A coroner has recommended changes to the law so tenants cannot be prevented from securing furniture to a wall in the interests of child safety, as part of a case in which a Perth toddler was crushed by a chest of drawers.

Reef Kite died aged 21 months when a heavy chest of drawers fell on him in the bedroom of his family's rented home in Yokine on October 13, 2015.

During hearings at the coronial inquiry into his death last month, his mother Skye Quartermaine said she was aware of the benefits of securing such furniture to the wall.

But she explained the chest of drawers was not bolted to the wall because she had not been given permission by her landlord to do so. She also thought it was relatively stable because of its weight.

Drawers toppled over easily, investigators found

Forensic officers who investigated the accident gave evidence they were very surprised at how easily the drawers came out and toppled over.

Video presented to the court showed the drawers quickly sliding on their metal rollers, making the whole unit quickly topple over.

Coroner Helen Linton concluded that after waking up from his nap, while playing in his bedroom, "Reef came in contact with the chest of drawers, which toppled forward onto him".

"The weight of the chest of drawers resulted in crush asphyxia, which caused his death. I find that the manner of death was by way of accident."

Ms Linton cited an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission study in 2015 which noted several hundred children were injured this way each year, some fatally.

Reef's mother Skye Quartermaine (second from left) said she didn't have permission to secure the furniture to the wall. ( ABC News: Nicolas Perpitch )

A separate report by the WA Product Advocacy Network found there were 271 furniture-related injuries in children in the five-year period up to December 2016 in the state.

Among these, 148 involved furniture tip-overs, and the most common piece of furniture involved was a chest of drawers, followed by TV cabinets.

Ms Linton said the problem with efforts to raise safety standards was under legislation governing residential tenancies, "landlords are entitled to decline consent to a tenant affixing any fixture".

She recommended the McGowan Government consider amending the Residential Tenancies Act to ensure a landlord cannot stop a tenant from affixing furniture, "if the fixture relates to anchoring a television or item of furniture to a wall for the purposes of child safety".

"Rather, the Act should provide that for those specific fixtures, such an item may be affixed with the lessor's consent [and the lessor shall not unreasonably withhold such consent]."

Ms Linton noted Reef's parents hoped the publicity surrounding his death would help to prevent similar deaths.

Reef Kite was crushed by a chest of drawers. ( Facebook: Bolt it Back for Reef )

Minister backs 'sensible' recommendations

Commerce Minister Bill Johnston said he noted the coroner's recommendations, and would seek to determine if changes could be made.

"I think the coroner has looked at a tragic circumstance and come up with sensible recommendations," Mr Johnston said.

"It doesn't in my view put an onerous burden on the landlords, but it would be worthwhile to protect children in these tragic circumstances."

Mr Johnston said there would need to be consultation with industry stakeholders, but he did not view it as a very complicated matter, so it would hopefully not take too long.

"I don't think there'll be objection from people in the sector because I think it's a balanced and sensible recommendation from the coroner," he said.

"I think that sensible landlords would not want to have any risk to children in their rental properties."

Safety organisation welcomes findings

Kidsafe WA, a not-for-profit organisation that promotes safety and prevention of childhood accidents, gave evidence at the inquiry and has welcomed the Coroner's findings.

CEO Scott Phillips said he was glad the Government had indicated it would act swiftly on the recommendations that he said made just as much sense for landlords as parents.

"Really under common law if you're supplying a place for someone you should be trying to keep everybody safe there, particularly young children," he said.

Mr Phillips said the dangers of unstable furniture were not difficult to address.

"A lot of the manufacturers of furniture now do give you options with attachments within their packaging, or you can go to your local hardware store and get attachments, but a lot of us don't use them," he said.