Rent hike restrictions and an end to urban sprawl mulled in housing overhaul

A government spokesperson declined to comment on the specifics of the planning and housing overhaul.

The focus on renters in the reform package follows a long deterioration in housing affordability, a problem compounded by strong overseas migration, supply shortfalls and, more recently, rising building costs and interest rates and the collapse of building companies.

As the state’s housing crisis intensifies, renters – forced to compete for a limited supply of increasingly expensive…