Rent reforms designed to even the playing field for tenants will be introduced in the New South Wales parliament this week, but there will be no relief for those facing soaring rents.
The new Minns government is prioritising a proposed ban on secret rent bidding and a portable bond scheme amid the worsening rental crisis gripping the state.
But tenants and advocacy groups say these changes would fail to provide the urgent hip pocket relief needed after months of rising rent prices.
The latest CoreLogic data puts the median weekly rent in Sydney at $711, meaning there's been a 13 per cent increase in the past 12 months.
Over the past 12 months in regional NSW, rents have increased by 3.8 per cent, which puts the median weekly rent at $550.
A mismatch between supply and demand is driving rents up, along with a surge in overseas migration and a slowdown in the construction sector.
Tiffany (whose surname has been withheld) lives in Oran Park in south-west Sydney with her four children and is staring down her third rent increase in four years.
Her rent was originally $600 per week. It then rose to $700 and will go up again to $800 this August.
"Repairs aren't being taken care of, yet landlords have the nerve to enforce such big increases in rent. It's really a big punch in the guts," she told the ABC.
"It's even more frustrating when you do your research and, according to the New South Wales tenants online rent calculator, you actually should only be paying $690, when your landlord is asking $800 of you."
She's now in the process of trying to negotiate with her landlord.
'Press pause' on rent rises
Last week at national cabinet, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese tasked the states and territories with developing proposals to strengthen renters' rights across the country by the second half of the year.
Both the federal and NSW Greens are proposing rent freezes, with the member for Newtown, Jenny Leong, introducing a bill in state parliament this week.
"The Greens want to see a two-year emergency rent freeze, to press pause on skyrocketing unchecked rent increases — while we work constructively with the new government to develop and implement long-term solutions to the housing affordability crisis," Ms Leong told the ABC.
However, the government has ruled out rent caps, arguing they cause major drops in housing supply by driving investors out of the market.
"If it puts pressure on new entrants and builders coming into the market and supplying households for the people of Sydney, we could make what is a desperately bad situation worse," Premier Chris Minns said last week.
But Tenants' Union of NSW CEO Leo Patterson Ross says many European countries have shown it's possible to balance increased rent regulation with supply.
"[Rent freezes] do not have the supply implications some people are concerned about, we need a mature conversation about this," Mr Patterson Ross said.
"Last year we saw bipartisan support across the country to stop energy prices rising a few hundred dollars, whereas rents have risen thousands of dollars a year.
"It's not consistent to say some essential services need pricing consideration and some don't."
Minister for Industry and Trade Anoulack Chanthivong is charged with tackling the state's rent crisis and says the government is focused on long-term supply solutions as "you can't have rental affordability without rental availability".
He says the new role of NSW rental commissioner will be key to providing expert advice in this area, with applications now open for the $300,000-a-year job.
Until then, the government aims to restore some fairness around bonds and rent bidding as the 58th parliament sits for the first time this week.
A portable bond scheme would allow tenants to apply their current bond to their next lease via the Rental Board and prevent the need to pay "double bonds" when moving.
"This will relieve financial pressure and increase cash flows for renters, what we're trying to do is fix what is a very stressful time for renters," Mr Chanthivong said.
The government will also seek to tighten the rules around rent bidding by making it mandatory for landlords, real estate agents and third parties to tell all prospective tenants when an applicant has made a higher bid on a property.
While Better Renting executive director Joel Dignam says these changes are beneficial, they are comparable to appetisers.
"Imagine you sit down at an Indian restaurant and they bring out a plate of pappadums. We hope that there's still some food to come," he told the ABC.
"This government's shown they're committed to some bigger changes and the sooner they can get on with that the better – every month of delays hurts renters."
