Both major parties have promised to ban bidding wars for rental properties in NSW ahead of next year's state election.
The NSW government said it would use regulation to prohibit the auction-style practice by Christmas.
Under the proposed changes, real estate agents will be banned from asking renters to bid higher than a property’s listing price.
However, renters will still be allowed to offer more under the proposed law.
NSW Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello told the ABC the government was trying to get the regulation out by Wednesday.
Asked why the government didn't outlaw the practice sooner, Mr Dominello said the issue only came to his attention "a number of weeks ago".
"I immediately asked my agency to come back with the recommendations. These are the recommendations and we're moving forward with them," he said.
Premier Dominic Perrottet said the outlawing of solicited rent bidding would help prospective tenants secure housing in a "fair way".
"It's time to put an end to this practice and give more people security and certainty so they can plan for their future," Mr Perrottet said in a statement.
"The search for a rental property is tough enough without it turning into a bidding war that pushes people beyond their comfort level."
While the NSW Labor Party agreed with the move, they criticised the Perrottet government for not outlawing the practice sooner.
"For 12 years, this government has sidelined and ignored renters. Secret rent bidding is already outlawed in other states," Labor's better regulation and innovation spokesperson Courtney Houssos said.
Similar regulations are already in place in Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania.
Ms Houssos said the opposition also aimed to end rent biddings, as part of a suite of rental reforms if it wins the March election.
"We understand renters are under increasing pressure and have a clear plan to give them immediate relief," she said.
It includes the creation of a rental commissioner role who will be tasked with stopping evictions unless on reasonable grounds, as well as the implementation of a portable bonds scheme that will allow renters to transfer their bond to another landlord.
But Real Estate Institute of NSW chief Tim McKibbin said the ban won't solve the rental crisis and is a "pure distraction away from the underlying problem".
"If you had 30 people attending an open [home] with the hope of being able to acquire that property, regardless of how much rent they pay, there are still going to be 29 people who have not been able to find a home," he said.
"So the only solution to this problem is additional supply, and the government has failed to increase the supply of rental property in our market."
It's not the first time both parties have agreed on policies as they gear up for the election campaign proper.
In October, the NSW government and opposition accused each other of copying their education policies to transfer 10,000 teachers from temporary to permanent positions in schools.
