State government bans ‘rental auctions’ from Saturday

Life will soon be different for people looking for a place to rent, with one state government putting a ban on a controversial practice.

A controversial practice used to rent-out properties will be banned in NSW by this weekend, though there is one catch.

The Perrottet government has promised to regulate the rental market by prohibiting “rental auctions” by Saturday, December 17.

The proposed changes, first reported by The Daily Telegraph, require real estate agents to advertise a property with a fixed rental price.

However, “unsolicited proposals” will still be legal – the ban will not prevent renters from offering a higher price to that advertised to beat out competition for a property.

“I accept that there is no perfect solution; this is about taking the hard edge off,” Minister Customer Service Victor Dominello said.

He said the government had taken into consideration the needs of investors who may be struggling to pay their mortgage as interest rates spike.

The NSW Premier has banned ‘rental auctions’ from Saturday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

“We also have to balance the fact that a whole lot of people went into the market last year, bought a property as their nest egg, interest rates are going up and they need to service that,” he said.

Still, the government’s move aims to tackle soaring rentals across the state, where massive increases have become widespread in response to soaring interest rates.

“Auctions are over when it comes to the rental market,” NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet told reporters.

The regulation will not prohibit ‘unsolicited proposals’. Picture: NewsWire / Monique Harmer

NSW Labor has backed the proposal, but criticised the Coalition for not moving to tackle the practice sooner.

Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania each have their own version of the regulation.

Mr Dominello said the ban will include a prohibition on rental property advertised “by negotiation”, “inviting offer” or a “price range”.

Renters can report unlawful rental auctions to Fair Trading NSW.

Median weekly advertised rents have skyrocketed by 10.3 per cent in the past year, according to a report by PropTrack Market Insight.

A home in Sydney now rents for a median weekly price of $640 – compared to the median national rent of $520 a week.