Property expert Chris Gray talks to Moira Geddes about current property market conditions and settles the score over whether to buy or rent

Should I buy or should I rent?

WITH Australians finding it increasingly difficult to buy their first home, more people are being faced with the prospect of renting for a lifetime.

But one would-be politician has announced a plan to take power away from landlords and place it in the hands of renters.

A Greens candidate for the NSW state election has proposed significant changes to renters’ rights that would:

● Allow landlords to impose only one increase in rent per year

● Cap rent rises at the rate of inflation (or the consumer price index, which usually increases 2-3 per cent each year)

● Not allow landlords to evict renters without a valid reason.

The Greens candidate for the newly drawn seat of Newtown, Jenny Leong, announced the policy this week with a view to protect tenants against “getting a raw deal in an overstressed housing market”.

“I think it’s pretty clear to everyone that Sydney is becoming one of the most expensive places to live in,” Ms Leong told news.com.au.

“There’s been a real shift to where long-term renting is the norm.”

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An International Monetary Fund report from November found that the ratio of housing prices to average incomes was 31.6 per cent above the historical average in Australia.

So, while home ownership is moving further from the average Aussie’s reach, rental prices have also skyrocketed.

Median rents in inner Sydney have increased by 207 per cent between 1991 and 2011, compared to a 163 per cent rise across greater Sydney.

“It’s pretty clear that we have a crisis of affordability of living in the city,” Ms Leong said.

“We need to look at ways to fix this that reflect community needs, not necessarily what’s going to protect profits or interests.”

She said the proposed changes would ensure security of tenure for renters by ending “no grounds” evictions.

“There’s the occasional dodgy landlord who would kick out a tenant just so they can put the rent up,” Ms Leong said.

The plan would also prevent more than one rental increase a year, unless there were significant improvements made to the property.

“It puts the requirement on the idea that there’s a justified reason for the rent increase,” Ms Leong said.

Chris Gall, a 24-year-old paralegal who lives in Sydney’s inner west, said his rent ate up much of his income.

“It’s incredibly expensive in Sydney. It’s even difficult to find even share houses like I live in for anything remotely like what I could afford,” he told news.com.au.

He said he had experienced several rent rises in succession that had caused him to move houses frequently.

“The big issue has been rental insecurity, and not knowing whether your landlord will be responsive to repairs that need to be done,” Mr Gall said.

“A lot of the time landlords and real estate agents are silent, but when you remind them that you need repairs — like no TV antenna, a leaky shower head or a few cracked tiles — they remember you exist. Next thing you know, there’s an inspection and rent rise coming up.

“For me, the biggest anxiety is whether I will still be living there in a couple of months’ time.

“It’s stressful to be moving constantly because rental affordability in the area is pretty bad.

“Anything that improves access to calling out landlords that are bad without fear of rental rises, I think is fantastic.

“It’s an ongoing anxiety for people my age, that sense of lingering insecurity.”

The Greens say that NSW has outdated residential tenancy laws that offer little protection for renters against excessive rent increases.

The federal party hopes to expand the policy beyond NSW, proposing a national standard that sets out minimum standards for urgent issues facing tenants, and ensures security of tenure and fairness of rent prices.

A spokeswoman for NSW Fair Trading Minister Matthew Mason-Cox indicated that existing legislation covered many of the issues the Greens’ plan raised.

“Under the Residential Tenancies Act, there are clear rules about how much rents can be increased and the required notice a tenant must be given ahead of any rent rise,” the spokeswoman said.

“Tenants also have the option to go the NCAT (NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal) to dispute any rental increase.

“NSW Fair Trading has launched a free Fair Trading tenancy complaint service, which has been very well received by tenants.

“The new service provides an alternate dispute resolution avenue for tenants, real estate agents and landlords to going through more formal and often costly dispute channels.’’

Do you think rental prices are excessive? What do you think should be done to keep them under control? Comment below or join the conversation on Twitter @newscomauHQ.