Renters make up a significant proportion of residents and deserve as close as possible to the same benefits that work for owners.

Forgot to add to previous comment:

My unit had no heating or cooling when I moved in, and none of of the windows were able to close.

I bought a fan and had it installed in the lounge area after the second summer in my rental unit, but it doesn’t help much during heatwaves. All the other units in the block have split systems. Meanwhile, I’ve still got no heating, mouldy bedroom ceiling continues to grow more mould due to leaks between roofing tiles, the floor is uneven beneath the carpet, and the carpet is rotting in a few places.

All of this the rental agency has been made aware of – on several occasions. I am afraid to bring issues up too often in case they result in extra work being done on the place = a rental increase.

Having said that, I’d rather stay than not.

I’m middle aged, have been living in rentals for the majority of my life, I have no savings or assets. All but one of the jobs I have held previously have been low-paying with casual (ie. uncertain) hours, forcing me to live with housemates to make (attempted) independent living afforable. Just over 10 years ago I finally found a FT, salaried job that was enough to allow me to live by myself. I was good at the job, I mostly enjoyed it and, despite my debts, I was able to handle forking over a third of my income to pay rent. Why was living independently, then alone, so important to me? I’m autistic, with co-occurring ADHD, anxiety disorder, chronic depression, and an eating disorder. It makes living with other people very difficult – for them, and for me. Around 18-20 months ago, my immediate manager, as well as the senior management team, began to use my disabilities as reasons to undermine me and my ability to do my job, creating an enormous amount of emotional and mental distress, the end result of which was predictable – I quit my job, and have been unable to work since. As I don’t have a job income now, just DSP, half of the DSP I get every month goes to rent. The rest is paid to utilities, doctors, medications, and debts. The rental agency had previously encouraged the landlord to keep my rental increases per year fairly low, pointing out it’s better to have good tenants who all get along, and pay on time. However, over the last two years rental prices everywhere have shot up to average around $200 per week more than I pay now. It’s beyond belief! New year: same rental agency, new property manager… and it looks like a large rent increase will be forthcoming. Sadly, that will mean one of two things: either I sell/ put in storage all of my possessions to go live in a share house with lots people (nightmare material for me), or I have to leave my beloved city because there is no rental property now, of any kind, within my budget; in my opinion most of them are priced well above their worth. And, as I said before, I am now paying half of my pension into the rent. It feels hopeless.

Everyone deserves a healthy home to live in, regardless of whether they are renters or homeowners. We urgently need minimum standards for energy efficiency in rental homes.

Every human being has the inalienable right to live in safety and with dignity.