Builders have been formally appointed for 14 new build-to-rent housing projects across Perth, a milestone the WA Government says will deliver more than 1,100 affordable and social homes as the state continues grappling with a persistent rental squeeze. Housing Minister John Carey described the appointment of builders as a significant milestone, pointing to the momentum it represents toward the state’s target of building 24,000 new homes across WA each year.
The projects, spread across sites in White Gum Valley, Ellenbrook, Wellard, Kelmscott, Subiaco, Butler, Bassendean, Woodbridge, Rivervale, Redcliffe, Cannington, Malaga and Midland, will be delivered by two top-tier builders, PACT Construction and EMCO Building, with construction on each project expected to take between 16 and 30 months.
How the Build-to-Rent Model Works
Unlike conventional housing developments built for individual sale, build-to-rent projects are specifically constructed to remain in rental use over the long term, funded through the federal Housing Australia Future Fund alongside a $443 million contribution from the WA Government. Once complete, ownership of the completed apartments will transfer to community housing providers, who will manage the properties, with the model comprising roughly 80 per cent affordable rentals set below market rates and 20 per cent social housing for those most in need.
Minister Carey has described the model as critical to providing genuine relief to WA’s rental market, noting that because community housing providers can access federal government loans and payment arrangements not available to private developers, the build-to-rent structure allows rents to be set either at a fixed percentage below market rates or tied to a tenant’s income, directly targeting affordability rather than relying on the private market alone to deliver it.
Strategic Locations Near Transport
Roughly half of the 14 sites sit close to METRONET train stations, a deliberate planning choice designed to ensure future residents have strong access to public transport, reducing reliance on private vehicles and supporting the kind of transit-oriented development planning principles increasingly favoured in major Australian cities. Locating affordable housing near transport infrastructure also helps address a common criticism of affordable housing developments: that they are sometimes pushed to the urban fringe, far from jobs, services and transport links that make daily life manageable for lower-income tenants.
A Genuine Test of Labour Market Capacity
Delivering the projects will unfold against the backdrop of what industry data has identified as the most acute skilled trades shortage of any state in the country, with the Housing Industry Association reporting trade shortages as severe as anything seen since before the Global Financial Crisis, excluding the extremes of the pandemic period. Rising trade prices, up 5.5 per cent over a recent 12-month period compared to broader wage growth closer to 3 per cent, illustrate just how tight the labour market for construction trades has become across WA, adding genuine delivery risk to a project pipeline of this scale.
Industry Reaction
The Urban Development Institute of Australia WA has welcomed the state’s broader build-to-rent support measures, including a dedicated Build to Rent Kickstart Fund and increased land tax concessions for larger build-to-rent developments, arguing that taxation settings had previously deterred private investment in the sector and that government intervention is a promising step toward improving the financial viability of much-needed apartment supply.
What Comes Next
With builders now locked in and construction timelines set, the 14 projects represent a tangible, if partial, response to WA’s ongoing rental affordability challenge. For the thousands of West Australians currently navigating one of the country’s tightest rental markets, the more than 1,100 homes promised through this pipeline offer a concrete, if still years away, addition to the state’s affordable and social housing stock.
Part of a Larger Housing Push
The 14 build-to-rent projects form one component of a much broader suite of WA Government housing initiatives aimed at addressing the state’s affordability and supply challenges, spanning accelerated land release in growth corridors, streamlined planning approvals, and direct government investment in social and affordable housing stock. Minister Carey has consistently framed build-to-rent as a critical complement to these other measures, arguing that no single policy lever alone can resolve a housing shortfall that has built up over many years of population growth outpacing new dwelling construction.
The federal government’s parallel involvement through the Housing Australia Future Fund and National Housing Accord Facility reflects growing Commonwealth recognition that state-level housing challenges, particularly in fast-growing jurisdictions like WA, warrant direct federal co-investment rather than being left to state governments and the private market to resolve alone.
Community housing advocates have generally welcomed the build-to-rent pipeline, while cautioning that more than 1,100 homes, however welcome, represents only a fraction of the overall housing supply WA needs to meaningfully ease its current rental market pressure, underscoring the importance of the broader, sustained policy effort the government has flagged alongside this specific project pipeline.
For tenants currently struggling to find affordable rental accommodation in Perth, the 16 to 30 month construction timeline means genuine relief remains some way off, but the appointment of builders marks a firm, practical step beyond the planning and funding announcements that typically precede a project of this scale.
