Housing advocates call for Queensland rent hike limits

Marty Silk | February 10, 2023

Advocates are calling for rent increases in Queensland to be tied to inflation plus 10 per cent and limited to one per year amid a housing crisis.

The Queensland Council of Social Services and Tenants Queensland say the state government must intervene in the private rental market to help people struggling to meet the cost of living.

The two advocacy groups say Queensland has the highest rental inflation in Australia, with median rents rising 80 per cent in Gladstone, 51 per cent in Noosa and 33 per cent on the Gold Coast since 2018.

Brisbane house and unit rents have also jumped 33 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively, since the pandemic began.   

QCOSS chief executive Aimee McVeigh said restricting rises to inflation plus 10 per cent at most each year would protect about 30 per cent of Queensland’s population, who are currently renters.

“With tens of thousands of Queenslanders experiencing housing insecurity who are not eligible for social housing, we also urgently need rental reform to stop more Queenslanders being forced into homelessness,” she said on Friday.

“The housing crisis is happening amidst a broader cost-of-living crisis and the Queensland government must intervene urgently, so people on low incomes do not bear the brunt of inflation.”

Tenants Queensland CEO Penny Carr said some people were being slugged with rent rises of up to 22 per cent, or three times the rate of inflation.

Others have had their rent hiked three times in the past six months, she said, which was unaffordable and risked pushing more people into homelessness.

“Unless we limit rent increases, hardworking Queensland renters will continue to be put at risk of homelessness and subjected to opportunistic rent increases in a hot market,” Ms Carr said.

“Improving the experiences of renters by protecting them from unreasonable rent increases and arbitrary evictions is an important part of a healthy housing system.”

The state government has committed to providing up to $130 million in grants for affordable housing projects with year, calling for expression of interest from the private sector on Thursday.

Rental vacancy rates were 1.1 per cent in greater Brisbane, 0.6 per cent on the Gold Coast, one per cent on the Sunshine Coast, 0.8 per cent in central Queensland, 1.5 per cent in the north and 0.6 per cent in the state’s south in December, according to SQM Research.