Tax reforms key to boosting Victoria’s rental woes
Amid all-time high rental costs and all-time low rental vacancies, the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) has advised the Victorian government to consider policy reforms that will address these matters.
The REIV’s recommendations, contained within a 2024–25 Victorian budget submission, come at a time of record low rates of rental affordability, with Melbourne’s median rental asking prices climbing 9.6 per cent in the past 12 months to $570 per week in March 2024.
With nine in 10 rental properties owned by private investors, and three quarters of those investors only holding a singular property, landlords were singled out by the REIV as the most important feature of the state’s rental market.
Recognising a need to spur further private investment to retain and grow the rental supply, the REIV is encouraging the government to improve the taxation settings available to the state’s property investors.
REIV president, Jacob Caine, has proclaimed tax incentives as being critical to developing a long-term solution.
“The recent surge in median rents demonstrates that a shortage of rental properties is negatively impacting the financial security of many Victorians,” stated Caine.
“Increasing housing supply is crucial to creating a more equitable property market for renters, owner-occupiers and investors.”
Caine spoke highly of the government’s efforts to deliver planning reform and a stronger building industry but stressed the greater need to “make owning and retaining a long-term rental property more attractive to investors”.
“The REIV has made several recommendations to the Victorian government on how these new tax incentives can work, and we’re here to support the government in any way we can with their implementation,” Caine concluded.