So, better times might be ahead for tenants and home buyers struggling with the lack of affordable homes.
Reforms to Victoria’s housing industry continue with the Treasurer’s recent proposal to introduce changes to the current residential land tax scheme.
Treasurer Tim Pallas proposes to extend the vacant residential land tax from inner and middle metropolitan council areas to state wide from the 1st January 2025, in bid to increase the supply of available accommodation.
Currently the 1% total property value tax applies to residential properties in the inner to middle suburbs of Melbourne that have been empty for six months. Applying the tax to properties beyond those boundaries increases the potential to find accommodation in the greater Melbourne and regional areas, if the tax proves to be a deterrent to owners of vacant properties.
An additional tax will also be introduced, this time on vacant residential land that has been unimproved for five years or more. This tax will apply to land across established areas of metropolitan Melbourne from 2026.
“Our clear message to land owners is to either develop the land or sell it to someone who will,” said Pallas. He also said that land owned by the government will be held to the same standard.
This will hopefully bring some small measure of relief to families impacted by the housing shortage, albeit not soon enough.
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