Senate committee to investigate rental crisis after Greens and Coalition join forces push through inquiry

The Greens have said the inquiry will look at a number of issues, including housing availability and what governments can do to reduce rents or limit rent rises.

The move comes just days after the Greens joined forces with the Coalition to delay a vote on the government's Housing Australia Future Fund bill until October.

Tensions have been growing between the Labor and the Greens over the $10 billion housing fund bill, leading to a testy exchange between the Prime Minister and Greens housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather at the end of House Question Time on Wednesday.

As the war of words continued during Thursday's Question Time, deputy opposition leader Sussan Ley accused Anthony Albanese of a "bullying attitude" towards a first-term MP. She then withdrew the comment after being ordered to do so "to assist the house".

Labor and the Greens have been at loggerheads for months over the government's signature housing bill, which seeks to invest $10 billion into a fund and use the returns to build 30,000 social and affordable homes over a five-year period.

Both parties have made concessions in an attempt to reach a deal on the bill but rent controls have become a sticking point for the Greens, who want the federal government to coordinate a national rent freeze or caps with state and territory governments.

The federal government has maintained this is a state and territory government responsibility but said it put renters' rights on the National Cabinet agenda.

The Greens have said an interim report from the inquiry will be presented in September so it could be considered during the National Cabinet on renters' rights.

Speaking to journalists on Thursday, Mr Chandler-Mather said the inquiry will give "thousands of renters around the country" an opportunity to tell major parties about their experiences, including "what it's like copping an unfair rent increase".

"The Greens are ready and willing to pass the Housing Australia Future Fund bill the moment Labor comes to the table and works out a plan to make unlimited rent increases illegal," Mr Chandler-Mather told journalists on Thursday.

Mr Chandler-Mather said 62 per cent of renters are "in financial stress" and the situation will get worse in the next 12 months.

An article Mr Chandler-Mather wrote for American political magazine Jacobin, where he criticised the government's handling of the housing crisis, sparked further tensions between the Greens MP and Mr Albanese.

READ MORE:

During Question Time on Wednesday, Mr Chandler-Mather accused the Prime Minister of misrepresenting him in the chamber while referencing the article.

The stoush between the pair carried over into Thursday's Question Time, with Mr Chandler-Mather claiming the Prime Minister "selectively quoted an article and then imputed meaning to those words that were the complete opposite of those words".

Mr Albanese hit back, stating he quoted the Greens MP and tabled the Jacobin article on Wednesday "because I want people to read exactly what it is that they are saying, which is that the motivation for the holding up of the Housing Australia Future Fund is all about politics".

The Greens' approach has also come under fire from some experts and groups.

Real Estate Institute of Australia president Hayden Groves said it was counterproductive to addressing housing supply.

He said at least 106,000 new homes would be needed by the next financial year while nearly a quarter of a million Australians were on wait lists for social and affordable housing.

"Rental properties and homes for sale within our existing home inventory are the lowest on record," he said.

"This inquiry - and their persistent calls for rent freezes and rent controls - will do nothing for rental supply, further damage rental affordability and do nothing to benefit renters over time."