Landlords and tenants unions are calling for changes to the patchwork of laws that govern residential rental agreements across the country, with some claiming Australian tenants have fewer rights than renters in virtually every other country in the OECD.

Key points: The proportion of Australians living in a rental property has risen from about 27pc in the 1990s to 31pc now

The proportion of Australians living in a rental property has risen from about 27pc in the 1990s to 31pc now Tenants union says other OECD countries provide more protections for renters than Australia

Tenants union says other OECD countries provide more protections for renters than Australia It says people are scared of asserting their rights against landlords for fear of being evicted without explanation

Census data going back to the 1990s confirms renting is becoming more common in Australia, with the proportion of the population living in a rental property rising from about 27 per cent in the 1990s to 31 per cent now.

In most states and territories, legislation covering residential tenancy agreements has been periodically reviewed, with Tasmania and the ACT the two jurisdictions where laws have been most recently updated.

But tenants unions say changes need to go further, with "no grounds" evictions by landlords once a lease has ended the first thing — they say — that needs to be changed.

Senior policy adviser at the Tenants Union of New South Wales Leo Patterson Ross told the ABC's daily news podcast The Signal that some Australian tenants were being scared off from asserting their rights against landlords for fear of being evicted without explanation.

"The issue is that the same landlord who wants to move back into the premises or wants to renovate or build something new gives the same notice as the landlord who wants to kick you out because you were too much of a pain asking for repairs," he said.

"It means that what you might call the 'reasonable grounds' for ending a tenancy get all messed up and confused with the really dodgy grounds."

"In all states there is some protection against what are called retaliatory evictions, but they really don't perform very well."

No grounds evictions are prohibited in most countries in the OECD, although they are permitted in limited circumstances in a small group of countries including New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Iceland.

But Mr Patterson Ross says in broader terms, those countries provide more protections for renters than Australia, and that other places — especially in northern and central Europe and in North America — go much further.

"We are very, very much weaker," he told The Signal.

"We're a long way behind any other comparable country.

"We adopted our laws from England, and they have moved on [since], and we just haven't."

I've been bragging to my friends: Australian in Germany

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Australian student Scott Huntington used to rent in Sydney's inner city, but nine years ago he moved to Hamburg in Germany for work and, later, further study.

Germany has a much higher proportion of people living in rental accommodation than Australia, and while the rate of home ownership in the country is increasing, it remains far below levels in comparable countries like Australia.

As a result, Mr Huntington says, renters in Germany are often on leases that can run years or even decades, with the cost of rent loosely capped across all 16 states.

Mr Huntington told The Signal he had been amazed by German tenant protection rules, particularly by an effective ban on property inspections by landlords, and a generally more permissive attitude to tenants making permanent alterations to property.

"The first time I moved into a place here I was like, 'you can put a picture up? You don't have to use that stupid sticky thing that works for about two months and then your posters coming crashing down in the night?'," he said.

"Since I moved into a place here I have been constantly surprised — I've just been kind of bragging to my friends since I moved."

Longer leases ideal: real estate institute

It isn't just renters who think Australia could learn from the German approach.

Malcolm Gunning, who is the national president of the Real Estate Institute of Australia and runs a property agency in Sydney, told The Signal that the German practice of longer leases was something Australia could look to emulate, especially as more people found themselves renting for longer.

"There is a lot to be learned," Mr Gunning said.

"What we have in Australia is we see rental accommodation as short term, but that is changing now, particularly with the price of inner-city real estate in Melbourne and Sydney.

"Residential property in Europe is often held by institutions — trusts and the like — and all this in Australia needs to change too.

"We've got to get to the stage where we see a residential tenant as no different to a retail tenant, and I'd like to be able to see longer-term leases, so families for example who have no desire to own property can take a long-term lease of a premises — maybe five or 10 years — and both parties could go on their happy way."

While tenancy laws in Australia do differ a little between the states and territories, the various residential tenancy acts are loosely based on a common model.

In New South Wales, the State Government has promised some changes to state legislation in the coming months. In Victoria, the Andrews Government has pledged changes to tenancy laws before the next state election, due late in the year.