Rent-freeze inaction ‘costing thousands’

Renters would have had thousands extra to spend on the holiday season if rents had been frozen in place for the past 12 months.

The Greens have been calling for a nationwide two-year rent freeze to protect renters from surging housing costs.

New Parliamentary Library analysis of the policy found the average renter was paying $4896 more for their home than last year, revealing the toll of rising rents on household budgets.

In Sydney, where rents have accelerated the fastest, the average renter would be $7450 better off if rents had stayed the same since December last year.

With rental affordability plummeting across the country, the Greens called on the federal government to put a nationwide rental freeze on the agenda at Wednesday’s national cabinet meeting.

The party also wants an end to no-grounds evictions and minimum standards for rental properties discussed at the meeting of federal and state political leaders

Greens spokesperson for Housing Max Chandler-Mather said Australians needed protection from the worst rental crisis in recent history.

“Over the last 12 months, renters paid an extra $10 billion in rent, while property investors pocketed $8.5 billion in federal tax concessions, which is desperately unfair and a reminder that right now politics really only works for the rich,” he said.

 

Poppy Johnston
(Australian Associated Press)

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