How to determine if a site is good for Build-to-Rent Housing

With new tax concessions available for build to rent housing many super funds are investing in this lucrative market.

These concessions mean that for the purpose of assessing tax the land value of a parcel of land is to be reduced by 50% if the building is being used and occupied for a build-to-rent housing. 

To get the concession, all of the below requirements must be met:

• minimum 50 dwellings.

• if there is an adjacent site that already has 50 dwellings, then this can be used as the minimum requirement for the site, ie you can have only 15, it will meet the requirement because of the initial 50 on the site next to it.

• must comply with affordable housing policies

• the dwellings must be available to the general public

• all the dwellings must be owned by one ownership structure, which could be a group of owners holding joint ownership. The manager can be different to the landholder.

• tenants must be offered a range of lease terms and one of them must be a 3 year fixed term

• must comply with the Housing SEPP

• there is a state significant development pathway for projects with a minimum $50 million capital investment in the Greater Sydney region and $30 million for development on other land. 

• can be constructed anywhere that residential flat buildings or shop top housing are permitted, as well as in B3, B4 and B8 zones

• local Local Environmental Plans (LEP) guidelines for height and floor space ratio apply and local Development Control Plans (DCP) for carparking appy

• the apartments cannot be subdivided for a minimum 15 years in all zones and cannot be subdivided in B3 commercial core zones

Here is a link to the document the treasury released about the requirements.

For further information contact planning nsw directly on housingpolicy@planning.nsw.gov.au.