The country's top real estate lobbyist says people struggling to pay their rent in Sydney, Melbourne and other big cities should "get two jobs".

Malcolm Gunning, a property agent in Sydney who is also president of the Real Estate Institute of Australia, denied there was a "crisis" in rental affordability, and said people who were struggling should move away from the major capitals, negotiate their rent and work an extra job.

"I don't accept there's a rental affordability crisis," he told the ABC's 7.30 program on Thursday.

"If you want to live on the fringe of the city, it's affordable. If you want to live closer to the city, it is expensive."