The Greens believe that housing is a human right, and that government has a responsibility to ensure everyone has the right to a home they can afford. Renting should be about providing someone with a place to call home, not a way for wealthy investors to make more profit.
We are committed to an immediate rent freeze to halt the day-to-day stress on renters fearing a letter from their landlord or real estate agent. But we know a freeze will not go far enough. This immediate rent freeze will press pause while we implement rent controls in NSW so that people are relieved from housing stress. The Greens’ call for a rent freeze could have saved Sydney renters over $7,000 if it was implemented two years ago when it was first raised.
We will establish an independent body to control rents , regulate increases and have oversight of dodgy landlord practices, so that renters can afford a place to live. And we’ll give more rights to renters and stop unfair evictions.
We need to regulate the rental market to protect renters in the same way we regulate and set maximum price increases in a range of essentials like water, energy, public transport and local government rates, and regulate the labour market by setting minimum wages. In February 2023, the NSW Tenants Union expressed support for a form of rent control being introduced in NSW.
During the pandemic we saw that governments can take quick and substantial action in the housing market - we need that action right now.
The Greens plan to address the housing and rental crisis in NSW in the long term includes a huge investment in affordable, sustainable, and accessible rental properties
The Greens will:
- Cut rents and ban unfair evictions
- Immediate rent freeze when the new parliament sits
- Establish an independent body to set rent controls
- Put limits on the amount and frequency of rent increases
- Increase oversight of dodgy landlord practices, including shoddy or neglected maintenance
- Expand hardship provisions to help renters get relief immediately