Renters have spoken out about health risks and the threat of eviction at an inquiry into the housing crisis.
Amity, whose full name was withheld for privacy reasons, said she had been forced to move five times in the past few years and houses were often mouldy and poorly insulated.
"In some houses, it's been enough to make our furniture and clothes mouldy and lead to everyone in the house ending up with respiratory problems," she told a Senate committee on Thursday.
The insecurity of renting meant she wasn't able to plan for where her 11-year-old son would go to high school as she could be evicted in a number of weeks.
"It actually blows my mind that we even have to argue that landlords shouldn't be able to evict people from their homes for no reason," she said.
NDIS participant Jane said a lack of social housing was pushing people with a disability towards private rentals, which don't meet accessibility standards and are too expensive for people on welfare payments.
"No one ever wants to move into a nursing home ... so we're going to need accessible housing," she said.
The wheelchair user said her current home was on the first floor and when the lift broke, she was stranded and had to tell her boss she couldn't work.
"That doesn't do wonders for your employability," she said.
Jane also raised concerns over a lack of clarity about what fair wear and tear meant for renters seeking to get their bond back, with no prescribed definition.
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre called for tenancy law reform to protect renters from evictions and further regulation around rent increases.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the government is investing billions to increase social and affordable housing by addressing supply-side problems as the Greens push to wrangle more investment and a national rent freeze.
Committee chair Janet Rice said full-time workers were barely able to keep up with the cost of living and rent hikes.
"Without real action on renters' rights, people will keep feeling like they can't raise issues with their landlord like they have no options or ... any sense of security," the Greens senator said.
NAB head Ross McEwan agreed not enough houses were being built.
"The critical housing shortage has a more significant impact on younger Australians and will weigh on future generations if we don't get the settings right now," he warned in a speech to the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce.
