Rent bidding is still the curse of Sydney tenants despite new laws. How can it be stopped?

In the lead up to the NSW election there has been a growing acknowledgement by political parties about the electoral influence of tenants. It has helped make the rental crisis a key issue. Photograph: Paul Miller/AAP

Real estate company Viewey wrote to its mailing list last week about an apartment in inner Sydney that had just been let for $175 above the original asking price.

Despite “very recently” being leased for only $600, the one-bedroom apartment in Camperdown had been listed for $650. After only one viewing, the agency wrote, it decided to bump up the asking price to $675.