00:02A little dry, wet spot there.
00:05Renting an ageing apartment, postgraduate law student Brett Henderson-Killig says it's
00:10impossible to make ends meet.
00:12If you just look up in here, dry mould.
00:17We are going into debt because the income that we do have coming in only can pay the
00:23rent.
00:24It doesn't cover utilities, it doesn't cover food.
00:27Mother and son live off his youth allowance and her Canadian pension.
00:31They're a case in point of a new data snapshot by charity Anglicare WA, which found not a
00:37single rental across the state is affordable and appropriate for people on government welfare.
00:42We need to ensure that the craziness that's going on in our housing system doesn't drive
00:48more and more people into homelessness and insecurity.
00:52As of March, WA's rental vacancy rate was 0.5%, half the national average.
00:58The median price of renting $747 a week, up 10% from last year.
01:04Across the state, the midwestern gas coin saw the biggest jump of 15% and the north west
01:09remains the most expensive, with a median rent of more than $1,000 a week.
01:15The state government unveiling a $7 million 12 bedroom facility for women over 55.
01:22But pressure is mounting for broader reforms, like rent caps and outlawing no grounds evictions.
01:28We are working on another tranche of rental reforms and this will again include greater
01:36protection for renters.
01:37The ABC understands an announcement of the state's rental laws is imminent.
01:41That hasn't been very helpful.
01:43But it remains to be seen if the reforms go far enough.
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