Do I need to be a renter to join the Make Renting Fair campaign?
No. This is a campaign for all Queenslanders who want to see fairer rental laws and improve access to secure and affordable housing for everyone.
Won’t control on rent prices restrict rental supply?
No. Renting has been a part of life for centuries. Hundreds of jurisdictions around the world place some form of limits on rental increases and no discernible impact on housing supply has occurred.
Are there other jurisdictions where similar rental market changes have been tried?
Yes. In Australia, the ACT has limited rent increases at 110% of CPI – the same as what we are asking for in Queensland.
Some states in the USA, such as California, New York, and Oregon, cap rental increases at 2.5% per annum, as does the state of Ontario in Canada. France has a similar scheme, with increases capped at 3.5% per annum.
Can’t people already make reasonable adjustments to their home?
The current laws require tenants to seek the landlord’s express permission for any adjustments. This results in landlords often ignoring or declining very reasonable requests relating to the renter’s safety or accessibility in their own home, such as installing security screens or cameras, or changing the height of door handles. This particularly impacts domestic violence survivors and people with a disability.
With rising interest rates, won’t limits on rent increases mean landlords lose money on their investment?
No. Rents don’t’ rise because of increases in interest rates. Rents are set by how much demand there is for a rental property in relation to how much rental property is available. Owning a property you rent to others as a home is the same as any other business -landlords must assume some level of risk when operating a commercial venture.
Tenants are responsible for paying for damage to a property. Won’t speeding up bond returns mean landlords lose their chance to enforce their rights?
The evidence is bond returns are mainly slowed down by spurious claims from landlords and agents, not by genuine disagreement with a former tenant.
Where landlords have a clear reason to withhold some bond being returned, any changes to the system will ensure they still have the opportunity to do so. But it must be based on real evidence of damage to the property.
Isn’t it reasonable to request a bank statement to verify a renter’s income?
It is reasonable for a landlord to satisfy themselves that a prospective renter will be able to meet the costs of rent over the period of the lease. Regular payslips and a clean rental record provide ample evidence of renter performance.
The amount a person spends on feeding their family is no one else’s business.