WITH costs of living rising, the Greens have called for a nationwide rent freeze.
Last week, Greens housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather said that a two-year rent freeze should be implemented across the country. The party also wants to see the enforcement of ongoing rent caps, at 2 per cent every two years, and an end to no grounds evictions.
“An emergency rent freeze will give wages and incomes time to catch up to rents, which over the last 12 months have grown seven times faster than wages in capital cities, Chandler-Mather said. “With more and more people renting long term, we desperately need legislated protections against unfair, arbitrary evictions and skyrocketing rents.
“If the government is serious about cost-of-living relief, if they’re serious about affordable housing, then it’s a no-brainer to freeze rent rises. Rents are out of control, millions of Australian renters are struggling to pay the rent, and unless the government wants to see more families sleeping in their cars they need to do their job and act now to stop this crisis boiling over into a national tragedy. During the pandemic the Victorian Government froze rents, while governments around the world have used rent freezes and controls successfully to protect households and their homes, there’s no reason why we can’t do it here.”
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 31 August 2022