The Greens Want To Stop Rent Increases For The Next Two Years

Things are about to get chilly.❄️ 

The Greens Party has called on the government to freeze rent prices for the next two years to ease the pressure on renters.

The huge cost-of-living squeeze is putting pressure on a lot of people’s wallets right now, and increased rents since the start of the pandemic have only added to the pain.

Under the proposal from the Greens’ spokesperson for housing, Max Chandler-Mather, rent prices would effectively stay the same over the next two years.

The Greens also want rent increases limited to two percent for every two years after the initial period.

Max said the current situation is unfair to renters.

“It's completely unsustainable to have a situation where someone's rent can go up by as much as the landlord or real estate agent wants.”

Max is a renter himself, and at 30 years old, he understands the strain on young renters in Australia, and wants to help where he can.

“We're not calling for rents to be cut or reduced. We're just saying there needs to be a bit of a pause.”

Young people are the biggest renters in Australia – more than 80 per cent of Australians living independently aged 15 – 24 are renters, way more than any other age bracket.

Rents are currently rising at the highest rate since the 2008 financial crisis.

Average rents in capital cities are up 9.1 per cent and 10.8 per cent in regional areas.

The increases in rents have increased cost of living pressures and homelessness across the country.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed his uncertainty about the proposal.

“It's not clear to me, short of nationalising property, how that could be achieved. And I haven't seen any proposal, nor have the Greens raised with the government that at all.”

Whatever happens, the Greens say a rent freeze is the key to cooling down inflation pressures.