WA renters forced to choose between cooling down or keeping bills low as mercury soars

Renters in Western Australia are bearing the brunt of heat stress and energy insecurity, a new survey reveals, with four in five saying they felt unwell in their homes over the summer as the mercury soared.

The Summer Survey 2026 report, from Sweltering Cities, showed WA renters experienced significantly higher levels of financial stress linked to cooling their homes than the rest of the nation – particularly those in low-energy efficient housing.

That includes housing with poor insulation, unglazed windows and inefficient or old appliances.

“Western Australia is known for its long, dry summers and intense heat,” the report states.

“While this summer was not the most extreme compared to recent years, in a climate like Western Australia’s even ‘average’ summer conditions can place serious strain on people’s health, homes and finances.

“This report … reveals that heat risk in Australia is not distributed by chance; it settles precisely where poor housing quality, financial pressure, and health vulnerabilities intersect.”

Nearly 60 per cent of both home owners and renters across WA who responded to the survey said cost-of-living pressures made it harder to cool down during heatwaves.

Those who owned an air conditioner said cost concerns often stopped them from using it.

When asked how often they worried about the cost of energy during summer, 44 per cent of renters and 50 per cent of renters in low-energy efficiency housing said it was daily.

“The rise in people limiting their cooling use is likely linked to growing cost-of-living pressures, amplified by changes to government energy bill relief including the removal of the $400 household electricity credit in the state’s 2025-26 budget,” the report states.

“Whilst the cost of producing energy is on the decline, Australians are not seeing these savings in their energy bills. In fact, 331,750 households are in energy debt while Australia’s two largest energy companies pocketed $2 billion in profit combined.

“While big energy company profits skyrocket, our energy bills just go up. This must change.”

I’m dreading my electricity bill, scared if I ask the landlord about air con they’ll put my rent up. I’ll be hot and potentially homeless.

Survey responder

Make Renting Fair spokeswoman Chantal Caruso said research conducted by the not-for-profit had previously shown 56 per cent of WA renters had trouble keeping their house cool (or warm in winter), but this figure jumped to 79 per cent for public housing tenants.

Much of WA’s existing social housing stock is ageing, inefficient and expensive for tenants to keep at safe, comfortable temperatures, Shelter WA’s Pre-Budget Submission 2026-27 also revealed.

“Extreme heat is dangerous for anyone but especially those who have the least power to do anything about it,” Caruso said.

“We hear from renters every day who are enduring uncomfortable temperatures in their homes and yet have no power to improve the situation.

“Renters are having to buy and install expensive appliances themselves like portable air conditioners or fans for every room – this is outrageous and not their responsibility.”

Caruso said in her last rental, she tested the temperature in her bedroom during a heatwave at night – it was 37 degrees.

“We have the worst standards in Australia when we should have the best,” she said.

“In 2019 the state government promised major reforms to minimum standards for rentals – 1987 was the last time the minimum standards were looked at.

“We still haven’t heard anything. COVID was partly to blame, but it is a shame it has taken so long, and we can’t understand why it is not more urgent.”

Basics like mandating air conditioning or fans, fly screens (one third of renters don’t have them), and proper insulation would all ideally be included in minimum standards, Caruso said.

She said she was hopeful action on the reforms would begin this year, and that the state budget would also introduce new cost-of-living initiatives that would benefit those “who need it the most”.

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