WA Rental Modifications: Form 26, the 14-Day Rule & When Landlords Can Say No
Can a WA tenant drill holes, hang pictures or install flyscreens? Learn the Form 26 process, 14-day deadline, landlord refusal rules and tenant responsibilities.
Your tenant emails:
“I’d like to mount my TV on the wall. Is that okay?”
Easy answer: No holes in the walls.
Except in Western Australia, that answer may no longer be enough.
WA tenancy law gives tenants greater rights to make certain minor modifications to a rental home. That can include picture hooks, wall mounts and brackets, flyscreens, water-saving shower heads, curtains or blinds, child-safety devices, vegetable or herb gardens and wireless doorbells.
The tenant still needs permission. But for a prescribed minor modification, a landlord cannot simply refuse because they don’t like the idea.
There is a formal process, a 14-day deadline, limited grounds for refusal and, in some cases, the landlord must obtain approval from the Commissioner for Consumer Protection before saying no.
Important: This article provides general information about residential tenancies in Western Australia and is not legal advice. Check current WA Consumer Protection guidance for your circumstances.
What is a minor modification in a WA rental?
A minor modification is a relatively small change a tenant wants to make to the rental property. WA Consumer Protection describes these as changes that help make a rental property feel more like a home.
But “minor” isn’t simply whatever the landlord or tenant personally considers small. The rules prescribe the types of modifications that fall within the minor-modification process.
Current examples include picture hooks; screws for wall mounts, shelves or brackets; wall-anchoring devices for TVs or furniture; qualifying water-saving or hand-held shower heads; LED light bulbs that don’t require new fittings; curtains or blinds; cord anchors; adhesive child-safety locks; pressure-mounted safety gates; window child-safety devices; locks on letterboxes and gates; wireless doorbells; vegetable or herb gardens; flyscreens; and draughtproofing.
Does the tenant still need permission?
Yes. A tenant who wants to make a minor modification must request the landlord’s permission using Form 26 — Minor Modification Request Form.
The tenant provides enough information for the landlord to make an informed decision, gives the form to the landlord and keeps a copy.
How long does a landlord have to respond to Form 26?
14 days. The period starts on the day after the landlord receives Form 26.
Within that period the landlord can approve the modification, approve it with permissible conditions, or refuse it on a lawful ground. Some conditions and refusals require the Commissioner’s approval.
If the landlord simply ignores the request and does not act within 14 days, the tenant can generally treat the minor modification as automatically approved.
A simple workflow helps:
Receive Form 26 → record received date → calculate deadline → assess modification → respond in writing → retain everything.
Can a landlord refuse a minor modification?
Yes, but the ability to refuse is restricted.
There are two categories: reasons where the landlord can refuse without first obtaining Commissioner approval, and reasons where the landlord must apply to the Commissioner.
A landlord can refuse directly in circumstances including where the modification would disturb material containing asbestos, the property is entered in the State Register of Heritage Places, a strata or community-title scheme by-law prohibits it, or it would be contrary to another written law.
The reason needs to actually apply. Writing “strata won’t allow it” without checking the by-laws is not good evidence.
When is Commissioner approval needed to refuse?
Grounds requiring Commissioner approval can include undue hardship to the landlord; safety concerns; effects on other premises or common property; additional landlord maintenance costs; restoration being impracticable or likely to cost more than the security bond; an existing valid termination notice; the modification otherwise being unreasonable; or certain permanent alterations to tile, exposed brick or exposed concrete creating significant damage risk.
In those circumstances, the landlord does not simply write “refused”. They need to use the Commissioner determination process.
The same 14-day window matters for making that application and responding to the tenant.
Can the landlord put conditions on the modification?
Yes, but conditions are regulated.
For certain modifications the landlord can require work to be carried out by a qualified person and request an invoice as evidence. Where security is affected, the landlord may require necessary keys or security codes.
Other conditions may require Commissioner approval, such as some requirements about the placement and direction of security cameras.
Consumer Protection identifies modifications for which a qualified tradesperson can be required, including lever-style taps, phone or internet connections, painting a room, non-permanent window film and hard-wired security lights, alarms or cameras.
That is different from refusing the modification altogether.
Who pays, maintains and restores the modification?
Generally, the tenant.
The tenant is ordinarily responsible for the cost of making the modification, maintaining and repairing it, removing it at the end of the tenancy unless otherwise agreed, and repairing damage caused by removal.
Permission to install a TV bracket does not automatically mean the landlord accepts damaged plaster at the end of the tenancy. For disputed damage, see LandlordLogic’s tenancy evidence and timeline guide.
Unless otherwise agreed, the tenant generally must restore the property. That may include removing hooks or brackets, filling holes, repairing affected surfaces and repainting where reasonably necessary.
Landlords should avoid excessive restoration conditions. In a published Commissioner decision involving picture hooks, a proposed requirement to repaint an entire wall was refused because the tenant already had ordinary restoration obligations.
A condition should solve a genuine problem, not create a penalty for asking.
What about TV wall mounts and picture hooks?
Wall anchoring devices for TVs or furniture and picture hooks are contemplated by the minor-modification regime.
Published Commissioner decisions show why blanket “no holes” policies are no longer a sufficient response. In a 2026 TV-bracket matter, installation was allowed with a condition about using correct fixings. In another matter involving picture hooks, the Commissioner found no evidence that the requested modification was unreasonable.
The better approach is to assess the actual Form 26 request against the current rules.
What about flyscreens and vegetable gardens?
Both appear in Consumer Protection’s current list of minor modifications tenants can make with permission. Other examples include draughtproofing, wireless doorbells, child-safety devices, water-saving shower heads and curtains or blinds.
These requests should not automatically be treated as structural renovations.
What counts as a major modification?
Not every change falls under Form 26.
Consumer Protection gives examples of other or major modifications including installing an air conditioner, dishwasher or pet door.
For these requests, the tenant uses Form 27 — Request to landlord to make major modification. The response period is 28 days, rather than the 14 days applying to Form 26.
What if the landlord wants to modify the property?
The consent process goes both ways.
If the landlord wants to make a modification to the home, the landlord must ask the tenant for permission using Form 28 — Request to tenant make modification.
The tenant generally has 28 days to respond and cannot refuse without good reason. They can impose reasonable conditions, including about when the landlord can enter.
Any entry still needs to respect applicable access rules; see LandlordLogic’s Form 19 and property-access guide.
Disability and family-violence modifications
Additional protections can apply to accessibility-related modifications. Consumer Protection states a landlord cannot refuse where doing so would contravene the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (WA) or Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth). Examples can include temporary ramps, lever taps and bathroom handrails.
Family-violence-related security modifications operate differently again. Tenants do not require ordinary landlord consent for qualifying family-violence security modifications, although written notification requirements apply.
For ordinary security requirements, see LandlordLogic’s WA rental security standards guide.
Can the tenant challenge the landlord’s decision?
Yes. A tenant can apply to the Commissioner for review where they believe the stated refusal ground does not apply or a condition is unreasonable.
The Commissioner can permit or reject a refusal, uphold or change a condition, or impose a different condition. Consumer Protection says an appeal from the Commissioner’s decision can be made to the Magistrates Court within seven days.
The process has similarities with WA’s pet-request regime; see LandlordLogic’s Form 25 pet-request guide.
A practical Form 26 workflow for landlords
1. Record the date received. The 14-day clock starts the following day.
2. Identify exactly what the tenant wants to do. Where, how, with what materials and by whom?
3. Confirm it is a prescribed minor modification.
4. Check the property. Consider asbestos, heritage restrictions, strata by-laws and safety issues.
5. Decide whether you can approve it.
6. If you want conditions, determine whether Commissioner approval is required.
7. If you want to refuse, identify the exact legal ground and whether approval is required.
8. If Commissioner approval is required, apply within 14 days.
9. Respond to the tenant in writing within 14 days.
10. Keep Form 26 and the response with the tenancy records.
Common landlord mistakes
Ignoring the request. Silence after 14 days can result in automatic approval.
Refusing because “it’s my house”. Ownership doesn’t override the tenancy legislation.
Using an old tenancy agreement as the rulebook. WA reforms changed how prescribed minor modifications are handled.
Confusing minor and major modifications. Form 26 and Form 27 have different processes and deadlines.
Making up conditions. Some require Commissioner approval.
Automatically refusing anything involving a wall. Picture hooks and wall anchoring devices are specifically contemplated.
Demanding betterment at the end of the tenancy. Restoration obligations do not automatically justify excessive conditions.
Missing the Commissioner deadline. If the intended refusal requires approval, the 14-day clock matters.
The landlord still has control — but it is now a process
The WA reforms didn’t remove landlords from decisions about their properties. They changed the decision-making framework.
A tenant cannot simply renovate however they like. But a landlord also cannot rely on:
“I’ve always had a no-holes policy.”
The practical question is now:
What modification is being requested, what do the rules say about it, is there a genuine reason to refuse or impose a condition, and does that reason require Commissioner approval?
For self-managing landlords, build it into normal tenancy administration:
Form received → deadline recorded → request assessed → decision documented → evidence retained.
And perhaps the most important rule is the easiest one to remember:
Don’t leave Form 26 sitting in your inbox. You have 14 days.
For the current official process, see WA Consumer Protection — Making changes to a rental home, Form 26 — Minor Modification Request and Commissioner’s published decisions.
Managing your own WA rental? Explore LandlordLogic’s practical guides and free resources for modifications, pets, inspections, repairs, notices and evidence — so a 14-day deadline doesn’t turn a simple tenant request into an avoidable problem.