2023-04-06
The Victorian Greens have called on the Victorian Labor Government to implement a two-year rent freeze across the state to protect renters from out-of-control rent rises.
The Greens say they then want to see a permanent two per cent cap on rent increases every 24 months after that to prevent future rental crises, and ensure that everyone has a secure, affordable place to call home.
Right now, rents are rising four times faster than wages and renters are lining up for blocks just to get into inspections.
The average rent in Melbourne rose to $450 dollars a week in the December quarter, with apartment rentals in the city up by roughly 20 per cent year-on-year.
There is currently no relief in sight, with rents tipped to rise another 11.5 per cent across Victoria over 2023.
Landlords have lauded these rent hikes as “exciting” while everyday Victorians have been pushed into financial stress and even homelessness.
That’s why the Greens are urging the Government to:
- Introduce a two-year rent freeze, followed by a two per cent cap on rent increases every 24 months.
- Regulate the short-stay market, to prevent properties in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria from being locked up as mini-hotels for most of the year, and making them available as secure long-term rentals.
- Enforce the vacant property tax, to incentivise owners to put them on the rental market.
- Crack down on rental bidding so a property can’t go for more than the advertised price and push up the cost of renting for everyone.
- Enforce better standards in rentals including energy efficiency.
Victorian Greens spokesperson for renters’ rights, Gabrielle de Vietri, held a renters’ forum in Richmond last night which saw nearly 100 renters gather to discuss the current rental crisis and what needed to be done to fix it.
She said skyrocketing rents had contributed to the rising cost-of-living for tenants, and the Government had a critical role to play in protecting them from financial stress and housing insecurity.
She added that one in three Victorian renters were spending more than 30 per cent of their income on rent, the very definition of unaffordable housing.
The Australian Greens are currently pushing the Australian Labor Government to put a rent freeze on the national cabinet agenda, as part of their discussions around Labor’s woeful housing plan.
Quotes attributable to Victorian Greens renters’ rights spokesperson, Gabrielle de Vietri MP:
"We’ve done this before. During the pandemic, Victoria froze rents for six months to help people who were struggling to make ends meet. It was a lifesaver for so many households.
“But since then the crisis has grown out-of-control. We’re seeing young adults stuck in their childhood home, retired women sleeping in cars, and families with school kids living in tents. I’ve heard from renters that are struggling with rent hikes of $200 per week.
“We need urgent relief to prevent more households from being pushed into financial stress or homelessness.
“Freezing rents would allow wages to catch up to the cost of rent, and capping increases after that would ensure that renting remains affordable and secure into the future.”