This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
THE Queensland government will limit rent increases to once a year following policy reform discussions at a housing roundtable in Brisbane yesterday.
Reducing the frequency of rent increases from six months to 12 months will bring the sunshine state into line with most other jurisdictions throughout the country.
“There are more than a million Queenslanders who rent their homes and every single one of them must be given a fair go,” Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.
“A fair go to pay rent they can afford and not be penalised for the cost of living situation all Australians find themselves in today.
“The great majority of landlords do the right thing and look after their tenants – but for those who do not, this is a wake-up call.”
SQM Research data shows Brisbane’s vacancy rate is sitting at just 0.8%, while according to PropTrack the the share of total properties listed for rent below $400 per week nationally has nearly halved in the past year.
“The housing pressures we’re seeing aren’t unique to Queensland and are being experienced by all the states and territories,” Minister for Communities and Housing, Leeanne Enoch said.
“As a growth state with a growing population, Queensland has a huge need for housing – particularly more housing.”
The government has also moved to boost the burgeoning build-to-rent sector, halving land tax obligations and scrapping the 2% foreign investor surcharge.
Property Council Queensland executive director, Jen Williams, said the announcement was exactly the support needed to help rapidly increase the supply of purpose-built rental accommodation in Queensland.
“Unlike in countries like the United States where rental housing is typically owned by institutional investors, tenants in Australia are heavily reliant on ‘mum and dad’ landlords renting out their investment properties on the open market.
“This model has served the country well in the past, however with fewer rental properties available and ongoing demand pressures, there is a growing need for purpose-built rental accommodation that can be delivered at scale.”
Melbourne still dominates the country’s build-to-rent pipeline, but interest in Brisbane’s build-to-rent market has grown significantly, according to JLL. Lendlease has announced it would finally make its entrance into the local build-to-rent market with a 443-residence project at Brisbane Showgrounds, while projects underway include Pellicano’s Berwick House in Fortitude Valley.
The government also announced an additional $28 million to continue the Immediate Housing Response Package for another year, which will fund more than 600 emergency hotel accommodation places across Queensland, rental and bond support payments, and food relief services.
Another $3.9 million will extend and expand food and emergency relief throughout Queensland in 2023-24. That includes $3.3 million to continue the provision of emergency relief supports, including vouchers, food parcels and contributions to payments such as electricity bills and $630,000 for SecondBite and OzHarvest to increase the food relief service they provide across the State.
Also announced was a $5.91 million package to unlock 5,600 lots in the Ripley Valley Priority Development Area through the development of Barrams Road in Providence Estate. Stockland will construct the road with the loan.
It will potentially develop into 48,750 dwellings to house a population of 131,000 people.
Meanwhile Kevin Young, president of Property Club, said he was seriously considering organising a class action against the Labor Palaszczuk government if it went ahead with capping rent increases.
Young said that this left wing proposal was driven by the politics of envy.
“The reality is that the vast majority of people owning rental properties in Queensland are not “greedy, wealthy landlords”, but your average mum and dad next door neighbours. We have thousands of members in Queensland who are low to middle income earners. The average property investor in Queensland owns just one or two rental properties that they use to help fund their retirement. They overwhelming tend to be workers like tradies, nurses, teachers and policemen.
“If the Queensland government instituted a cap on rents then I believe there would be a strong case for a class compensation claim in the courts from investors who own the more than 600,000 rental properties in the State. The class action would involve ordinary Queenslanders who would be seeking fair compensation from the government as property owners through the forced loss of rent.
Young said any attempt to limit rental increases in Queensland would see a flight of property investment capital to other states making the rental crisis worse.
“I hope the Labor Palaszczuk government has learnt its lesson from its disastrous attempt last year to impose additional stamp duty taxes on property owners in Queensland who owned properties in other States – a proposal it was forced to withdraw after threats by many property owners to sell up and leave Queensland,” he concluded.
