The Tenants' Union of Tasmania and Julie Collins welcome National Cabinet legislation

After a National Cabinet meeting in Brisbane on Friday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced state and territory housing ministers would meet next week to strengthen renters rights and develop reforms to increase housing supply and affordability.

Tenants' Union of Tasmania principal solicitor Benedict Bartl said the announcement was a step forward for tenants nationwide.

"We welcome the National Cabinet's commitment to improving the rights of tenants across the country," he said.

"Strengthening tenancy legislation must include rent controls, ensuring that no tenant is evicted without a good reason and allowing tenants to treat the property as their home.

"With the proportion of people renting increasing and renting for longer, we need greater protections that ensure tenants can put down roots without the risk of unfair rent increases or having to move every twelve months."

Federal Housing Minister Julie Collins said the agreement highlighted the importance of "putting renters' rights front and centre".

"These commitments will help more Australians secure a safe and affordable place to call home," she said.

"The National Cabinet agreement is a significant step forward in making sure renters have certainty about their tenancy so that they can create a home.

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"What we know in Australia is that the number of people renting is increasing, around 35 per cent of Australians now rent long term, and some people never go on to purchase their own home.

"What we talked about in the National Cabinet today was about renters rights. This is about working with states and territories housing ministers on how we can have some consistency to ensure that renters have more of a say in their tenancies and that renters are able to actually secure a home for the time that they are renting."

"I look forward to meeting with my state and territory counterparts next week as we move forward on these reforms."

Ms Collins said the measures announced on Friday would support the federal government's "ambitious housing agenda" to build more social and affordable homes.

"We know that renters are doing it tough in Australia; there will be improvements and incentives in the budget to get more rentals onto the market," she said.

This week the Australian Bureau of Statistics released data that found that Tasmanian rents have increased by, on average, $120 per week, an increase of 45 per cent over the last 4.5 years. This was the largest increase in Australia, in the state with the lowest incomes.

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