There has been quite a bit of hype in the Queensland media over the past week or two regarding “rent capping”, with the Palaszczuk government being very clear that the topic is very much on their agenda at the moment. Naturally, as an investor this kind of talk might be making you feel a little nervous, but we don’t think you need to worry.
It’s important to understand that what the government is proposing is actually not that different from what is occurring now. In an attempt to appear to be doing something about the “rental crisis” in the State, they have created a lot of noise and hoopla around some very simple tweaks to our legislation which will have minimal (if any) impact on property investors. So… what they are looking at doing is removing the ability to increase a tenant’s rent from every six months to once per year, with the stipulation that any increase must be in line with current market conditions. This approach is generally what is already happening in our market and is inline with the legislation already in place in other states.
It is very unlikely there is ever going to be a “cap” placed on the amount of rent an investor can achieve for their property – even Anna is not brave (or silly) enough to do this.
This would result in private investors leaving the market which would actually exacerbate the current housing shortage. If you have any concerns, or would like to chat about this further, please reach out.