Per Capita welcomes the announcement today made by Premier Jacinta Allan to introduce further reforms for a fairer Victorian rental market including a ban on no-fault evictions and a lease break fees capped at four weeks.
It follows reform recommendations made by Per Capita’s Centre for Equitable Housing (CEH) as part of our ongoing research and advocacy for rental reforms and regulation in Australia.
At CEH we firmly believe the goal of government housing policy should be to ensure that everyone in our wealthy country has a safe, secure, affordable and comfortable home. Tenants here enjoy far less security in their homes than do renters in comparable countries. By international standards, we have low levels of protection for tenants from eviction. What is undeniable, and not news to anyone working in housing and homelessness services across the country, is that there is a genuine crisis for low-income households in Australia’s rental market, one that has been brewing for over 30 years.
Today’s announcement is a big step in the right direction.
Dr Kate Raynor, Director of the Centre for Equitable Housing, said:
“Not only do these reforms increase housing security for renters, they also address some of the fear and power imbalance that stops renters asking for basic repairs in their homes. It also means tenants aren’t responsible for supporting the cost of investor’s ‘difficult to lease’ homes.”
Emma Dawson, Executive Director of Per Capita, said:
“Our August 2023 report, Regulating Rentals in Australia: what works?, provided policy makers with a detailed account of the failings in Australia’s residential rental markets, rejecting populist calls for a damaging “rent freeze” and setting out an evidence-based approach by which state and territory governments could improve renters’ rights. It’s encouraging to see state governments in Victoria and NSW just a year later adopt many of our recommendations as they move to provide tenants with greater security and increase the supply of well-located, affordable homes.”
For media enquiries, please phone 03 7009 4905 or email media@percapita.org.au
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