Prime Minister John Howard considers rent relief for tenants caught in Australia's housing shortage

Prime Minister John Howard has confirmed he is considering rent relief for tenants as landlords increasingly move to rental auctions in the tight housing markets.
While the Prime Minister stopped short of promising direct rent relief yesterday, he argued that one of the problems was the failure of state governments to release more land, driving up the cost of housing.
However, some landlords are leaving the real estate market to take advantage of the federal Government's superannuation changes and to avoid spiralling state property taxes.
One option could be to pressure the states to release more land when Mr Howard next holds talks with the premiers, and to maintain the political pressure to reduce stamp duty and other property taxes.
Speaking in Perth yesterday, Mr Howard said he was aware the problem was placing pressure on families.
"I am conscious that rents have got up in different parts of the country," he said.
"Other people have put views to me about rental assistance ... we are considering those things, I am not going to say any more.
"In some parts of the country state governments have been far too slow at releasing land and that has contributed to the shortages."
According to the Reserve Bank, rents rose faster last year than they have in the past 15 years, and the bank has predicted rents will rise even higher this year.
Around one-third of Australians rent with the balance split between those who own their homes outright and those with mortgages.
Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd said rising rents was another pressure point for families.
"There is no silver bullet for this. But we've got to begin by recognising there is a problem," he told Southern Cross Broadcasting in Perth.
Rents could rise up to 30 per cent in the next three years as strong migration and the lack of building activity cut into the amount of available rental accommodation.
Economic forecaster BIS Shrapnel expects Sydney rents to rise by about 30 per cent by mid-late 2009 followed by Melbourne and Brisbane with 20 per cent rises. Adelaide, Perth and Canberra can expect rents to increase 10-15 per cent in the next three years.
Vacancy rates for residential properties fell in almost every capital city in the three months to September with the trend expected to worsen in every city except Perth, according to the Real Estate Institute of Australia.
While both Sydney and Brisbane's vacancy was 1.7 per cent in the September quarter, Canberra had the tightest rental market at 1.1per cent - well below the national long-term vacancy rate average of 3 per cent.
REIA president Graham Joyce expects the rental crisis to intensify with the lack of housing affordabilty forcing traditional first home buyers to stay in the rental market, and investors deterred by flat housing prices.
Source: The Australian