The Greens welcome the commencement of a long-awaited review of Tasmania’s rental laws, with the release of a discussion paper for public comment. We’ll keep fighting to make sure the reform of outdated rental laws gives renters real rights.
Things have been really tough for Tasmanian renters. Rents just keep going up, while the number of homes available keeps going down. Finding an affordable place to live has become increasingly difficult, forcing some onto the public housing waitlist.
Tasmania’s rental laws are currently some of the worst in the country. They’ve left Tasmanians vulnerable to landlords jacking up their rent or kicking them out for no reason.
The housing crisis is only getting worse and it’s past time we stopped unreasonable rent increases, ended no cause evictions and ensured minimum energy efficiency standards for rentals.
We’ve been fighting for reforms for renters for a long time, and we welcome the government considering these in its discussion paper. Other much-needed reforms, like reigning in the loss of whole-home rentals to AirBnB, sits outside this Act and need to be dealt with separately.
While real rights for renters are long overdue, we’ll continue to work with all members of Parliament and the community to improve the supply and affordability of housing. Everyone deserves a safe and affordable place to call home.
