The party also wants to see rent increases capped at two per cent every 24 months once the two-year suspension lapses.

“Rents are out of control, millions of Australian renters are struggling to pay the rent, and unless the government wants to see more families sleeping in their cars they need to do their job and act now to stop this crisis boiling over into a national tragedy,” Greens housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather said.

In the 12 months to June, rents have soared 9.1 per cent across capital cities and 10.8 per cent in regional areas, CoreLogic data shows.

The proposal would see wages catch up with rents by the end of the decade.

The party also proposed an end to no-grounds evictions, which allow landlords to evict tenants without providing a reason if they are no longer covered by a fixed-term lease, and minimum standards for rental properties.

The party pointed to rental freezes during the pandemic and the use of rental controls around the world to support its proposal.

While rental control measures are often criticised as disincentive to construction of more low-cost rental properties, Chandler-Mather told AAP there was no evidence rent stabilisation and rent control decreased the supply of housing in the research on the subject.

“In some instances, that actually increases the supply of affordable housing to buy because some investors might sell their homes which is actually a good thing,” Chandler-Mather said.

He added that rent control should be considered as part of a holistic strategy to improve housing affordability, such as introducing a vacancy levy, phasing out negative gearing and capital gains exemptions and building more public and social housing.

The policy proposal follows a report showing rentals have become so expensive and hard to find that it’s stopping workers from moving to regions for new job opportunities.