The Green Party recently 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 cause landlords to sell-out.
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 with such horrific examples of light that landlords are renting out their porches as rooms in big cities for $300 a week.
Max Chandler Mather, the Green MP for Griffith in south Brisbane, argues the controversial policy will offer tenants some stability and relief amid rising prices across the board.
The small party also called on the government to end no-cause evictions as part of its package of proposals – all of which the Labor government overturned.
Instead, Labor is arguing for the future Australian Housing Fund, pumping $10bn into building an additional 30,000 homes within five years – which Chandler Mather said would provide little or no relief for tenants.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia about the housing crisis and the government’s response, Chandler Mather said: “A two-year emergency freeze on rent increases will give daily incomes for renters a chance to catch up.”
The Green Party recently proposed a nationwide rent freeze for the next two years to curb the cost of living crisis
Earlier this month, Chandler Mather posed a question to Dr. Chalmers, referring to recent analysis that determined that renters will pay landlords an additional $10 billion this year in rent increases.
He said, “Will the government finally agree to do the same for rents and freeze rent increases on the agenda of the National Cabinet as well as double the rental aid in the budget to help stem this escalating crisis?”
Dr Chalmers avoided the question, referring instead to the Labor Party Housing Fund.
“I don’t think it’s a secret to anyone in this place that we don’t have enough rental property in this country,” said Dr. Chalmers.
Incredibly low vacancy rates. Rents are very high.
We know Australians are at the pump. We understand that Australian tenants are doing this difficult in the context of low vacancy rates and unacceptably high rents.
“The best way to deal with that is to build more real estate, and that’s what we intend to do.”
Chandler Mather later described the answer as a lack of response.
“The Treasurer did not answer my question about the rent crisis because workers do not have a single policy to help the millions of tenants who face another $10 billion in rent increases this year alone,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
The Australian Future Housing Action Fund does nothing for renters, locks in half a billion dollars in cuts to housing finance, and will see the social and affordable housing shortage grow to more than 680,000 homes in five years.
Max Chandler Mather, the Greens MP for Griffith in south Brisbane, highlighted the importance of such a policy after recent analysis determined tenants would pay landlords an extra $10 billion this year in rent increases.
On his Facebook page, Mr Chandler Mather doubled down on that criticism, saying: “It is time for Labor to stop making decisions that will make the housing crisis worse.”
But there are outspoken critics of such measures, who suggest that rent freezes actually put tenants at increased risk of homelessness in the long run.
Simon Pressley, head of research in property science, spoke about the shortcomings of the proposal when it was first mooted, explaining that it was unlikely that realtors would accept any cap on their earning potential.
“Many of them are already tired of the constant pressure,” he said.
Many landlords will sell out and tens of thousands of tenants will be displaced with nowhere else to go. When that happens, blood will be on the hands of politicians who have refused to support rent policies.
And while the idea is tempting – especially for renters – there are fears that if landlords suddenly decide not to rent, it could spell disaster.
Even this would be a win-win scenario, Chandler Mather told Daily Mail Australia, something his party considered.
The Greens’ proposal would include taxes on vacant property and the phasing out of negative tax liens and capital gains tax as well as a rent freeze.
As a result, Chandler Mather said, “Even when an investor tries to leave his property vacant, he will be taxed, causing him to either sell to the tenant or rent out his property.
Ultimately, many people who want to buy their first home are shut out by soaring home prices and wealthy investors hoarding real estate.
“If investors don’t want to see a reasonable cap on rents, they can sell their investment property and let the tenant buy their first home.”
Dr Chris Martin, a senior research fellow from the University of New South Wales’ Future City Research Center, also spoke about the proposal last year.
In an article he wrote for the university, Dr. Martin said that housing is often used as a means of developing wealth rather than a necessity.
“There should be regulation of rents in principle because everyone needs housing, and the consequences of not getting it are dire,” he said.
Chandler Mather surveyed 500 tenants in his constituency in Griffith, and found that 75 percent were in favor of freezing further increases.
Dr Chalmers dodged the question, pointing instead to the Australian Housing Fund for the Future, which plans to build more homes. Instead, he shifted the focus to the future fund, saying: ‘I don’t think it’s a secret to anyone in this place that we don’t have enough properties to rent in this country. Incredibly low vacancy rates. Rents are too high.”
“More broadly, we’ve been inundated with letters from tenants across the country encouraging us to keep pressuring the government to act,” he said.
As part of the plan, after the two-year freeze, landlords will only be allowed to implement a 2 percent increase every two years.
The current rental crisis was on full display last month when a Sydney landlord advertised his balcony as an available room to rent for $300.
The small room, barely big enough to hold a single bed, generated “a lot of interest” according to the landlord, who specified that the tenant had to be “a single boy” and had to state his nationality.