Queensland first home buyers urged to rent out a room after rule change
By Matt Dennien
The news
Queensland’s Housing Minister Sam O’Connor has urged people buying their first home to rent out a room after a change to rules that had previously meant doing so would cost them grants and concessions.
The state government issued a ministerial directive on Friday to enact the LNP’s election promise it suggested could help address the availability and affordability of rentals, and buying a first home.
Some experts have said the change could increase demand for larger properties which could, in-turn, further push up already high prices.Credit: Tammy Law
In a statement, Treasurer David Janetzki said laws would also be introduced to parliament when it returned next week for its last sitting of 2024 to formalise the changes – now already in effect.
O’Connor said on Saturday: “We strongly encourage Queensland first home owners to take advantage of it … It’ll save you money, and it’ll put the roof over the head of a mate.”
Why it matters
Previous rules around eligibility for first home owner grants and stamp duty concessions barred purchasers from the discounts if they rented out part of the home within one year of moving in.
Despite talking down the idea, Labor quietly tweaked the rule before the election. The LNP has also confirmed only two recent cases where a person had reported renting out a room.
About 20,000 first home buyers get the discounts each year, with one real estate expert suggesting the change could help ease first-year mortgage repayments, and some rental pressures.
But they have also said it could increase demand for larger properties. Another has also suggested this could, in turn, further push up already high prices.
What they said
At a media conference on Saturday, O’Connor told journalists that the change meant “a lot of rooms available for rent immediately” as part of the government’s focus on lifting supply.
But he conceded other efforts, such as the claimed flow-on effects of dumping union-friendly major project procurement policies or helping councils ready land for developments, would take time.
“We’re doing everything we can. It’s not going to happen overnight, but there’s a new direction in this state, and we’re removing those barriers to home ownership,” he said.
Another perspective
In July, Domain research and economics chief Dr Nicola Powell said the subletting policy would ease the first-year strain for first home buyers and likely make three-bedroom homes more popular.
All Properties Group’s Derrick Williams told Domain that change in popularity could push the prices of those homes up. An inner-city unit specialist said the policy would “change very little”.
Acting Real Estate Institute of Queensland chief executive Kat Beavon welcomed the change, which she noted the group had called for as “one lever we can and should pull to offer relief”.
While O’Connor echoed Labor’s past message it was doing all it could to help ease historic housing affordability issues, the LNP have also rejected calls for rent caps and a no-grounds evictions ban.