Four in five Australians support rent caps as median prices hit record highs

Four in five Aussies want a limit on rent increases, with majority support among both renters and homeowners across party lines. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone Four in five Aussies support rent freezes or caps as an unlikely alliance emerges between the Silent Generation and Gen Z, new survey data reveals. Polling data for The Australia Institute analysed voters’ opinions on government assistance for renters, regulating rent rises and public housing funding. Jack Thrower, deputy research director at The Australia Institute said renters are suffering after years of surging rents. MORE: ‘Worst in Aus’: Sydney tenants’ horror rent hike Australia Institute deputy research director Jack Thrower. Picture: Supplied “For decades Australia has been told that housing is best provided by the private market and governments should get out of the way,” Mr Thrower said. “Governments have given away tens of billions in tax incentives for private developers, let public housing wither away and allowed the housing crisis get worse and worse. “This polling shows that voters overwhelmingly back bold government interventions, directly regulating rents and spending more to actually build more...