WA law change for victims in violent homes

Changes to Western Australia's tenancy laws will make leaving violent relationships easier and provide greater support for victims, the state government says.

The McGowan government is proposing to amend the Residential Tenancies and Residential Long-stay Tenants (Parks) Act to give victims better choices, including the ability to terminate a lease without penalty and apply for the court to remove their abuser's names from tenancy agreements.

The proposed changes are based on a 2014 review by the Law Reform Commission which recommended victims be allowed to install extra security and be protected from bad credit rating caused by incidents not of their making.

WA has the nations' second highest rate of physical and sexual violence against women, with the more than 50,000 reports investigated by police in the past year estimated to represent just 20 per cent of actual incidents.

Victims of family violence represent nearly half of those who seek help for homelessness, Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence Minister Simone McGurk said.

"The sad reality is that for women experiencing domestic violence it may take them a number of attempts to leave an abusive relationship (and) we need to make sure there's practical support," Ms McGurk told reporters on Tuesday.

Minister Bill Johnson said the legislation would include protections against malicious complaints and denied it would further burden the courts.

He expected the laws to pass quickly with unanimous support from parliament early next year.