Rooming house software for WA boarding and lodging houses.
Boarders and lodgers kept apart from room tenants, as Western Australia’s Act does. Form 1AA filled in for a room tenant, and every room’s condition report and repairs in one place.
Operator is $99 a month for up to 40 tenancies, with unlimited staff, and empty rooms never count. 30 days free, no card.
The agreement LeaseDock fills in.
A boarder or lodger has no prescribed agreement, so you record what you agreed on the room. LeaseDock asks you to confirm the resident is a boarder or lodger first, because the Residential Tenancies Act then does not protect them.
A room let to a tenant is a residential tenancy, and its written agreement must be Form 1AA (section 27A), which LeaseDock fills in word for word and the tenant signs online.
Boarders and lodgers (Consumer Protection WA)What LeaseDock keeps track of.
- The agreement A boarder’s arrangement recorded on the room, or Form 1AA filled in and signed online for a room tenant.
- The bond Recorded on the room as you agreed it, or the Bonds Administrator lodgement for a room tenant.
- Inspections Scheduled for each room, with an entry notice drafted for you to check and give.
- Condition reports Room by room with photos, with the kitchen, lounge and bathrooms set up once and included in every room’s report.
- Fees Payments matched from your bank CSV for you to confirm, and polite reminders.
- Your team Unlimited staff, each seeing only the houses you give them.
The rules, with their sources.
What Western Australia asks of you, as LeaseDock holds it. Each rule links to the page it was read on.
- Which law applies
Western Australia’s Residential Tenancies Act 1987 does not apply where the tenant is a boarder or lodger (section 5(2)(d)), so a boarder or lodger has no rules under it for rent increases, bonds, entry or ending the arrangement: what you agreed with them decides. A room let to a tenant rather than to a boarder or lodger is a residential tenancy under the Act, and a written agreement for it must be on the approved form, Form 1AA (section 27A).
- Boarder or tenant
Consumer Protection WA says a resident is more likely to be a boarder or lodger if you, or someone you appoint, live there; you provide meals, laundry or similar services; you set and enforce house rules; or they cannot stop you entering their room. A tenant can keep others out, including you. If unsure, ask Consumer Protection WA.
Source: Consumer Protection WA
- Bond
Western Australia’s Residential Tenancies Act 1987 does not apply where the tenant is a boarder or lodger (section 5(2)(d)), so its bond rules, including lodging the bond with the Bonds Administrator within 14 days, are not a boarder’s. What you agreed with the resident decides how the deposit is held and returned, so keep a written record of it and give a receipt. If the resident rents the room as a tenant rather than boarding or lodging, the Act applies, the bond has to be lodged, and the tenancy belongs on the standard agreement.
- Lodging-house registration
A house that provides board or lodging for more than 6 people, not counting the keeper’s family, is a lodging-house under the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1911. The house must be inspected, approved and registered by the local government, and the keeper’s name entered in its register, before anyone lodges there (sections 146 to 148). The standards it is held to are in the council’s own health local laws, so ask the council. Keeping one unregistered is an offence with a fine of up to $10,000 (section 361).
Read in Residential Tenancies Act 1987 (WA), compilation 07-a0-00, as at 29 April 2026, and Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1911, compilation 17-o0-00, from 1 May 2026. A guide, not legal advice.
Questions WA boarding and lodging house operators ask.
Is a boarder covered by WA’s Residential Tenancies Act?
Western Australia’s Residential Tenancies Act 1987 does not apply where the tenant is a boarder or lodger (section 5(2)(d)), so a boarder or lodger has no rules under it for rent increases, bonds, entry or ending the arrangement: what you agreed with them decides. A room let to a tenant rather than to a boarder or lodger is a residential tenancy under the Act, and a written agreement for it must be on the approved form, Form 1AA (section 27A).
Do I need to register a lodging house in WA?
A house that provides board or lodging for more than 6 people, not counting the keeper’s family, is a lodging-house under the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1911. The house must be inspected, approved and registered by the local government, and the keeper’s name entered in its register, before anyone lodges there (sections 146 to 148). The standards it is held to are in the council’s own health local laws, so ask the council. Keeping one unregistered is an offence with a fine of up to $10,000 (section 361).
Do I lodge a boarder’s bond in WA?
Western Australia’s Residential Tenancies Act 1987 does not apply where the tenant is a boarder or lodger (section 5(2)(d)), so its bond rules, including lodging the bond with the Bonds Administrator within 14 days, are not a boarder’s. What you agreed with the resident decides how the deposit is held and returned, so keep a written record of it and give a receipt. If the resident rents the room as a tenant rather than boarding or lodging, the Act applies, the bond has to be lodged, and the tenancy belongs on the standard agreement.
What does LeaseDock cost for a rooming house?
Operator is $99 a month for up to 40 tenancies, with unlimited staff, and empty rooms never count. 30 days free, no card.
Is this legal advice?
No. LeaseDock tracks your obligations and links each one to the rule it came from, so you can check it. Where LeaseDock has not checked a rule, it says so and gives you a reminder, never an invented date.
Try it free, beside what you have now.
Bring the rent roll. Pilot mode keeps every email to residents switched off until your team is ready. Thirty days free, no card.
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