Tenants will only see their rent raised once a year in Queensland under a limit being proposed by the state government to ease pressure on the housing market.
Queensland landlords can raise a tenant’s rent once every six months, but Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk wants to limit that to once a year.
She says a bill restricting the frequency of rent rises and providing more emergency funding for homeless families will be introduced to parliament on Tuesday.
“Today we’re taking action to give people who are renting a fairer go,” she wrote on Facebook.
“Weekly rents are rapidly increasing – sometimes going up $200 or even $400.
“It’s not right.
“That’s why we’re proposing to limit rent increases to once a year, rather than every six months.”
Rents have grown at a faster rate in Queensland than any other state or territory, with low-income and regional households the hardest hit, according to a report released earlier this week.
Some restrictions exist in Queensland, such as limiting rent increases to once every six months, but tenants generally don’t have much room to challenge amounts if they’re in line with the market.
It’s unclear whether the proposed laws will also limit the size of rent hikes with a number of social service organisations and charities urging the government in recent months to restrict increases to be in line with inflation.
Rent controls have been panned by the real estate sectors and the opposition Liberal National Party, while the Greens have proposed even stronger regulation than the Labor government.
The announcement comes as the premier hosts a second housing roundtable on Tuesday following a crisis summit last October.
– AAP
