NSW's ballooning rental costs are shaping as an election issue, with calls for a rent freeze and an independent body to stop landlords jacking up payments.
Launching its rental policy on Tuesday, the NSW Greens said the state's rental sector was "cooked" and in need of urgent reform.
It wants an independent body with the power to control rental increases set up in NSW, similar to a model already operating in the ACT.
While tenants can only have their rent increased once every 12 months in NSW, there is no limit on the size of the increase.
Greens housing spokeswoman Jenny Leong said rent controls would be tied to inflation and cost of living pressures under the party's plan.
Landlords in NSW had been able to raise rents unchecked for too long, and were treating tenants as little more than an income stream, she said.
"Without rent freezes, rent caps and rent controls, rents will just continue to rise unchecked and renters will not be able to afford a place to live - and be subjected to more and more financial stress."
The party also proposed a percentage limit on rent increases, how often increases can be imposed, and more oversight on landlords to stamp out "dodgy" practices including neglect of properties.
They also want to expand hardship provisions for renters who need immediate relief.
"The rental system in NSW is cooked and set up to deliver investors profits, and not renters a place to call home," the Greens policy document says.
"Renters are at the mercy of the market as ruthless landlords maximise their profits, largely unchecked."
The proposal to freeze residential rents springboards off a NSW government decision to freeze rents for businesses for eight months during the pandemic.
The policy comes ahead of next month's state election, as the Greens court votes from renters.
About one third of households in NSW are rented. The government last year banned estate agents from conducting rental auctions, but they are still able to accept unsolicited offers on rentals from prospective tenants.
NSW Labor has committed to establishing a rental commissioner to advocate for tenants if it wins the election. The party says it will also ban secret rental bidding.
