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Landlords back rental caps but draw the line at tax reforms
A new report showed the majority of landlords would back state and territory government policies to protect tenants from excessive rent increases, but more than half don’t support tax break changes.
The data, commissioned by Anika Legal, Better Renting, and the Consumer Policy Research Centre, was based on a survey canvassing the views of more than 1,000 renters, home owners, and landlords.
The Essential Homes: Why renting is an essential service report showed 65 per cent of current and former landlords supported a cap on the number of increases allowed, and the amount by which rents can increase.
Meanwhile, a significantly larger number of tenants would back the changes, with 86 per cent of renters responding that they would support a regulated price cap.
The report also showed 71 per cent of current or former landlords agreed renting should be more affordable, compared to 90 per cent of renters.
As a result of the findings, the report recommended that state and territory governments introduce rent stabilisation policies to guard renters from excessive price hikes.
“These policies should be accompanied by measures to limit unintended adverse consequences, including eviction law reform and regulation of short-stay rentals,” it said.
The report also suggested further rental law reforms to prohibit evictions without grounds, only allowing evictions for a limited number of reasonable grounds, and requiring landlords to justify their reasons before an eviction.
When it came to potential changes to investor tax breaks, the data showed landlords were less inclined to support policy reform.
It came following recent speculation about possible reforms to negative gearing and capital gains tax (CGT) discounts ahead of next month’s Federal Budget.
Despite mostly wanting to make renting more accessible, just 49 per cent believed that reforming tax breaks for landlords could make renting fairer.
According to the report, potential government reforms to housing tax concessions could benefit renters by encouraging long-term investment.
“This shift towards responsible investment would encourage landlords to provide stable tenancies with fewer rent spikes, and discourage speculation from investors who can’t afford the costs of maintaining or improving rental homes,” it said.
Additionally, the report said tax reforms would help level the playing field between investors and first home buyers by enabling more renters to purchase a home.
The findings also showed strong support for government reforms to ensure rental homes met minimum standards, with 76 per cent of landlords agreeing that subpar properties should not be advertised.
Meanwhile, 71 per cent of landlords agreed rent increases should not be allowed for homes that didn’t meet these standards, while 65 per cent supported governments taking a proactive role to ensure rental homes met standards.
Comparatively, a larger portion of the general public agreed landlords should not be able to advertise rental homes that didn’t meet standards (83 per cent), or increase rent for such homes (80 per cent).
Finally, 76 per cent of the general public said the government should intervene to ensure minimum standards.
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