2 September, 2026
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (16:41): I move:
That this bill be now read a second time.
The bill I introduce today satisfies an election commitment that the Greens made back in March that we would introduce a bill to freeze rents for the next two years on residential properties and to cap future rent increases in line with inflation. It comes at a time when we have seen South Australians struggling with skyrocketing rental prices; indeed, rents continue to go up and up and up. There was some very disturbing data released just last week indicating that a lot of South Australian children are being brought up in situations where their parents are consistently moving simply because they are not able to afford a rental property.
The case is clear for regulation of rent prices. Leaving tenants simply at the mercy of the free market is not working. The Greens were proud to work with the Malinauskas government during the last term of parliament to secure significant changes to the Residential Tenancies Act. One of the key changes we negotiated with the government was an end to no-cause evictions. That has provided some really important protection for South Australians in the rental market and I do commend the Malinauskas government for their leadership on that, but one area where the government would not come to the table was on rent prices. Since then, we have seen rents continue to skyrocket, and we know that increased rents mean more and more people are being forced into homelessness and poverty.
This bill is really straightforward. It says that rents can only be increased once every two years. It also makes it clear that any future increases will be tied to CPI. That means, of course, that if interest rates increase, there is an opportunity to potentially increase rents accordingly. We also have a rider in the legislation making it clear that, if a landlord is undertaking important improvements to a property, they can make the case to the tribunal to consider increasing rent.
I think the time has come for this parliament to take action on this issue. I think it really highlights the vital role that the Greens play in this chamber, particularly when one contrasts us with One Nation, who are moving motions around vilifying people and talking about themselves. Meanwhile, the Greens are talking about the issues that actually matter to South Australians, and that is taking action on rent prices and actually doing something about the housing crisis. I look forward to bringing this bill to a vote in coming months.