Tenants will only see their rent raised once a year in Queensland, rather than every six months, under a state government proposal to curb some of the steepest increases in the nation.
More than one million people rent in the Sunshine State and they “must be given a fair go” to pay rent they can afford, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told parliament on Tuesday.
“The great majority of landlords do the right thing and look after their tenants, for those who don’t, this is a wake-up call,” she said.
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.
Ms Palaszczuk did not mention limiting the dollar value of rent hikes. A number of social service organisations favour restricting increases to broadly in line with inflation.
Rent controls have been panned by the real estate sector and the opposition Liberal National Party, while the Greens have proposed even stronger regulation than the Labor government.
Related story: How a rental cap could impact the Sunshine Coast
Treasurer Cameron Dick is also hoping to entice developers to construct more build-to-rent projects through a series of concessions, including a 50 per cent discount on land tax payable for up to 20 years.
The residential buildings that favour long-term rentals will be eligible if they meet criteria including at least 10 per cent of dwellings being affordable housing.
Minimum requirements of affordable housing for new developments were flagged by the premier during a housing roundtable last year.
“In the UK, 25 per cent … has to be for affordable or social housing in a new development,” Ms Palaszczuk said in September.
“That’s a great idea … we want to explore that further.”
The latest announcements come as the premier hosts another housing roundtable on Tuesday following a crisis summit last year.
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