how can you possibly cap rental increases to CPI, when the tradies have no limits on the rates they charge for the MANDATORY maintenance for a rental property? And Agent fees. And landlord insurance. And then let's talk about Landtax, which has jumped 30-40% in recent years. How on earth can you cap the rent when none of those costs are capped nor controlled?

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To the above comment I say fair points and acknowledge running a rental property has some real costs. Maintenance, agent fees, insurance, land tax. All legitimate and they add up. I present this as a counter argument from the renters perspective. I should also mention I am a previous home owner (sold in 2013 and renting ever since).

I don't blame landlords. Setting aside ethics and morals, landlords are simply operating within a system the government created. Yes, the system has been rigged from the start. A significant proportion of the people who write the rules are landlords themselves, often many times over. But using the tools available to you is rational behaviour. Most people would do the same.

The problem is the system itself, and the people we elect to run it. It was built to serve property owners, not the broader population. That needs to change.

Negative gearing allows rental losses to offset personal income, reducing both investment costs and tax bills. The 50% capital gains tax discount makes property one of the most tax advantaged investment vehicles available. These concessions cost taxpayers an estimated $15 to $20 billion every single year. 82% of that benefit flows to the top 10% of income earners. The bottom half receives around 4%. This is not a neutral system. It was built to ensure property always returns a profit for those who already own it.

And it works. Over 50 years, Australian house prices grew 3,435% while wages grew 1,183%. In Sydney today the median house price sits above $1.4 million. Saving a 20% deposit now takes over 12 years, up from around 6 years in the early 1990s.

So, asking how you can possibly cap rents when investor costs aren't capped is a fair question. It also overlooks the bigger picture. No one is asking landlords to run their properties as a charity, although notably, charitable donations are tax deductible.

The question is whether a system that generates $15 to $20 billion annually in tax advantages for property owners, while 32% of Age Pensioners receiving rent assistance are still in housing stress, is fit for purpose.

Property is an investment. Investments carry risk. Returns are never guaranteed. That's investing 101.

Most Australians would agree that housing security is a right, not a privilege. But right now Australia only protects that right if you own a home. We need to rebalance a system that excludes entire groups from ever owning one. Single parents, people on low incomes, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, people with disability, older Australians, young people starting out. These are not edge cases. The 2021 Census recorded over 122,000 Australians homeless on any given night. Social housing waitlists sit above 169,000 households with no credible path to clearing them.

The number of older Australians renting has increased by 73% since 2015. That's not a lifestyle choice. That's people who never got the opportunity to buy, now facing retirement in a system that was never built for them.

None of this is the landlord's fault. But doing nothing doesn't hold things steady. It makes the divide worse every single year.

Landlords can't have it both ways forever. You can't accept billions in annual tax concessions designed to guarantee returns on your investment, and then argue renters should absorb whatever the market demands without guaranteeing housing security.

The costs of running a rental property are real. So is the cost of a system that tells an entire generation they will never own a home. Both things can be true but only one has had government policy protecting it for decades.

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