Greens call for Australia to freeze rents for two years

The Greens have proposed a nationwide rent freeze for the next two years to curb the cost-of-living crisis – rejecting criticism from some experts that the plan could lead to a massive sell-out of landlords.

The proposed plan comes amid a national cost-of-living crisis, with rents rising seven times faster than wages – according to a recent analysis – and shocking examples emerging of landlords renting out even their balconies as rooms in the major cities for $300 a week.

Max Chandler-Mather, a Greens MP for Griffith in Brisbane’s south, argues the controversial policy would provide tenants with some stability and relief amid rising prices across the board.

The small party is also calling on the government to end groundless evictions as part of its series of proposals – all of which have been ignored by the Labor government.

Labor is instead advocating its Housing Australia Future Fund, which will inject $10 billion into the construction of an additional 30,000 homes over five years.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia about the housing crisis and the government’s response, Mr Chandler-Mather said: ‘A two-year emergency freeze on rent increases will give daily tenants’ incomes a chance to catch up.’

Earlier this week, Mr. Chandler-Mather put a question to Dr. Chalmers, citing a recent analysis that showed tenants would pay an additional $10 billion to landlords this year in rent increases.

He said: “Will the government finally agree to do the same for rents and put rent increases on the agenda of the National Cabinet and double rent assistance in the budget to help stop this growing crisis?”

Dr. Chalmers sidestepped the question and pointed to the Labor housing fund instead.

“I don’t think it’s a secret to anyone here that we don’t have enough rental housing in this country,” Dr Chalmers said.

“The vacancy rate is incredibly low. The rents are way too high.

“We recognize that Australians are under the pump. We recognize that Australian tenants are particularly struggling in the context of low vacancy rates and unacceptably high rents.

“The best way to deal with that is to build more properties, and that’s what we plan to do.”

Mr. Chandler-Mather later described the response as a non-response.

“The treasurer has not answered my question about the rent crisis because Labor has no policies in place to help the millions of tenants facing another $10bn in rent increases this year alone,” he told Daily Mail Australia.

Labor’s Housing Australia Future Fund does nothing for tenants, commits half a billion dollars in housing financing cuts and will see the shortage of social and affordable housing grow to more than 680,000 homes in five years.

And on his Facebook page, Mr Chandler-Mather echoed that criticism, saying: ‘It’s time Labor stopped making decisions that make the housing crisis worse.’

But there are vocal critics of such measures, suggesting that rent freezes actually put tenants at increased risk of long-term homelessness.

Simon Pressley, head of Propertyology research, spoke of the proposal’s shortcomings when it was first raised, explaining that landlords are unlikely to accept a cap on their earning potential.

“Many of them are already tired of being constantly pressured,” he told Your Investment Property.

“Many landlords will sell and tens of thousands of tenants will be displaced and have nowhere else to go. If that happens, the blood will be on the hands of politicians who refused to support the rent offer policy.’

And while the idea is tempting — especially for renters — there’s a fear that if all the landlords suddenly decide not to rent them out, it could spell disaster.

Mr Chandler-Mather told Daily Mail Australia that even that would be a win-win scenario, and something his party has considered.

The Greens’ proposal includes taxing vacant properties and phasing out negative gearing and capital gains tax benefits in addition to the rent freeze.

As a result, Mr. Chandler-Mather said, ‘even if an investor tried to let their property sit vacant, it would be taxed, prompting them to either sell to a tenant or rent out their property.

‘Ultimately, many people who want to buy their first home are shut out by skyrocketing house prices and wealthy investors hoarding houses.

“If investors don’t want to see reasonable rent ceilings, they can sell their investment properties and allow a tenant to buy their first home.”

Dr. Chris Martin, Senior Research Fellow at the UNSW City Futures Research Center, also spoke about the proposal last year.

In an article written for the university, Dr. Martin argued that housing is often used as a means to grow wealth, rather than a necessity.

“There should be rent regulation in principle, because everyone needs housing, and the consequences if there isn’t are terrible,” he said.

Mr Chandler-Mather surveyed 500 tenants in his electorate of Griffith and found that 75 per cent favored freezing further increases.

He said: “More generally, we have been overwhelmed by reports from tenants across the country encouraging us to push the government into action.”

As part of the plan, after the two-year freeze, landlords would only be allowed a 2 percent increase every two years.

The current rent crisis came to full force last month when a Sydney landlord advertised his balcony as a room to rent for $300.

The tiny room, barely big enough for a single bed, generated “a lot of interest” according to the landlord, who specified that the tenant must be “one boy” and state their nationality.