Aussie homeowners busted in $9m dodgy landlord scheme
Australian property owners have been busted for a dodgy trick that saved them hundreds of thousands of dollars in house-buying fees.
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Hundreds of first home buyers have been busted allegedly scamming a government scheme for stamp duty discounts by secretly putting tenants in the properties.
Homeowners saved an average of $20,000 under the scheme, recently broadened to include homes up to $1 million.
It’s a clear condition of the first home buyers scheme that the new properties are owner occupied and not investment properties.
But it’s now emerged more than 400 people tried to circumvent the rules, in many cases landlord scamming the system by renting out the homes after they purchased.
In some cases they were caught out after tenants dobbed them in for trying to leave their name on utilities bills, alerting authorities to their attempts to deceive the government.
NSW Minister for Finance Courtney Houssos said Revenue NSW’s compliance team was working hard to make sure that only those eligible for the scheme were able to use it.
“We want as many people as possible to access the scheme – but they have to stick to the rules. It keeps the program fair and accessible for everyone,” she said.
“At a time of a cost-of-living crisis, the Minns Labor Government is committed to providing real relief to first-home buyers.
“This program is clearly working, helping more than 30,000 people into their first homes.”
Chief Commissioner of State Revenue Scott Johnston said the rules were clear.
“We’re very proud of our compliance team and the excellent work they do,” he said.
“Revenue NSW’s compliance programs are essential to maintaining the integrity of our programs.
“Our team works tirelessly to make sure the first-home buyers program is accessible to everyone who needs it, and that people who aren’t eligible don’t try to game the system.”
In its first year, 33,365 first-home buyers in the expanded program have paid no stamp duty, or discounted stamp duty, when buying their first home.
The program’s expanded thresholds mean that first-home buyers purchasing for under $1 million pay either no, or discounted, stamp duty.
But Revenue NSW’s first-home buyers compliance team also recovered $9.44 million following “highly targeted investigations to stop the small minority of applicants who unsuccessfully attempted to do the wrong thing”.
Under the program’s rules, a first-home buyer must move into the property within a year and live there continuously for a full year.
In 2023/24, 718 targeted investigations were launched, resulting in 422 individuals paying back some or all of their stamp duty discount.
Collectively, first-home buyers saved more than $683 million on stamp duty in the 2023/24 financial year.
More than 5600 people saved $115 million in the Cumberland, Blacktown and Parramatta areas of Sydney alone, while 13,000 people saved in regional areas including Central Coast (1324), Wagga Wagga (346) and Tweed (328).
Investigations into noncompliance are not randomly selected and only occur where Revenue NSW’s data matching program identified concerns.
Data is then matched from a variety of sources, including the NSW Government Rental Bonds Board, along with Commonwealth Government agencies, such as the Department of Home Affairs and the Australian Taxation Office.
Originally published as Aussie homeowners busted in $9m dodgy landlord scheme
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