Finding a housemate in Perth is rarely the hard part. Rooms are in demand, and one ad can draw dozens of replies. The hard part is picking the right person out of a pile of messages that all say "clean and respectful". Five steps do most of the work: check you are allowed to rent the room, write an ad that filters for you, ask every person the same questions, meet them at the house, and put the agreement in writing before any money moves.
This guide is written for the person with the spare room: an owner, a head tenant, or a household replacing someone who is leaving. If you are the one looking for a room, read finding flatmates in Perth: the complete guide instead. Legal points come from Consumer Protection WA and Circle Green, checked in October 2026.
Are you allowed to rent out the room?
Sort this out before you advertise. It depends on who you are.
- You own the house and live in it. The person who moves in is likely to be a boarder or lodger. The Residential Tenancies Act does not cover that arrangement, so your written agreement is what sets the rules.
- You rent the house yourself. Consumer Protection WA says a head tenant must have permission from the lessor or agent to sub-let, either in the tenancy agreement or as separate written consent. It also says tenants must tell their landlord who lives with them, and when people move in or out.
- You are co-tenants replacing someone. The person leaving needs their name taken off the agreement, and the new person added, through the landlord or agent. Otherwise the one who left can still be held responsible.
People sometimes say they need to "find a tenant" for the spare room. Whether your new housemate is legally a tenant, a sub-tenant or a boarder changes the bond rules and the notice you can give. The differences are set out in rooming house, boarder or housemate: what's the difference in WA?.
Sharing a rental home (Consumer Protection WA)consumerprotection.wa.gov.au
What should your ad say?
A good ad does half the selecting for you. Vague ads attract everyone. Specific ads attract the people the house suits, and let the others rule themselves out.
The facts
- Weekly rent, and exactly what it includes: power, water, gas, internet
- Bond, and rent in advance
- The date the room is free and the minimum stay
- Furnished or not, own bathroom or shared
- Parking, on or off the street
- Pets: yours, and whether theirs are welcome
The house
Say who lives there and how the place runs. One line from a real Perth room ad shows how little it takes: "We aren't a party house, but we are happy to share a BBQ or a glass of wine". A reader knows at once whether that is their kind of house.
What you want back
Ask for it in the ad. Perth hosts who get useful replies ask for "a bit about yourself, your work schedule, and your lifestyle". Anyone who answers with those three things has read your ad. Anyone who writes "is this still available" has not.
Where to post it, and what each site costs, is compared in where to advertise a room for rent in Perth.
What should you ask someone before they move in?
Ask everyone the same questions. It is fairer, and it makes the answers comparable.
| Ask about | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Work and schedule | Shift work, night shift or a FIFO roster changes when the house is busy and when it needs to be quiet |
| Move-in date and length of stay | Someone who needs a room for six weeks is a different decision from someone staying a year |
| How they pay rent | A weekly bank transfer on a set day leaves a record for both of you |
| Their last place | Why they are leaving, and whether a previous housemate or landlord would speak for them |
| Guests and partners | How often someone else will be staying over |
| Car and parking | Whether your space fits what they drive, and for how long it will sit there |
| Pets, smoking, vaping | Easier to hear now than to discover in week three |
| How they like to live | Chatty or private, early nights or late, shared meals or separate shelves |
Do not treat a missing rental history as a red flag by itself. Plenty of people looking in Perth are new arrivals, and say so: they are "on a working visa and don't have any references for renting". An employer, a previous housemate or a character reference can stand in.
How do you pick between good candidates?
- Meet at the house. Show the room, the kitchen and the bathroom, and introduce whoever else lives there. If you cannot meet in person, a video call is a first step, not a replacement.
- Weigh fit over charm. The person who is easy to talk to for twenty minutes is not always the person who matches your routines. Go back to the answers in the table.
- Check what you can. Call the reference. Confirm the move-in date. Ask to see ID when you meet, and expect to show yours, since they are trusting you as well.
- Decide quickly and tell everyone. People looking for a room in Perth describe the same frustration: "I've messaged quite a few adverts but no one replies". A short "sorry, the room has gone" costs you ten seconds.
Is a FIFO worker a good housemate?
For many Perth households, yes, and hosts say so in their ads: "Ideal for FIFO full time workers", or a lower rent offered "because you're barely home". Someone on a two-weeks-on, one-week-off roster uses the kitchen and bathroom one week in three, and the rent still arrives every week. If the term is new to you, what does FIFO mean? explains it, and where to live in Perth as a FIFO worker shows which suburbs these workers look at.
Be clear about the other side of it. The room is theirs for the whole cycle, including the weeks they are away, and it cannot be used for guests or storage. Their first day home is often spent asleep. Their car may sit in your driveway for a fortnight. The rosters, and what each means in nights at home, are in FIFO rosters explained.
What should you put in writing?
Everything you agreed, before any money changes hands.
- Weekly rent, the day it is due and how it is paid
- What the rent includes, and how any other bills are split
- The bond: the amount, what it covers and when it comes back
- Notice: how much each side gives, and in what form
- The house rules that matter to you
- The condition of the room on the day they move in, with dated photos
Which bond rules apply depends on the arrangement. For a tenancy or a sub-tenancy, Consumer Protection WA says the bond can be up to four weeks' rent (unless the rent is over $1,200 a week), no more than two weeks' rent can be asked in advance, and the bond must be lodged with Bonds Administration within 14 days. If you are a head tenant taking a bond from a sub-tenant, you are the one who must lodge it. If your housemate is a boarder or lodger, Circle Green notes the bond does not have to be lodged, which makes the written agreement and a receipt more important, not less.
For the day-to-day part, a ready-made list is in share house rules that actually work.
Rental bonds (Consumer Protection WA)consumerprotection.wa.gov.au
This is general information, not legal advice.
How do you protect yourself as a host?
- Keep your street address out of the public ad. Give it to the people you have agreed to show the room to.
- Keep the first conversations inside the messaging of the site you used, so there is a record.
- Do not send copies of your own ID or bank details to someone you have not met.
- Search your photos now and then. Room photos get copied into fake ads, as explained in rental scams in Perth.
Where Kipmates fits
Kipmates is a room-share marketplace launching in Perth. A listing shows the weekly rent, the move-in date and an approximate area, not your address. Seekers have a profile that includes their roster, so you know someone's pattern before you reply, and every conversation stays in on-platform messaging. If your house suits someone who is away half the time, you can mark it as FIFO-friendly when you list a room.
FAQ
How do I find a housemate in Perth?
Check you are allowed to rent the room, then write a specific ad with the weekly rent, what it includes, the date the room is free and a short description of the house. Post it where people look for rooms, ask every person the same questions, and meet at the house before you decide.
What questions should I ask a potential housemate?
Ask about their work schedule, move-in date and length of stay, how they pay rent, why they are leaving their last place, guests, car, pets and smoking, and how they like to live. Ask everyone the same questions so you can compare the answers.
Do I need my landlord's permission to get a housemate?
If you rent, yes in most cases. Consumer Protection WA says a head tenant must have the lessor's or agent's permission to sub-let, and that tenants must tell their landlord who lives with them and when people move in or out.
Is my housemate a tenant or a boarder?
It depends on the arrangement. If you live in the home and keep control of it, the person is likely to be a boarder or lodger, who is not covered by the Residential Tenancies Act. If you sub-let part of a home you rent, they may be a sub-tenant with the same rights as a tenant. Only a court can decide in a dispute.
How much bond can I ask a housemate for in WA?
For a tenancy or sub-tenancy, up to four weeks' rent, unless the rent is over $1,200 a week, and it must be lodged with Bonds Administration within 14 days, according to Consumer Protection WA (checked October 2026). For a boarder or lodger there is no set amount, so agree it in writing and give a receipt.
Should I meet a housemate in person before they move in?
Yes. Meet at the house, show them the room and introduce the people they would live with. It protects both of you, and it is the fastest way to find out whether the house suits them.
Sources
Checked October 2026.
- Sharing a rental home, Consumer Protection WA.
- Rental bonds and Paying rent, Consumer Protection WA.
- From the Commissioner: boarders' and lodgers' rights explained (17 September 2025), Consumer Protection WA.
- Shared Tenancies fact sheet, Circle Green Community Legal.
- Boarders and Lodgers fact sheet, Circle Green Community Legal.
