The local Premier Alan Carpenter has decided that the letting fee should not be paid by the tenant any longer but should instead by paid by the owner of the property.

Letting fees are the pot of cash, normally equaling a weeks rent that a tenant pays to help cover the owners estate agency fees.

The idea is that this small reduction will help tenants who are already having a hard time with high rental prices in Western Australia, save a little cash.

The thing is though, because this decision will result in an increase in the out-of-pocket expenses for the owner, all the landlords will do is simply increase the rent to cover these new costs.

There has already been case here in Perth where landlords, who are in the process of marketing new properties, are now increasing the rent for their properties as a direct result of this news.

The whole situation is being made worse by the recent indication from the State Government that first time home buyers might get stamp duty relief in the May budget.

As a result thousands of wannabe home buyers are holding back until later in the year which is putting extra pressure on the rental market.

Why am I telling you all this, well as a new immigrant into Australia you’re likely going to rent a property as you find you’re feet.

Be aware that the rental market is changing almost daily at the moment so the nice 3 bed detached house that you looked at 6 months ago might be a $100 dollars a week more expensive now.

If you’re thinking about arriving in Australia at some point after May this year then hopefully the whole situation will have settled down a little for you.

Having said that, the local state government seem to be as wacky as the government back in the UK so who knows