Investors leaving Australia's 'most renter-friendly' city

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Canberra is widely considered 'the most renter-friendly' city, but amid constant legislative changes in favour of tenants, that title may be coming at a cost to landlords.

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00:00University student Jess Preston applied for dozens of rentals before securing this one.

00:08Someone took a chance on me.

00:11The hunt for a home was exhausting, but Jess felt some relief,

00:15knowing her two cats played no part in an application's success.

00:20I cannot live without my babies.

00:22They help my mental health, they're good for my physical health.

00:25In Canberra, landlords can't prohibit pets without approval from the Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

00:32It's one of a raft of laws that make the nation's capital the country's most renter-friendly jurisdiction.

00:39There's also strict limits on rent increases, minimum energy efficiency standards,

00:45and a ban on no-cause evictions.

00:48For tenants elsewhere in Australia, we've heard a lot about this sense of anxiety or dread

00:52around potential eviction, around a potential rent increase,

00:55and not having to have that looming over you, that constant threat,

00:58it actually makes a day-to-day difference.

01:00With each new law, the chorus of critics gets louder,

01:04their fear a drop in investment and an exodus of landlords.

01:08Phil Andrews sold his investment property two years ago.

01:12The environment became one where it was no longer viable to invest in it.

01:17Chris Wilson has been selling homes in Canberra for three decades.

01:21He says landlords are looking to sell like never before.

01:25I'd probably get two to three a week wanting appraisals done on their home with a view to selling it.

01:30The long-time Labor government in the ACT is unapologetic about its pro-tenant strategy.

01:37And with vacancy rates in the capital high, supply strong and rental price growth stable,

01:43the loss of landlords isn't a concern.

01:46But that's not to say it wouldn't be elsewhere.

01:49I think it's really horses for courses.

01:51There's a lot of areas around the country where vacancy rates are extremely tight.

01:55And I think it's those sort of areas where if we did see a real investor pullback,

01:59where we could see vacancies become even tighter.

02:02A good example for some, but a warning for others.

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