The Greens Have Proposed a Rent Freeze, so How Would That Work in Australia?

As you all well know by now, Aussie renters are being hit with a particularly difficult set of circumstances right now. Rising rental costs and low availability have left people in impossible situations, with the ABC reporting that it is forcing some into homelessness.

The dismal reality of it all is heartbreaking, frankly, and people are in need of practical options that can offer some sense of relief. In response to that, the Greens have suggested an Australia-wide rent increase freeze. Here’s everything you need to know about that.

A closer look at the Greens’ rent freeze pitch

Per reports from the ABC, the Greens have pitched a number of ideas related to housing affordability and living standards.

They want to kill no-grounds eviction, introduce a cap on rent price hikes (2 per cent every 2 years) and broaden rights for renters.

The biggest proposal from the party, however, is the desire for Australia to implement a 2-year freeze on rent price increases.

Greens Spokesperson for Housing and Homelessness Max Chandler-Mather made it clear that the intention here is to give folks a bit of a break.

“It’s completely unsustainable to have a situation where someone’s rent can go up by as much as the landlord or real estate agent wants,” he said in a statement.

“We’re not calling for rents to be cut or reduced. We’re just saying there needs to be a bit of a pause.

“In a context where wages have been only going up by just over 2 per cent, I think it’s eminently reasonable to say that we just need to pause rents for a little while and regulate them in a way that ensures people aren’t being evicted or shoved on the street.”

He went on to explain that it is the hope here that this freeze would allow for wages to catch up to rapidly increasing rent prices.

Chandler-Mather continued: “Under our policy, which is actually relatively moderate, it wouldn’t be until 2029 that wages would reach the same proportion as rents pre the pandemic.”

It was reported back in July that Australia’s rate of rental cost increases was the highest its been in 14 years. And although some of this is related to higher interest rates and the cost of inflation, there are also opportunistic landlords adding to the pressure.

And when it comes to your rights as a renter, the only limit regarding the degree to which a landlord can increase your rent is a caveat that the increase must not be “excessive”. There is no percentage-based cap in place – which wouldn’t go awry right now.

Our pals at Pedestrian have also reported on this news, adding that Treasurer Jim Chalmers said in response that the government “wasn’t working on” a rent increase freeze and pointed to other ideas instead.

“That’s not something we’ve been working on, but we do accept that a big part of the inflation problem in our economy is skyrocketing rents,” Chalmers said on ABC RN Breakfast.

“That’s why we’ve got a housing Australia future fund which is about building more affordable homes, it’s why I’m working with the super industry and the states to see if we can build more stock.”

Chandler-Mather has responded to those suggestions via Twitter.

If @JEChalmers accepts skyrocketing rents are a “big part of the inflation problem” then I have a solution for him. Freeze rents.

Also your future fund will only build 4000 social homes a year – when over half a million people need social homes. A drop in the ocean. pic.twitter.com/2A0lfkp14v

— Max Chandler-Mather (@MChandlerMather) August 24, 2022

With the Jobs Summit approaching, discussions around living costs and affordability are likely to keep coming up. Here’s hoping we land on some genuinely helpful solutions because things are tough right now.

And if ever you feel you’re being necessarily squeezed by your landlord, you can bring the problem to the following official bodies: NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT), Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT), Tasmania Consumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS), Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT), Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NTCAT), South Australia Consumer and Business Services (CBS) and Western Australia Consumer Protection.