New rent-to-buy plan for SA first homebuyers announced by Premier Malinauskas in lead up to State Budget

Long-term renters could soon be in their own homes sooner with the announcement of a new rent-to-buy scheme.

Premier Peter Malinauskas at a housing project announcement last year. Picture: NewsWire / Roy VanDerVegt

South Australians struggling to get into the property market can rent to buy their own home under a new scheme announced ahead of next month’s state budget.

Long-term renters could buy one of 100 homes being built by the South Australian Housing Trust, Premier Peter Malinauskas said.

The Rent-to-Buy Affordable Housing Initiative was slated into the upcoming State Budget to be revealed on June 5 by Treasurer Stephen Mullighan in a bid to get more South Australians into home ownership.

Under the new scheme homes would be rented to eligible applicants for up to three years at 75 per cent of market rent to give them greater capacity to save money for a deposit.

At the end of the rental period tenants would then have first bid to buy the home with the price fixed at the time they moved in.

Minister for Housing & Urban Development Nick Champion with the Premier, Peter Malinauskas at the West End Brewery redevelopment site. Picture: Matt Loxton

To be eligible, tenants need to be referred to HomeStart and show they want to buy the property.

“This rent-to-buy initiative will provide yet another way for young South Australians to achieve the dream of home ownership,” Mr Malinauskas said.

He claimed it backed the state’s housing policy initiatives that were ranked the “best in the nation” by a Housing Industry Association (HIA) report card released today.

The HIA said SA was leading the nation in its initiatives to better provide housing finance for first homebuyers and new home approvals for detached and multi-unit dwellings.

It also showed the number of housing builds started in SA had increased 23.1 per cent above the decade average.

“South Australia has been supported by elevated numbers of overseas arrivals, and far fewer local residents leaving for other states than in recent history,” HIA senior economist Tom Devitt said.

“This has helped SA produce the strongest detached housing and renovations market in the nation.”

He also said that first homebuyers were more active in SA than other states “the only time they were more active in the state was during periods of stimulus associated with the Global Financial Crisis and the pandemic”.

The report also praised state government initiatives including the SA government’s Housing Roadmap and the removal of stamp duty for first home buyers building or buying a new home in SA “is also one of the best housing policies in the country”.

Mr Devitt urged the government to extend the stamp duty removal to all new home buyers.