By Katie Hennah
For many people in Inner Sydney, rent rises are no longer an occasional pressure. They are a constant source of worry. The NSW Greens have now introduced legislation aimed at limiting those increases. At Inner Sydney Voice, we see the effects of rising rents and cost of living pressures in our community work every day.
What the bill would do
Introducing the bill in Parliament, Jenny Leong, NSW Greens spokesperson for Housing and Homelessness, said it would put a temporary 12-month freeze on rents, followed by a permanent cap of 2 per cent on annual rent increases, tied to the property rather than the tenancy. It would also create a pathway for renters to seek a rent reduction and make a two-year fixed term lease the standard, in line with a call from the ACTU.
Ms Leong argued that rents are among the easiest housing costs for government to control. “It is a reform that would not cost the government a single cent,” she told Parliament. She noted that many other essentials are regulated, including childcare, healthcare, transport, and power bills, and asked: “So why not rents?”
What the data shows
New figures released by the Greens, based on government data, put a dollar figure on what unlimited increases have cost renters. According to the data, the median renter protected by a 2 per cent rent cap between 2023 and 2026 would have saved:
- Sydney LGA: $7,479
- Inner West LGA: $4,555
- Penrith LGA: $4,493
The differences are starker in some suburbs. Had 2 per cent rent caps been in place from 2021 to 2026, the median renter’s annual savings over the next year would be:
- Zetland: $19,378
- Wolli Creek: $15,023
- Harris Park: $9,884
For a household already stretched by rising costs, savings of this size can decide whether someone stays in their community or is forced to leave it.
The evidence from Australia and overseas
Ms Leong told Parliament that rent controls work, pointing to the ACT, where rents have been capped since 2019 and where she said rent growth has been much slower than in other capital cities, with no impact on housing supply. She also cited a 2023 Macquarie University study of rent regulation in 25 OECD nations, which she said found that regulation reduces rents, moderates rent growth and improves security of tenure, with little evidence that it reduces construction.
The pressure on renters
Ms Leong cited further figures on the scale of the problem. She said 45 per cent of private renters across Sydney are in rental stress, spending more than 30 per cent of their income on rent, with median rents in NSW having risen 22 per cent since the Labor Government was elected.
She also pointed to figures from the NSW Council of Social Service, which she said show almost one million people in NSW living in poverty, including one in seven children. More than half of those people, she said, are in extreme housing stress, spending over half their income on rent. She pointed out that the public and social housing waiting list has grown 25 per cent under the current Government, so renters at breaking point have no safety net.
“The stress on renters is unbearable and without urgent action this will only get worse,” Ms Leong said.
What we see in our community
These pressures are familiar to us at Inner Sydney Voice. Inner Sydney is home to students, families, first nations people, people with disability, people on low incomes and many older people living on fixed incomes. For these residents, a rent increase is rarely just a budgeting problem. It means tough decisions about getting out and about, food, medical care and whether they will be able to remain in the neighbourhood that they know and love. It affects physical and mental health, the ability to leave an abusive relationship, access to support and connection to the community. More people are retiring into poverty after a lifetime of working or caring for their family and community workers have been noticing a whole new raft of people accessing services, people who haven’t previously needed to, but due to cost of living pressures are finding they can no longer make ends meet.
Older renters are particularly vulnerable. Many have lived in the same area for decades and rely on nearby services, community organisations and neighbours who know them. Cost of living pressures can force a move, or simply make it too expensive to go out, meaning the loss of the trusted local supports that help them stay well and connected. For people facing language barriers or limited family support, that loss can be significant.
A test for Parliament
The bill arrives with strong public backing, according to polling released on 14 October by The Australia Institute. It found that 51 per cent of NSW voters support rent caps at inflation or less, and another 25 per cent support going further with a temporary rent freeze. Only 15 per cent back the current approach of no limits on rent rises. The Australia Institute describes this as super-majority support for government intervention to control rents.
Ms Leong said the Greens had done the work of drafting the legislation. She asked whether the Government and Opposition would “continue to wring their hands about the so-called cost of living crisis, or will they step up.”
She also compared the issue to the ban on no-grounds evictions. It took 10 years from when the Greens first introduced a bill on that reform until it passed. “How long will the millions of struggling renters have to wait for the major parties to get on board this time?” she asked.