A rental commissioner that would provide advice and resolve disputes outside of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal would be appointed under a Greens election plan designed to make it easier for those who lease their homes.
The commissioner would be handed the power to enforce tenancy laws and issue fines without the need for prohibitively costly tribunal processes, the Greens said.
A portable bond scheme would also allow tenants to use the same money without needing to withdraw and redeposit the amount each time they sign a new lease in a different property.
Greens leader Shane Rattenbury Shane Rattenbury said the party would also introduce a two-year rent freeze followed by an ongoing rent cap limiting hikes to 2 per cent annually.
"A rent freeze will provide a much needed circuit-breaker for the many renters who are struggling with increasing rents alongside the increasing cost of living. The subsequent caps will create the long term structure change that the system needs," Greens leader Shane Rattenbury said.
"Because we are in a housing crisis, people shouldn't have to choose between putting food on the table and paying their rent - it's just not good enough."
But Labor, which has long governed in coalition with the Greens, said a broad rent freeze was not a practical or a proven solution and would likely result in perverse outcomes.
"The ACT has implemented strong measures to prevent excessive rent increases, including a CPI plus 10% cap on annual rental increases," a Labor spokeswoman said.
"When combined with increases in housing supply, including new build to rent projects with below market rent mandates, these policies have resulted in significantly smaller increases in rents in the ACT over the past few years. In some instances, rents are actually falling in real terms across the ACT."
The Labor spokeswoman said the government had been considering the proposal to establish an independent rental commission, which may be possible by redirecting existing resources in the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Mark Parton, the opposition spokesman on housing, said the Greens were "hellbent on completing trashing Canberra's private rental market".
"This will inevitably lead to an increase in rents. The removal of investors from the market will also heavily impact future housing construction. The three biggest reasons for the housing crisis are supply, supply and supply, so why would you implement policies that would lead to a drastic downturn in the construction of new dwellings?" Mr Parton said.
Mr Rattenbury said Labor and the Liberals had continually blocked Greens' attempts to deliver better protections for renters.
"The ACT Greens will ban all unsolicited 'rent bidding', to prevent potential tenants offering more than the asking price - which locks others out of the market and increases rental prices. We will also enforce rules on no-cause evictions and rent increase limits via the Rental Commissioner - to ensure that renters are empowered to enforce their rights in rejecting illegal rent increases," he said.
Laura Nuttall, the Greens member for Brindabella, said she knew first-hand as a renter the expenses of moving. "Just over a year ago I was putting off going to medical appointments and putting off paying for medication just to stay on top of groceries ... rent is a huge driver of the cost of living crisis and it shouldn't be this way," Miss Nuttall said.
