Update 5 August: Added comments from the Belco Party.

Last year, the ACT Greens’ motion for a two-year rent freeze and a 2 per cent cap on rent increases was defeated in the ACT Legislative Assembly. Now the Greens have brought that policy forward again, as part of their election platform.

“A rent freeze will provide a much-needed circuit-breaker for the many renters who are struggling with increasing rents alongside the increasing cost of living,” Greens leader Shane Rattenbury said.

“The subsequent caps will create the long-term structure change that the system needs. Because we are in a housing crisis, people shouldn’t have to choose between putting food on the table and paying their rent – it’s just not good enough.”

The Greens would establish an independent Rental Commissioner to resolve rental questions and disputes outside the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The Commissioner would enforce rental laws on no-cause evictions and rent increase limits, and issue fines, “to ensure that renters are empowered to enforce their rights in rejecting illegal rent increases”, Mr Rattenbury said.

“This will ensure renters’ rights are protected, without relying on renters to pursue matters themselves through a tribunal – a process that can be prohibitively costly, stressful, and intimidating for renters,” Mr Rattenbury said.

The Greens would ban unsolicited ‘rent bidding’, “to prevent potential tenants offering more than the asking price – which locks others out of the market, and increases rental prices”, Mr Rattenbury said. 

Mr Rattenbury said the rental reforms would address the power imbalance between landlords and renters, and ensure that every Canberran has a safe and affordable home.

“These and other measures in this policy form part of the Greens broader plan to fix the housing crisis,” Mr Rattenbury said. “Renters are at the heart of this plan, because the current system is designed to deliver profit to landlords, not homes for people. The system is stacked against renters, and that needs to change…

 “Housing is a human right. Every Canberran deserves a safe, affordable and comfortable place to live – whether they are a homeowner or a renter. Right now, more people than ever are struggling to put a roof over their head. We are in a housing crisis – rents are among the highest in the country, and house prices are out of reach for many Canberrans.”

Better Renting

Joel Dignam, executive director of Better Renting, and a former Greens staffer, said the proposals would “improve conditions for renters in the ACT in ways big and small”.

The rental commissioner would improve tracking and publishing of rental data, helping policy makers and the public to better understand the dynamics of the sector and to inform policy-making. Mr Dignam welcomed their greater ability to enforce rental laws, which many renters could not do. The ACT would be able to learn from Victoria and NSW’s experiences in introducing a rental commissioner, Mr Dignam thought.

Better limits on rent increases would make it easier for renters to remain in their homes, help preserve diversity in communities, and make sure people on different incomes can live in Canberra.

“While the ACT has led the way in ending unfair evictions, big and sudden rent increases can also push people out of their homes,” Mr Dignam said. “The current rent stabilisation system is the best in Australia, but it is too complicated for both renters and landlords. Shifting from a CPI-based formula to a flat 2 per cent rate gives greater clarity and predictability for everyone involved. This is a rental affordability measure, but also a housing security measure.”

REIACT

However, the Real Estate Institute of the ACT (REIACT), the professional body for the real estate industry, disagreed.

“The measures outlined in the Greens policy do nothing to increase the overall supply of homes in  the ACT, and seem to be simply old policies which have either been defeated multiple times, such as the rent freeze agenda, or are already legislated – such as the ban on no cause evictions and rent bidding,” CEO Maria Edwards said.

“It seems a bit out of touch when Canberra renters already have the strongest rental protection laws in Australia, the greatest choice in Australia when looking for a rental (the ACT has the highest vacancy rate in Australia), and also the lowest legislated rent increases. The real issues in affordability in housing are in the social and affordable sectors where the Greens, as part of the ACT coalition, have failed to adequately maintain supply, expecting Mum and Dad landlords to bridge this supply shortfall.”

Labor and the Liberals

The older parties did not think the rent freeze was a good idea.

“We know that some renters are doing it tough right now, but a broad rent freeze is not a practical or a proven solution and will most likely result in perverse outcomes,” an ACT Labor spokesperson said.

Canberra Liberals MLA Mark Parton, shadow minister for housing, said: “The Greens seem hellbent on completely trashing Canberra’s private rental market. If this suite of policies was ever implemented, it would result in a mass exodus of investors which would dramatically shrink the private rental market.

“This will inevitably lead to an increase in rents. The removal of investors from the market will also heavily impact future housing construction. The three biggest reasons for the housing crisis are supply, supply and supply, so why would you implement policies that would lead to a drastic downturn in the construction of new dwellings?

“Specifically, regarding the Greens’ proposed two-year rent freeze, under the current caps, landlords can only increase rents by .9 per cent in the next 12 months. That’s unlikely to cover the increases in rates and land tax alone without considering additional increased costs such as minimum rental standards.

“To get more dwellings built, you need to incentivise. There is a large cohort of renters who never intend to purchase. These are the people who will be most heavily impacted by these ludicrous policy proposals.”

Mr Rattenbury claimed the other two parties had blocked the Greens’ attempts to deliver better protections for renters such as a rent freeze and improved rent caps.

“For decades, Labor and the Liberals have used tax breaks to rig the housing market in a way that builds wealth rather than providing safe and secure places to live,” Mr Rattenbury said.

The Labor spokesperson said it might be possible to create the Rental Commissioner through redirecting existing resources in the ACAT.

“The ACT has implemented strong measures to prevent excessive rent increases, including a CPI plus 10 per cent cap on annual rental increases,” the Labor spokesperson said. “When combined with increases in housing supply, including new build to rent projects with below market rent mandates, these policies have resulted in significantly smaller increases in rents in the ACT over the past few years.  In some instances, rents are actually falling in real terms across the ACT.

“ACT Labor has a clear intent to increase housing supply to put downward pressure on house prices and rents. That’s why we have committed to release more land for housing, explore additional planning reforms and incentivise more large-scale build-to-rent projects. These are proven solutions that will add thousands of new rentals into the ACT over the next five years.”

“The ACT Greens have worked hard to improve rights for renters, we have banned ‘no cause’ evictions, banned solicited rent bidding and introduced minimum ceiling insulation for rental properties,” Mr Rattenbury said.

Belco Party

Bill Stefaniak, Belco Party candidate for Ginninderra, former ACT Housing Minister, former Appeal President ACAT, and part-time solicitor who appears in ACAT on for landlords and tenants, described the Greens Housing policy as “a suicide note for rental properties in the ACT”.

“Recent amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act that came into force earlier this year have already seen an exodus of owners from the property market,” Mr Stefaniak said. “If any of these new Greens policies are implemented, it will lead to an even bigger exit from the market, severely depleting the number of rental properties available for rent in the ACT.

“Rent freezes and bashing landlords does not work. An ‘independent’ Rental Commission no doubt appointed by Mr Rattenbury, with the ability to fine and resolve residential tenancy disputes, will take away what little confidence is left in our tenancy laws.

“It’s bad enough already, and I’m constantly being told that landlords are selling up in droves and going interstate where the laws are fairer for all sides, or going into other areas of investment like the stock market.

“Only the very big national and often multinational build-to-rent developers would be able to stay in the market, further and significantly decreasing the availability of housing stock, and leading to a real crisis for the ACT. This will only harm renters.

“The proposed new Commissioner would also take away from the work of ACAT, which is already seen by real estate agents as too tenant friendly. Indeed, only a few months ago, two ACAT members in two cases I had before them conceded to me that the current Residential Tenancy Act is ‘tenant friendly and tenant orientated’.

“Many community members have told me that the current Act needs to be addressed, with such essential protections for landlords such as a more balanced lease termination provisions, similar to those that apply in other states and a more thorough look at pet clauses and issues around pets (which could be largely overcome by pet bonds), just two issues raised with me.

“The Belco Party believe that mum and dad investors looking to get into the property market would be crazy to invest in the ACT as the law currently stands, let alone if the changes the Greens want introduced become law.

“If I am unsuccessful in my bid to get into the Assembly, I’m available for appointments as the Rental Commissioner. At least I know what I’m doing, and would not be hellbent on further compounding the problem.”