Unions unveil plans to extend standard lease agreements and increase public housing amid crisis

Millions of Australian renters could be offered leases of at least two years under a union push to provide greater security amid the housing crisis.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) will put the proposal to the federal government on Wednesday, calling for a new national standard requiring landlords to offer tenants at least two years of housing security.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Push for two-year rental leases to ease housing crisis

The plan would also introduce stronger protections against unfair evictions and rent gouging.

Renters would remain free to choose a shorter agreement.

Greater security was “really important” for working Australians struggling with rising housing costs, ACTU President Michele O’Neil told Sunrise on Wednesday.

“What you need is housing that you can rely on. We’ve got a problem both with affordability as well as security, and a whole lot of workers find housing really stressful and not affordable,” she said.

“What we see when leases end is that’s often a time when rents go up, and people having to move constantly makes it really hard to find accommodation near where you work.

“Workers need to live close to work. Otherwise, all the money they are earning is getting taken up either in rents or mortgages or in paying for the commute to get to work.”

Rents have risen by about 23 per cent over the past five years, while a report released by Anglicare Sydney last year found just 1 per cent of rentals nationwide were affordable for essential workers earning the minimum wage.

The proposal comes as “mum-and-dad” property investors face their own financial pressures, with elevated interest rates adding to rising costs.

However, O’Neil said the union’s proposed changes were aimed at professional landlords with multiple investment properties rather than people who owned one or two.

“What we have seen is changes in the way that the tax system works, which are actually going to benefit people who really want to have housing as a home,” O’Neil said.

“Our rental market is dominated by professional landlords. They’re the people who have been making money, and we need to put some tighter controls in so that there’s support for security and to stop rent gouging.”

Push for major public housing boost

The ACTU is also calling for public housing to account for one in every 10 new homes built, alongside a goal of increasing it to at least 6 per cent of Australia’s total housing stock.

The proposed construction rate would represent a fivefold increase from the current level of about one in 50 new homes.

“We want to see one in 10 new houses being built being public housing. That means a massive effort from the federal government and the state governments,” O’Neil said.

“Having housing in the regions and communities where we need our nurses, teachers and aged care workers to be able to live is a really critical thing that we need to do to support workers.”

The proposals follow union calls to increase access to home ownership and its support for capital gains tax and negative gearing changes announced in the federal budget.