Incentives to provide rental housing

If you’re interested in investing in or providing rental housing you may be eligible for:

• renting your property as affordable community housing
• delivering Build-to-Rent projects.

Community housing providers and Build-to-Rent operators can also apply for a grant from the Affordable Housing Project Fund.

Find out how to become a community housing provider.

Land tax exemptions

Eligible property owners can get a full land tax exemption under the Affordable Community Housing Land Tax Exemption scheme.

Benefits of the scheme

If you take part you:

• are helping to deliver more affordable housing in Canberra
• won’t have to pay land tax on your rental property
• are supported by experienced property managers.

You may also be eligible for other benefits, such as:

• a rebate on insulation upgrade costs
• Commonwealth tax deduction
• capital gains tax discount.

Check if you can apply

You must be a property owner renting your property:

• at less than 75% of market rate
• to eligible tenants through an approved property management provider.

Visit the ACT Revenue Office website to find out how you can rent your home through the scheme.

Registered property management providers

There are currently 2 approved property management providers:

1. Rentwell
2. HomeGround.

Both providers have:

• dedicated and experienced property managers
• selection and interview processes for prospective tenants
• competitive management fees.

Rentwell

Rentwell is a charitable property management service. They’re a registered community housing provider, managed by YWCA.

If you sign a headlease with YWCA, they'll:

• find suitable tenants for the property
• sub-lease the property for you
• provide maintenance works and repairs.

HomeGround

HomeGround Real Estate Canberra is a social enterprise and registered real estate agent. They're managed by Community Housing Canberra (CHC).

If you choose HomeGround to manage your property they’ll:

• process prospective tenants for your property
• recommend suitable tenants
• let you have a final say on which tenant rents your property
• provide access to maintenance suppliers
• conduct regular site inspections.

You can find all the homes rented through the scheme on Allhomes.

Invest in Build-to-Rent

Build-to-Rent projects aim to deliver long-term, secure rental accommodation.

They involve owners renting out multi-unit developments instead of selling them. Owners must rent out the developments long term, for at least 15 to 20 years.

You can develop Build-to-Rent projects with affordable rental housing on nominated sites as part of the land release program.

Build-to-rent projects include:

• Block 3 Section 57 in Turner including 40 affordable rentals
• Gungahlin Town Centre development with a minimum affordable rental component.

Find out more about future releases.

Benefits of Build-to-Rent

Canberra is the perfect city for Build-to-Rent because it has:

• high rental yields
• low vacancy rates
• high median rents
• high weekly household incomes
• stable workforce.

Individual dwellings in Build-to-Rent developments do not need separate unit titles. This reduces property tax through lower fixed charges. For example, savings of around 69% for a residential development of 300 dwellings and no unit titling.

This unique tax setting makes ACT an attractive place for a Build-to-Rent investment.

Read more about the potential tax benefits for different titling models [PDF 234 kB].

Benefits of affordable rental housing

There are more incentives for Build-to-Rent projects that include at least 15% affordable rental housing. This could include a grant from the Affordable Housing Project Fund.

There are additional benefits for eligible community housing projects, including a land tax exemption.

Affordable Housing Project Fund

The ACT Affordable Housing Project Fund aims to:

• grow the supply of affordable rental properties in Canberra
• strengthen the community housing sector.

Who can apply

You can apply if you’re a community housing provider or Build-to-Rent operator. We’ll consider projects where:

• at least 15% of the development is affordable rental
• tenants meet income criteria
• dwellings are held for at least 15 years.

You can also use funding and financing from Housing Australia.

Find out more and how to apply.

Contact us