Tasmania hones in on encouraging property market growth

In his State of the State Address, Mr Gutwein announced the government will also move to provide a ‘no permit required’ pathway for landowners to construct ancillary dwellings on their properties.

Ancillary dwellings are extra living quarters, with a floor area of less than 60 square metres, which are self-contained but additional to the primary home on a block, such as a granny flat.

According to the Premier, these will help meet demand for rental properties.

“Today I am announcing that the first 250 new ancillary dwellings that are made available for long-term rental for more than two years will receive a $10,000 payment,” Mr Gutwein said.

“These changes will make it easier, faster and simpler to build and meet demand, and put downward pressure on rents in Tasmania.”

Moreover, the Premier announced the state would provide land tax exemptions of three years for newly built housing, and one year for former short-stay accommodation, to further incentivise the availability of long-term rentals.

“While as a share of total state revenue, land tax in Tasmania is the lowest with Western Australia, of all the states, there remains a need to contemporise our land tax thresholds.

“That’s why we will reset the land tax thresholds to reflect today’s strong property market; we will double the land value at which land tax becomes payable, from $25,000 to $50,000; and we will increase the maximum land value threshold by $50,000, from $350,000 to $400,000,” the Premier said.

According to him, these changes will not only save around 70,000 Tasmanians up to $613 in their land tax bill, but they will exempt an additional 4,100 landowners from land tax in the year ahead, putting downward pressure on the need for rental increases to be passed on.

Additionally, to assist landlords to meet their land tax liabilities, Tasmania will halve the premium rate of interest charged on unpaid tax, from 8 percent to 4 percent, and will allow for land tax bills over $500 to be paid by three instalments over the year.

“We will introduce legislation for the land tax and conveyance duty measures before June this year,” Mr Gudwein said.

Among other measures announced by the Premier are:

• A $10 million headworks holiday for new residential subdivisions: Up to $5,000 per residential lot for power and up to $5,000 per residential lot delivered for water and sewerage infrastructure.
• Support for major investment projects, including an additional $77 million to the Macquarie Point development project and $10 million for paused private sector projects that were shovel ready. 

PCA applauds Tasmania

The Property Council of Australia has commended the efforts of the Tasmanian government to ramp up development.

According to the Property Council’s executive director, Rebecca Ellston, these reforms will ultimately help build Tasmania’s competitive advantage.

“At a time when our state is trying to build its way out of a pandemic, it’s crucial that development is supported,” she said.

Looking ahead, Ms Ellston reaffirmed the critical role of property in the overall recovery of Australia’s economy.

Tasmania in particular, she said, could be among the best areas to invest in moving forward.

“Hard hats and steel caps dominate the suburbs, and high-vis vests can be seen right across the Hobart CBD, demonstrating the importance of the property industry during these challenging times.

“Projects and developments that keep Tasmanians employed are the real shot in the arm our economy needs right now as we recover,” Mr Ellston concluded.