The Greens say they will introduce an effective rent freeze across Brisbane by enacting massive land rates increases for any property investors who increase the rent.
The announcement on Monday will be a centrepiece of the Greens’ campaign for the Brisbane city council, a city where nearly four in 10 homes are occupied by renters.
Having won three federal seats at the 2022 election, the party believes housing is a lever for broadening its appeal from the inner suburbs to the commuter belt.
“Our message to landlords is pretty straightforward: if you put up the rent, we’ll put up your rates,” the Greens’ candidate for lord mayor, Jonathan Sriranganathan, said.
“The suffering and disruption that unlimited rent increases are causing in our communities must come to an end.”
The policy would be designed to run for two years, and would require landlords to keep rents at or below January 2023 levels.
Those who don’t would be subject to a new rates category – “uncapped rental home” – and would be charged 750% of the standard rates bill.
The mechanism is similar to one used recently by the Liberal National party-run council to apply higher rates to properties rented via Airbnb.
The Greens have already announced a further crackdown on Airbnb –banning properties being rented out for short-term accommodation for more than 45 days a year – and a “vacancy levy” on properties left empty for more than six months.
The party’s federal housing and homelessness spokesman, Griffith MP Max Chandler-Mather, said a freeze on rental increases would save households thousands.
“The LNP council will tell renters there is nothing they can do to stop unlimited rent increases,” he said.
“This is not true – they are just more concerned with the profits of property developers than they are about people who are sleeping in their cars or tents right now, or those who are one rent increase away from eviction.”
Information circulated by the Greens ahead of Monday’s announcement says they do not expect the policy to raise additional revenue because “any investors will simply keep rents frozen”.
“Any sensible property investor would not raise the rent, because doing so would cost them money.”
Examples cited by the party include a hypothetical CBD unit with a $1,500 a year rates bill. A $50 a week rental increase – $2,600 a year – would result in $9,750 in additional land rates.
For a detached house with a $3,000 annual rates bill, if the landlord increased the rent by $100 a week – $5,200 a year – the extra rates would amount to $19,500.
• This article was amended on 6 November 2023 to correct the example of a detached house, above, which applies to people with a $3,000 annual rates bill. An earlier version incorrectly said it applied to people with rates bills of $3,000 a week.
