Greens candidate Dr Sianan Healy has used the final days of the Nepean by-election campaign to push for stronger rental protections, including a two-year rent freeze and permanent limits on future rent rises.
In a media release, Dr Healy said rising rents were placing pressure on long-term locals, single parents, older residents and young workers across the Mornington Peninsula.
Greens Call For Rent Freeze
Dr Healy said renters were facing growing uncertainty as housing costs continued to rise.
Everyone deserves a stable home, but too many people are living with constant anxiety about the next rent increase.
People tell me they’re cutting back on food and medical care, or moving away from work, family and support networks just to keep a roof over their heads.
Under the Greens’ proposal, rent increases would be frozen for two years, then capped permanently at either the wage price index or CPI, whichever is lower.
Dr Healy said the policy was aimed at giving renters more certainty and helping people remain connected to their local communities.
When rents jump hundreds of dollars a month, we don’t just lose housing security, we lose neighbours, volunteers and the sense that this is a place you can build a life.
Dromana Renter Cited In Campaign Release
The Greens’ release also quoted a Dromana renter in her 70s, who said her rent had risen by $55 over the past year despite living in an older apartment.
I live alone and my rent has gone up by $55 in the past year. I’m in a 50-year-old apartment that’s never been repainted, with ancient appliances. I feel like I have one foot in the crack.
The Victorian Greens have also promoted an online rent calculator, which they say shows how much renters could have saved over the past five years if rent increases had been frozen and later capped.
Policy Comes With Limits
While the Greens’ pitch gives Dr Healy a clear cost-of-living message, it is also a state-level policy that could not be delivered by one by-election candidate alone.
Any rent freeze or permanent cap would need broader parliamentary support before becoming law.
The media release also does not include local rental data specific to Nepean or the Mornington Peninsula. It relies on the Greens’ policy position, candidate comments and one anonymised renter account.
Under current Victorian law, rent increases are generally limited to once every 12 months, and rental providers must give at least 90 days’ notice. However, there is no fixed dollar or percentage cap on how much rent can rise.
Renters can challenge an increase through Consumer Affairs Victoria if they believe it is excessive, but that process is different from a hard cap.
The Greens’ rental pitch speaks to a real cost-of-living pressure, but for Nepean voters it sits alongside other major campaign issues, including Rosebud Hospital, local infrastructure, council matters and political trust.
