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Landlords and real estate agents would be banned from soliciting bids for rental properties or advertising a "rent range" under laws to be introduced to South Australia's parliament.
Key points:
- Rent prices have risen significantly in South Australia
- New laws would ban encouraging prospective tenants to bid more to secure a property
- Landlords say the market should not be regulated
But property owners and agents could still accept unencouraged bids made by prospective renters under the legislation that follows similar moves made interstate to try to slow skyrocketing housing costs.
Consumer and Business Affairs Minister Andrea Michaels said it was hoped the ban would provide "stability in the market".
"It's a ban on agents and landlords doing it — this is what interstate has done and it's helped the situation over there," she told ABC Radio Adelaide's Stacey Lee and David Bevan.
But she admitted a property could still be advertised at a high price and then renters could put in offers up to that rate.
"It's accepting offers higher than the advertising price, so it won't really apply in that situation," Ms Michaels said.
Rents increasing in Adelaide
The average rent for houses in South Australia rose from $400 to $450 over the 12 months to the end of 2022, while the average rent for units went up from $335 to $360.
The biggest increases were in the Adelaide Hills and Adelaide's southern suburbs, while prices fell in some regional areas.
Premier Peter Malinauskas said most laws on renting had not been updated for decades.
"We've got a bit of a situation in South Australia where we've got a rental crisis underway but the governing act and regulations have not been updated for basically 20 years and within that there are components that are even longer again," he said.
Adelaide renter Ariba Siddiqi said when she moved from Victoria two years ago she experienced rent bidding.
"We were missing out on properties because we were not willing to offer more than the advertised price," she said.
"Many people even told us that that's what we had to do in order to secure a place.
"The rental forms themselves encouraged this by leaving the weekly rent value blank."
Landlords against regulation
Landlords' Association of South Australia president Margaret Kohlhagen said property owners should not play a game of pitting prospective tenants against each other.
"Just be fair and it works," she said.
But Ms Kohlhagen said landlords should not be penalised for reacting to market forces.
"If someone comes and offers you what the going price is and someone comes and offers you more, it's quite common," she said.
"… It's the same as buying a car, so I don't think the landlord needs to be penalised if we're offered it."
John, a landlord from Valley View who called into ABC Radio Adelaide, said the government should "butt out" of people's private affairs.
"That is my business, and if you keep butting into my private affairs, I will sell that property and I will buy a motorhome and I will go travelling and there will be one less property out there for rentals," he said.
Anti Poverty Network SA communications coordinator Duncan Bainbridge said unsolicited bids should also be banned, and landlords and real estate agents should not be able to accept rents over the advertised price.
"I don't think it's really going far enough," he said.
Opposition housing affordability spokeswoman Michelle Lensink said the Liberals had proposed similar changes to legislation last July.
"It's taken the Labor Party a long time to realise there's a crisis and they actually need to take some action," she said.