A regulatory overhaul is urgently required to rectify the inequitable power dynamics between tenants and landlords in the unfolding Australian rental crisis, reveals a recent report.
Formulated by a senate committee examining the nation’s housing crunch, the interim report released Thursday afternoon prescribes a proactive role for the federal government. The recommendations include bolstering rental rights, heightened investments into public and reasonably priced housing. These suggestions closely mirror the Labor party’s housing strategy.
The report underscores the urgent need for a reform in rental regulations, primarily to address the power disparity between renters and landlords. Notably, a third (31%) of Australians rent their homes, as per data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The nation ranks in the top 10 OECD countries having the highest population proportion renting privately.
Nevertheless, the solutions offered by the committee fall substantially short of the Greens’ proposed radical measures such as rental caps or freezes to mitigate escalating living costs. A rent freeze legally prevents landlords from hiking rents for tenants, while a rent cap introduces restrictions on the rate and frequency of rent increments.
The committee was informed by the Productivity Commission that such reforms could indeed enhance tenant autonomy but also potentially escalate costs and risk exposure for landlords. Committee chair senator Janet Rice, in her response to the report, implored the government to reconsider their opposition to the introduction of caps and freezes.
Parallel to the report, she urged immediate measures to relieve renters, caught in the spiral of runaway rent increases largely borne out of the state’s lackluster investments in public and community housing over decades. She advocated for the Commonwealth government’s collaboration with individual states and territories to implement rent freezes and caps expeditiously.
In a national consensus on rental policy in August, it was decided to limit rent increases to once a year and enforce minimal standards for rental properties. The committee expressed optimism for the federal and state government’s mutual agreement, hopeful it would address renter’s rights issues highlighted in the report.
However, Coalition senators Maria Kovacic, Kerrynne Liddle, and Wendy Askew cast doubt on the government’s dedication towards resolving the crisis. Sixteen months into the Albanese Labor government’s tenure, it was rather discouraging to see no significant improvements, they stated in their additional comments. They further urged the government to admit that their migration policy was straining an already overstretched housing system further.
The interim report comes on the heels of the government’s $10bn Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) legislation passing through parliament the previous week. The funds aim to construct 30,000 affordable houses, with a minimum annual expenditure of $500m. Stalled in the Senate for several months, the breakthrough came after the Greens agreed to pass the bill in exchange for a $1bn investment in social housing.
Labor senators Marielle Smith and Louise Pratt criticized the Coalition’s “decade-delay”, assuring Australians that the Albanese government would continue supporting them. Through a commitment to meaningful reforms, they intended to significantly improve affordable housing availability in Australia, they affirmed, emphasizing the importance of evidence-based reforms backed by the largest housing investments in recent generations.
