This week’s refusal by the Senate to debate legislation for the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund fits the constitutional definition of “failure to pass” and therefore becomes the first half of a trigger for a double dissolution election, the governments legal advice says.

The advice came as state and federal treasurers were poised on Friday to reject a nationwide system of rent freezes, as demanded by the Greens, and instead agree on measures to facilitate the construction of more homes.