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.