Changes to rent increases
The State Government has passed legislation to limit rent increases to once a year.
Amendments to the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008, through the Local Government Electoral and Other Legislation (Expenditure Caps) Amendment Bill 2022, will limit the frequency of rent increases from every six months to once a year for residential tenancies and rooming accommodation agreements.
The annual limit on rent increases will apply to all new and existing tenancies from 1 July 2023 onwards.
>> READ MORE: CHANGES TO ROOMING ACCOMMODATION APPROVALS
Housing Minister Leeanne Enoch said with more than one-third of Queensland households renting, it’s vital that renters get a fair go.
“As we seek to modernise Queensland’s tenancy laws, we are determined to strike a fair balance that protects the interests of both renters and rental property owners.
“Acting quickly to limit rent increases is a critical government response to community concerns about the impact of current market conditions and cost of living pressures on renting households in Queensland.
“Taking this action will build on the Queensland Government’s record to improve protections in Queensland’s private rental market through strong, balanced rental law reform.
“In addition to protecting the rights of renters and rental property owners, our rental law reform agenda seeks to improve stability in the rental market.”
But the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) is calling out a questionable and concerning move by the State Government to treat rent control separately to stage two rental reforms, without the transparent legislative process that is reasonably expected.
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REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella said it was absurd and questioned the legality of the retrospective nature of the new laws.
“As a property investor, you may have negotiated a rent increase that you have banked on and budgeted for and now this has been stripped away,” Ms Mercorella said.
“It’s one thing to introduce rent control from a certain date onwards, but it’s a whole other proposition to retrospectively create laws that override previously agreed contractual arrangements.”
Ms Mercorella said this approach was dangerous because it fails to recognise that private investors are the group that we all heavily rely on to provide the vast majority of housing for the 1.5m people who rent their homes in Queensland.
“Our state has always had a higher rental population than the rest of the country and so maintaining adequate levels of property investment is vital to housing Queenslanders,” she said.
“As these investors decide to call it a day and either sell or withdraw their properties from our state’s rental pool, the rental crisis here will only get worse.
“When it comes to tenancy legislation, we need to achieve balance and be careful about gradually tipping the scales too far in favour of either party, so that we can provide adequate protections for tenants while keeping investors in Queensland.”
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Deputy Premier Steven Miles said the majority of landlords do the right thing, but taking immediate action will protect Queensland renters from landlords who aren’t operating fairly.
“For most households, rent would be the biggest single expense in their household budget.
“The Government is taking immediate action to support renters now.”
The Stage 2 Rental Law Reform Options Paper can be found here.
Public feedback is also being sought by the government here.
