The Queensland Government has announced it will limit the number of times a landlord can increase rental prices to once a year under a new rental cap set to be put in place.
The limit is currently once every six months. New rules are set to come into place on 1 July.
It comes as the state experiences an extreme housing crisis. This has particularly impacted regional areas.
The housing crisis
A housing report published this month found Queensland had the highest-growing rate of rent rises across Australia. It also found the median rent price was increasing by up to 80% in one regional area in the past five years.
The proportion of affordable rental properties in Greater Brisbane was also found to have almost halved in the last five years.
The Queensland rent cap
Imposing a rent cap is opposed by the Queensland Opposition. They say that building more housing supply should be the priority.
Legislation will be needed for the new rules to come into effect. It’s expected to pass behind the support of the Government (which has a majority of seats in Parliament).
The Government convened a housing roundtable today with industry and advocacy groups to discuss rising housing stress in Queensland.
