The government registered a legislative instrument specifying additional requirements for a dwelling to be an “affordable dwelling” for purposes of tax concession eligibility under the build to rent (BTR) scheme.
The Income Tax Assessment (Build to Rent Developments) Amendment (Expanding Affordability Requirements) Determination 2025 would specify the following requirements for a dwelling in a BTR development to be an affordable dwelling:
- The dwelling must be either a moderate-income dwelling or a lower-income dwelling
- The number of lower-income dwellings in a BTR development must be equal to or greater than 2% of the number of dwellings in the BTR development
- The owner of the BTR development must have engaged an eligible community housing provider (CHP) to assist the owner in:
- Identifying prospective tenants for each affordable dwelling in the BTR development
- Ascertaining whether the dwelling satisfies the tenant income criteria for a lower-income dwelling or a moderate-income dwelling for each assessing event for each affordable dwelling in the development
- Each tenant of the dwelling must be identified by an eligible CHP as a prospective tenant for the dwelling with the CHP's identification having regard only to the requirements for dwellings in the Instrument and any matter expressed advised to the CHP by the BTR owner
In addition, the proposed legislation also:
- Extends the definition of “assessing event” to include a written request by a tenant of a lower-income dwelling for an annual rental review (but only the first such request from that tenant in respect of that dwelling for the financial year)
- Provides a transitional rule for dwellings that would cease to be moderate-income dwellings or lower-income dwellings due to a change in the composition of the tenants of the dwelling
The amendments are proposed to apply 12 months after the amendments become effective.