WA Rental Lock Requirements: Minimum Security Standards

A plain key-in-knob latch on the front door doesn't meet WA law. Schedule 4 of the Residential Tenancies Regulations 1989 prescribes minimum security standards for external doors and windows — and the standards apply before the first day of any tenancy.

Main Entry Door

The main entry must have either:

• A deadlock, or
• A key-lockable security screen door compliant with Australian Standard AS 5039-2008

A standard latch lock or a non-standard security screen doesn't satisfy the requirement. If the front door has only a spring latch, you need a deadlock fitted before you can legally lease the property.

Other External Doors

Every other external door (back door, side door, laundry door) needs one of:

• A deadlock
• A patio bolt lock (where a deadlock can't be fitted — common on sliding glass doors)
• An AS 5039-2008 compliant key-lockable security screen door

Patio bolts on sliding doors don't need to be key-lockable. The bolt itself, operated from inside, is sufficient.

External Windows

Every external window must have a functional lock that prevents opening from the outside. Keyed locks aren't mandatory — a latch or handle that locks the sash from inside satisfies the standard.

Exemptions apply for windows fitted with AS 5039 security screens or upper-storey windows that aren't easily accessible from outside.

Louvred windows need a working lock or lever-locking mechanism that secures the louvres in the closed position and prevents them being manipulated from the exterior.

Main Entry Lighting

There must be an electrical light fixture at or near the main entry, controllable from inside the dwelling. If the main entry lighting is managed by a strata body corporate (as in apartment buildings), the individual unit owner is exempt from this specific requirement.

Keys and Access

Every tenant named on the lease must receive a key or access device for the main entry and any security locks. Neither landlord nor tenant can alter, add, or remove locks without the other's consent — with one exception: tenants facing family violence can change locks immediately and provide a new key within seven days, unless the lessor is the alleged perpetrator.

What Happens If You Don't Comply

Failure to meet Schedule 4 before leasing exposes you to tenant claims at the Magistrates Court and potential orders requiring you to bring the property up to standard at your own cost. The security standards are absolute — there's no "reasonable state of repair" flexibility like the general habitability duty. Either the locks meet Schedule 4 or they don't.

For the full pre-tenancy security audit with every door and window type covered, get the complete WA compliance guide.

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