NEARLY 90 per cent of Cockburn renters are in ‘housing crisis’, shelling out more than 30 per cent of their wages to pay for a home.

And less than half of them feel safe where they live.

The Greens’ federal candidate for Fremantle, Kate Davis, says findings such as these show why Australian renters need their rights protected by national standards.

Mean landlords, unfair evictions, poor maintenance, and safety problems are some of the biggest challenges facing renters, who get a raw deal from government policies which incentivise property investment.

• Greens candidate Kate Davis outside her first-ever rental on York Street, Beaconsfield. Photo by David Bell

“I find it extraordinary that we have some of the highest rent costs in the world, and yet the lowest standards and protection for renters,” says Ms Davis, who launched Tenancy WA after the Barnett government pulled funding from a previous advocacy group.

The survey of local renters found Cockburnians are doing it tougher than their northern neighbours; while 87 are in housing crisis, that drops to 65 per cent in Fremantle. Freo renters are also four times more likely to feel safe.

The survey found 80 per cent of Cockburn renters were bundled out of a property in the past five years, compared to 70 per cent in Fremantle.

But renters across the region were in lockstep about needing more protection of their rights.

The Greens’ Renters Rights package would establish a national body to enforce minimum standards, including limits on rent rises, longer notices for eviction and legal support for tenants.

A funding package worth $500 per property would assist landlords to meet the new standards.