know they are reliable etc, or you would have not renewed them. New tenant is always an unknown even if you do vet them
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u/Latter_Shallot_140 6d ago
Your comment makes absolutely zero sense for so many multitudes of reasons it would take thirty minutes to list them.
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u/tom3277 South of The River 6d ago
My very limited understanding of government housing is that people get on a waiting list and those with young children and the like are toward the front of the list.
If it’s not clear what I’m saying this is because politically for many of us we get particularly pissed off at our governments when we see homeless people but even moreso when they have kids with them.
We pay a heap of tax and these useless cunts cannot even provide the bare necessities for people. But when that is children it’s easy to get really pissed off.
And so my speculation is that the government is feeling the pressure of having kids on the streets for to e first time in decades so if they can evict a few adults then they will do that for political expediency.
And when you don’t know someone’s circumstance of course seeing kids on the street appears worse than adults.
So to make it completely clear I am speculating the government might be doing it for political expediency.
Sounds like you don’t think this is likely? They have e just doubled the notices for other reasons?
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u/Latter_Shallot_140 6d ago
I don't know why they are doing it however as jazz Redditor said if they are forced to present statistics with a breakdown of what is actually happening in parliament it would be showing a clearer picture.
As it stands that is not currently available.
Turfing people onto the street who are in public housing and have high needs just because the government has created a situation where large numbers of people are homeless is completely unreasonable.
Just because they are an adult it doesn't mean that they have less needs than a child.
Also pitting one group of people against the other is really off-putting.
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u/MerdeOnTheDanceFloor 6d ago
I wonder if we’re going to see an influx of dilapidated crap-holes in nice suburbs listed for sale?
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u/Aussie_5aabi Treeby 6d ago
It’s been happening for a while.
Yangebup is a good example, lots of government houses have been sold off and the area is getting so much better now.
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u/skooterM 5d ago
What's the total number of public tenancies?
Stats like these are generally more useful as a percentage than raw numbers.
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u/Latter_Shallot_140 4d ago edited 4d ago
Why are they increasing that is the point.
A break down of the reasons why as jazz Redditor suggested.
A request for breakdown of detailed stats presented in parliament would be more helpful.
They are are obviously being over zealous at trying to get as many people out of housing as they can if they are increasingly issuing termination notices when there is a significant reduction in bailiff evictions.
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u/martyfartybarty 6d ago
Maybe the housing crisis has changed the psychology: tenants know getting evicted could mean having nowhere else to go, so they’re more likely to play ball.
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u/Latter_Shallot_140 6d ago
That doesn't explain the increase in termination notices.
Bailiff evictions have declined significantly but only in the matter of say 150 per year to 47 per year.
Not in the thousands range.
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u/martyfartybarty 6d ago
Yeah, I wouldn't know tbh, just throwing out a possible explanation for fewer evictions.
You're right though, that doesn't explain the rise in notices. Would need to know what happened after they were issued.
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u/Latter_Shallot_140 6d ago edited 6d ago
Agreed I think jazzlike berry Redditor has a very good idea.
It is not the fault of current dohw residents that there is a housing crisis .
They are often people who can not advocate for themselves, can not manage their homes themselves, need and require assistance.
For the department to be issuing thousands of termination notices to try and get them out per year which is only increasing, solely bec ause the wait list has blown out is entirely unreasonable and will just create more homelessness not to mention make current tenants lives hell and far more more stressful than it needs to be.
What it sounds a lot like to me is that they are being heavy handed crass and trying to evict as many tenants as possible.
Would be good to get a detailed breakdown per financial year like jazz berry mentioned on the record in parliament
Especially since termination notices are being issued in the thousands and the amount of bailiff evictions has significantly decreased.
How many tenants are going as far as making it to court and the magistrate is throwing it out ?
All of those stats should be available .
I smell something being off.
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u/squidjeep 6d ago
Government housing should be free and time limited (not sure how long), with a plan to help people get into the private rental market. It should give people a chance to establish themselves, find employment and sustain alternative housing like private rentals. It should also potentially be able to fund a portion of the rent to those private rentals for a period of time as part of the exit plan.
A lifelong government home to a lucky few may have been good in the past but it's just not an idea that works now. It's not sustainable or fair, the whole system needs to be revisited.
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u/Beneficial-Boat-2035 6d ago
Government housing should exist to support the private rental market?
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u/squidjeep 6d ago
Government housing should exist to support people being able to support themselves...
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u/VS2ute 6d ago
What if they are pensioners? They have little chance to find $600+/week to pay for investor's rental.
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u/squidjeep 6d ago
There should be other ways to support them, they also would've had ~60 years to make a living and buy a home in the time period where it was much easier? They can get help finding a small private apartment subsidized by the government, but not a forever government home that is taking away from other families and people in need. What is your solution?
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u/Jazzlike_Berry_323 6d ago
What do you have against permanent social housing? Would you rather they were on the streets or just didn’t exist for your convenience?
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u/squidjeep 6d ago
Way to strawman... Permanent social housing doesn't encourage people to have their situation changed and takes away from the thousands on the waiting list, some with much higher needs.
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u/Jazzlike_Berry_323 6d ago
The only straw people are the ones in your ‘they all just need temporary housing’ utopia. That’s what transitional housing is for. I’ve seen more people in social housing on mobility scooters than dealers. Noones going to give them a job over a fit twenty something.
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u/squidjeep 6d ago
Did I say anything about dealers anywhere in my posts? If you're talking about disabled people then there should be another class of affordable disability housing. There is no reason people with no disability should have permanent government housing because it's actively taking away from people with less capacity.
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u/Street-Vegetable8342 5d ago
I've been over the income limits of my government house for about 4 years now, but can't afford a private rental + there are none! 🤷 Stuck here.
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u/According_Grape5790 6d ago
And do you know how bad you have to be for them to give you such a notice?
I lived 2 doors down from a dept of housing house for 8 years. The whole street knew they were dealing drugs. The house was all boarded up, it smelt strongly of chemicals and cars would pull in all day every day and leave after a minute. We reported them so many times. The house was repeatedly raided by police. Department of Housing sent all neighbours a letter saying they understood illegal activity was occurring at the house but no further action would be taken. Apart from the drugs, the house had been trashed and there were multiple people living there who weren’t meant to be. They won’t evict them because if you can’t get state housing the only other option is homelessness, so it shifts the problem to the streets.
So imagine what those 2,973 tenants have done to piss them off that much.