[no bill text published] Rent Increase Freeze for Residential Tenancy Agreements
Residential Tenancies Amendment (Rent Freeze) Bill 2023
Private Member's BillLegislative Assembly
Legislative Council
Assent
Introduced by: Jenny Leong MP (GRN)
Links to official parliament websites
Effects of this bill
If this bill passes, it means that:
The Debate
What different members said when this bill was debated:
Mark Taylor LIB
“I make a contribution to debate on The Greens’ Residential Tenancies Amendment (Rent Freeze) Bill 2023. I note that my speech has been prepared in concert with the shadow Minister for Fair Trading, Work Health and Safety and Building, the member for Willoughby. The Opposition does not support the bill because rent freezes do not work. The bill offers nothing but false hope.”
Liza Butler ALP
“I oppose the Residential Tenancies Amendment (Rent Freeze) Bill 2023. The bill proposes to amend the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 by immediately freezing rents for two years on all existing and new New South Wales residential tenancy agreements, with all rental increases prohibited.”
Tamara Smith GRN
“I am proud to speak in support of The Greens’ Residential Tenancies Amendment (Rent Freeze) Bill 2023. I commend The Greens’ housing spokesperson, the member for Newtown, for her work in this space. Rent freezes are not radical. You would think we were talking about something truly radical. It is not radical in Germany, where a three-year rent freeze was recently announced.”
Liesl Tesch ALP
“All members know that the rental market is in dire circumstances in New South Wales. We have seen massive rent increases and we continue to see incredibly low vacancy rates. That hits our low‑income renters hard in many of our electorates. The intention of the bill is to address the current rental crisis; however, the bill does not address the factors contributing to rent increases.”
Kobi Shetty GRN
“I speak in support of the Residential Tenancies Amendment (Rent Freeze) Bill 2023. I thank my Greens colleague the member for Newtown for introducing this important bill. As we have heard in this debate, and as members would be aware, we are in the grip of a housing crisis where already astronomical rents across New South Wales are going up at an alarming and unacceptable rate.”
Steve Whan ALP
“I join my colleagues on this side of the House in opposing the Residential Tenancies Amendment (Rent Freeze) Bill 2023. I do not doubt the goodwill and good intent behind this legislation. But, like others in this place, I disagree with the need, the impact and the potential effectiveness of this sort of policy.”
Ray Williams LIB
“Members will excuse me for not reading the content of the Residential Tenancies Amendment (Rent Freeze) Bill 2023, but I want to pick up on something that the member for Monaro just raised, which is very pertinent to the debate. He suggested that the current cap on rents in the Australian Capital Territory is, if I heard correctly, CPI plus 10 per cent every year. With inflation at roughly 5.”
News articles and press releases
Residential Tenancies Amendment (Rent Freeze) Bill 2023
Ms JENNY LEONG, Member for Newtown — 2023-06-29
The Residential Tenancies Amendment (Rent Freeze) Bill 2023 will prohibit rent increases on all residential tenancy agreements in New South Wales for two years. Under new section 40A (3), all New South Wales residential tenancy rents will be frozen at their rate as of 30 June 2023. If a new tenant starts a lease at a property after that date, the property can only be rented at or below the June 2023 rate. If a property was not rented out as of 30 June 2023, then during the rent freeze period of two years it can only be rented out under a new tenancy agreement at or below the median rent for that postcode.