One renter’s radical demand could make landlords more responsible

Ranata’s year had been nothing if not turbulent.

Two evictions, two house moves, and two landlords who simply couldn’t keep their investment properties had left her exhausted.

By 1 January 2025, she had packed up her Canterbury home of four years after her landlord hit financial difficulties.

Seven months later, lightning struck twice when her new landlord lost their job and decided to sell.

Stories like hers were becoming increasingly common across Australia, where the national vacancy rate hovered around 1.2-1.3 per cent through 2025, leaving just 37,863 rental vacancies nationwide by July—far below the healthy 2.5 per cent that indicates a balanced market.

Annual rental inflation peaked at 8.5 per cent in December 2023 but moderated to around 5.5 per cent by mid-2024, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

While this was an improvement, it was still nearly double the general inflation rate and offered little relief to renters facing limited options.

CBRE forecasts suggested capital city vacancy rates would fall further to 1.1 per cent by 2029, with these tight conditions persisting at around half the previous decade’s average.

In a city of one million rental properties, that meant only 11,000 would be available at any given time.

Ranata’s radical proposal called for landlords to provide the same level of documentation they demanded from tenants—including financial statements, references from previous tenants, and proof they could maintain the property long-term.

Currently, tenants had to provide what amounted to a financial dossier: 100 points of ID including passports and Medicare cards, four weeks of pay slips, bank statements showing every expense, previous rental ledgers, and utility bills.

Some agencies even requested personality tests and medical information.

Lina Przhedetsky from the University of Melbourne described the amount of personal information required as 'staggering', noting potential data security issues when third-party apps processed applications.

While tenants could legally request landlord references, there was no requirement for landlords to provide them.

Other countries had tried different approaches—for instance, Scotland required landlords to obtain licences listed on a searchable database, allowing tenants to check for complaints or issues without needing financial disclosure.

Current market reality (2025)

National rental vacancy rate: 1.2-1.3 per cent (healthy range is 2.5 per cent)

Rental inflation: 5.5 per cent annually—Available properties: 37,863 rentals nationwide in July 2025—Future outlook: Vacancy rates predicted to fall to 1.1 per cent by 2029

Leo Patterson Ross from the Tenants' Union of NSW suggested Australia could adopt similar systems, though he acknowledged the complexity of verifying financial information.

One landlord with 40 years’ experience commented that they had 'never seen the rental market so quiet', pointing to the pressure on property investors from rising interest rates and increased costs, particularly for those with limited equity or high loan-to-value ratios.

Better Renting CEO Angela Cartwright shared that while she understood the frustration driving such proposals, she preferred 'additional reforms and enforcement measures to give renters more stability' rather than requiring landlords to disclose financial information.

Matthew Lorenzon, who faced his second eviction in four years, described the impact on families: 'You develop a choreography of your life when you live in a home in a community, and moving even a couple of suburbs away means re-choreographing your life.'

The financial cost extended beyond removalist trucks and cleaning deposits.

Families often faced changing schools, longer commutes, and disrupted social networks—costs that didn’t appear on any balance sheet but accumulated over time.

CBRE expected median rents to grow by 23 per cent between 2024 and 2029, with 90 per cent of precincts forecast to have rents for two-bedroom apartments exceeding $600 per week by 2029, and 55 per cent exceeding $750 per week.

Australia’s forecast population growth required apartment supply of around 75,000 per annum, but CBRE predicted supply would hover around only 60,000 per annum over 2025–29.

Since late 2024, the pace of rental growth had slowed across most states and territories, consistent with increases in rental vacancy rates, though these improvements came from historically low levels.

The underlying issue remained: a structural shortage of rental properties combined with high demand from population growth and returning international students.

Housing advocates suggested that rather than requiring financial disclosure, focus should be placed on stronger protections against unfair evictions, limits on reasons landlords could terminate leases, reform of housing tax concessions that encouraged speculative investment, and increased social and affordable housing supply.

Angela Cartwright noted that even if renters could access landlords’ financial statements, 'trying to verify them could be an arduous process that might not be worth their time.'

In 2022, comedian Tom Cashman went viral for attempting what Ranata suggested.

He asked for landlord references during a rental application, reasoning: 'They ask me for like three references to see if I'm a good guy; what about them?

The real estate agent rejected his application, showing the practical barriers in a market dominated by landlord power.

Ranata’s proposal, while unlikely to be implemented, highlighted a fundamental imbalance in the rental relationship.

In a market where demand far exceeded supply, tenants bore most of the risk—from invasive application processes to sudden evictions due to circumstances beyond their control.

Whether the solution lay in financial transparency, stronger tenant protections, or simply building more homes, the current system was failing to provide the housing stability that underpinned healthy communities.

For now, renters like Ranata continued to pack their lives into boxes, hoping the next landlord would prove more financially resilient than the last.

The challenges Ranata faced with unpredictable landlords and rising rents are not unique, and many others are navigating similar housing struggles.

For those looking to understand the personal impact of these cost increases, another story highlights how escalating rents are forcing people into unexpected living situations.

This piece offers a real-life example of the difficult choices tenants face when rental affordability becomes a pressing concern.

What do you think about requiring landlords to provide financial references to tenants?