ACT Greens back calls for national two-year rent freeze, caps

The move has prompted Mr Barr to call on the party to contribute to a cabinet process for the ACT government to consider the policy, Greens minister Rebecca Vassarotti said.

Greens leader Shane Rattenbury wrote to Mr Barr calling for the rent freeze, in line with a federal Greens policy, the party said in a statement.

"The ACT is one of the most expensive places to rent in the country. Many Canberrans are facing severe rental stress, with some essential workers paying up to 76 per cent of their income on rent," the party's statement said.

"This is a crisis - but it is important to understand that this crisis has not evolved organically. This is a crisis created by the policies of successive federal Liberal and Labor governments that have consistently favoured the rich over everyone else."

The party wants rents to be held at their current levels for two years and then a 2 per cent cap on increases between new tenancies.

The cap would also remove the mechanism that allows a higher increase if endorsed by tenants and landlords in tenancy agreements.

Housing Minister Yvette Berry said ACT Labor knew what was needed to increase housing supply, and would continue to pursue planning reforms and large-scale build-to-rent projects.

"National cabinet has tasked housing ministers to develop a proposal outlining reforms to strengthen renters' rights across the country," Ms Berry said on Wednesday.

"Today I am meeting with Housing Ministers to begin that important work, including regulation of the rental market, where the ACT already has some of the strongest tenancy protections in the nation."

Ms Berry said the government would thoroughly investigate the impact of further market interventions, such as rent freezes, but the ACT already had nation-leading tenancy protections.

"This will include particular consideration of the supply of rental properties in Canberra - for example, build to rent - and the financial impact on Housing ACT," she said.

Mr Rattenbury has previously said the rent freeze was worth considering, but stopped short of calling for the policy.

"I have spoken to my national colleagues. They are, you know, talking to some of the states and territories as well because often it is the states and territories that regulate these things," he said on March 31.

"I mean, they look at the ACT as a role model. We have actually got a form of rent cap in place. There are restrictions on how much you can increase the rent under the territory's Residential Tenancies Act."

Ms Vassarotti said all six members of the ACT Greens in the Legislative Assembly endorsed the call for a national rent freeze.

"What has changed is that we'd been able to come together as a federal movement in terms of looking at what are the things that will make a real difference," she said.

"A nationally co-ordinated rent freeze is one of those things that make a real difference."

Mr Rattenbury did not attend the press conference on Wednesday.

Ms Vassarotti said the Greens would always look at the evidence in deciding whether to support policies, and would do so in the case of an analysis on the impact of an ACT rent freeze.

"The Chief Minister has indicated interest in having the conversation and we will be bringing these conversations to cabinet," she said.

"We are really clear about what we think needs to happen. We need bold actions."

Already landlords are not allowed to raise the cost of rent by more than 10 per cent above the Canberra consumer price index under the current laws.

Acting ACT Opposition Leader Jeremy Hanson said the Greens' policy was "dangerous and reckless" and was "economically illiterate".

"If this is the Greens' policy, it is absolute madness. And Andrew Barr shouldn't have these people in his government," Mr Hanson said.

"I mean, does Andrew Barr support this policy? If he does, then God help us, and if he doesn't, he should sack the lot of them."

Federal Greens leader Adam Bandt last month used an address to the National Press Club to position the Greens as "the party of renters".

The federal Greens are using negotiations on the federal government's housing future fund to demand a national rental freeze costed at $4.8 billion over three years, to be funded through the national housing and homelessness agreement.

MORE A.C.T. POLITICS NEWS:

The Greens have said they intend to introduce a bill to federal parliament that would give the Commonwealth the power to provide extra funding to states and territories that use their tenancy laws to freeze rents.

Housing Minister Julie Collins will meet her state and territory counterparts in Canberra on Wednesday, where they will discuss pathways to strengthening renters' rights.

The cost of rent fell slightly across Canberra in April, despite growth across most other capital cities.

Canberra's median dwelling rents - which includes houses and units - fell 0.2 per cent for the month to $677 per week, the latest rental report by CoreLogic showed.

Median rents across the combined capital cities increased 11.7 per cent for the 12 months to the end of April, marking the strongest annual growth on record.

But Canberra's dwelling rents fell 0.7 per cent over that time.

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