‘Getting screwed’: Greens tell PM to freeze rent hikes, stop interest rate rises

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The Greens will introduce a bill in federal parliament to freeze rent prices nationwide and allow for the federal government to intervene to stop the Reserve Bank from raising interest rates any further.

Renters’ rights have become a pressing issue in Australia, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and state and territory leaders put it on the agenda at Friday’s national cabinet meeting, when they agreed to harmonise protections for renters across the nation.

Greens housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather says the government needs to intervene to address the rent crisis in Australia.Credit: Rhett Wyman

But Greens housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather said it was time Albanese intervened to freeze both rents and interest rates.

“This is a national housing and rental crisis that requires national leadership, and the Greens will have a bill before the Senate this budget week that will freeze rent increases and mortgages that Labor could pass straight away,” he said.

“The big banks are recording record profits, property investors are about to pocket $12 billion in tax concessions, but renters and mortgage holders are getting screwed and it’s time Labor stood up for them and froze rents and interest rates.”

In Victoria and NSW, rent can be increased only every 12 months – but there is no cap on the dollar amount.

The ACT is the only jurisdiction in Australia that puts a cap on rent increases, with landlords unable to raise the rent by more than 10 per cent above the consumer price index for Canberra.

Albanese said on Friday each state and territory had measures on rental prices that were different from one another, which suggested that the frequency of rent rises and monetary increases would be on the agenda.

“Different states will have different circumstances. But … every state and territory is doing something in this area,” Albanese said.

“So what will occur over coming months is looking at the different programs that are in place, some of those are around the frequency of any rent increase that can occur. In at least one jurisdiction’s case, it’s also over the amount that can occur of any increase.”

Under the Greens’ bill, the federal government would have the power to work with states to freeze rent increases by offering additional housing funding to states and territories who adopt rent controls within their own tenancy legislation.

States and territories that agree to implement an emergency freeze on rent increases for two years, followed by capping rent increases at 2 per cent every two years, would be eligible to double their housing funding from the Commonwealth.

The bill would also strengthen the existing powers for the treasurer to overrule the Reserve Bank of Australia and freeze interest rates by making it clear that the government was ultimately responsible for monetary policy.

The cash rate has risen to an 11-year high of 3.6 per cent this year, but the RBA didn’t raise the rate at its last meeting this month.

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