Renting to the highest bidder: calls for federal laws to ban practice amid Australia’s cost-of-living crisis

Peak housing bodies are calling for nationally consistent rental laws to crack down on bidding wars putting pressure on tenants in a shrinking market.

Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania have introduced reforms to ban rent bidding - the process of negotiating the price of a rental by advertising a property within a "range" or without a fixed cost.

But in New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory and South Australia, there is no legislation against the practice.

Guardian Australia found dozens of instances of listings including price ranges or "from" rates on major real estate websites, with some agents listing disparities of $150 for in-demand properties.

Of 49 properties listed on rent.com.au by one agent, six listed a fixed price, 26 quoted a price range and 17 advised prospective tenants to "contact the agent".

Among them was a three-bedroom Cabarita home quoted between $1,500 and $1,650 a week and a four-bedroom Strathfield home quoted between $950 and $1,100 a week.

A spokesperson said the agency introduced price ranges "when the market was terrible" to avoid tenants missing out on properties.