New emergency planning changes will urge homeowners to lease secondary dwellings in Queensland over the next three years.
As part of discussions at the Queensland Housing Roundtable— billed as an occasion to spur action on housing
issues — the state government has detailed plans to remove restrictions on
people who can live in secondary dwellings.
Legislation currently dictates that homeowners
can’t rent secondary dwellings, such as granny flats, "to anyone other than
their immediate family,” according to Deputy Premier and Minister for Planning
Steven Miles.
But since many homeowners do have secondary
dwellings built for family members who have since moved out, and especially
considering many Queenslanders find themselves sleeping in their cars or tents,
"it just makes sense to allow existing accommodation to be occupied by someone
other than a relative,” he said.
"It also allows homeowners to earn rent, helping
them meet the increased cost of living,” he added.
"We can move people into underutilised granny flats
much more quickly than constructing new properties.”
Minister for Communities and Housing Leeanne Enoch
indicated that the idea was one of many raised at the roundtable, which
identified "ensuring more accessible and affordable accommodation for renters”
as the main housing challenge.
"Thisshortfallhas been exacerbated by flooding in southeast Queensland earlier in the year but is also an issue for many of the
regional parts of the state too as interstate migration increased significantly
in the past two years,” she said.
She said the government has committed to
establishing several avenues for renters to access "a greater range of places
to live.”
"These proposals will provide greater housing
choice and diversity within lower density residential areas to accommodate
smaller households such as students, single persons, older people, and
couple-only households,” she said
In the eyes of Shannon Batch, president of the
Planning Institute of Australia (PIA), the changes would go some way in
addressing the Sunshine State’s housing challenges.
"This change will help deliver additional housing
types that can meet Queenslanders’ needs. [It] highlights how good planning can
help address our housing challenge and reduce the barriers to more diverse
housing forms,” she said
Mr Miles detailed that the changes would be reviewed
in three years, with the onus placed on the homeowner to ensure the dwelling
is compliant with fire and building provisions.
The changes were welcomed by the Real Estate
Institute of Queensland (REIQ), with president Antonia Mercorella applauding
the innovative approach by the state government.
"We know finding immediate solutions is very
challenging in the current market given the backdrop of a construction crisis,
so the ability to open up the option of granny flats to people outside of
immediate family members is a great way we can make a considerable difference
today,” she said.
She added that "it opens up new avenues to housing
that are certainly much better than seeing people in our community facing
homelessness or living in cars, tents, and hotel rooms.”
However, she did caveat her praise by outlining the
need for community education to guarantee consumer protection.
"We don’t want to see a ‘free for all where
there’s no regulation, leaving people vulnerable to being exploited. For
example, we don’t want people to think they can suddenly use inappropriate
structures such as garden sheds or garages and pass these off as granny
flats,” she said
Additionally, she called for homeowners to conduct
research into the tax implications of the changes both "in terms of capital
gains tax at the time of the sale, as well as potentially triggering land tax
liabilities under recent land tax reforms.”
Ms. Mercorella concluded that the institute is
"seeking clarification around how the new land tax regime will impact granny
flats and the availability of the Principal Place of Residence exemption.”
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Jason Gwerder
Thursday, 29 September 2022
