ACT Land Rent Scheme.

The Land Rent Scheme is an ACT Government initiative to increase access to affordable home ownership.  The main purpose of the scheme is to reduce the entry costs and  mortgage payments for homeowners. The scheme is also expected to be used as a means for some people to advance their entry into homeownership, by saving to buy the land outright in the future while paying land rent

Under the scheme, lessees rent the land from the Government. They are required to pay the Government land rent, calculated on the unimproved value of the block of land.  Lessees are then required to construct a house on the land within two years of the lease being granted.  

The scheme allows a person to lease the land rent block of land on an ongoing basis or to convert the land rent lease to a traditional Crown lease at a later date, effectively  purchasing the land from the Government at that time.  Land rent is not a ‘rent to buy’ scheme.

• Income threshold: Household income does not exceed $160,000 and increases by $3,330 for each dependent child.
• Residency: Lessee(s) must reside in the property.
• Property ownership: Lessee(s) cannot own other real estates (in any other State or Territory in Australia or overseas). 
• Information session: You must have attended a free information session at the Canberra Institute of Technology – contact CIT on (02) 6207 3188. This session is compulsory.
• For more information, visit www.revenue.act.gov.au/

Any new block of land released by the ACT Land Development Agency (LDA) to the public will be available for land rent.  For further details on the land available for rent, contact the Land Development Agency.

Only single residential dwellings can be built on land rent blocks.  Units or attached dwellings cannot be built on land leased under the scheme.  Planning and quality controls applying to land rent blocks will be the same as for land held under traditional crown leases.

People participating in the land rent scheme may be able to access the First Home Owner Grant, as long as they meet the eligibility requirement. For further details, please contact ACT Revenue Office or visit www.revenue.act.gov.au.

For land rent lessee(s) who signed their contract for sale on or after 1 October 2013, your land rent payments are 2% of the unimproved value of the leased land. You do not have access to the standard 4% rate of land. For further details, please contact ACT Revenue Office or visit www.revenue.act.gov.au.

View Beyond Bank Land Rent Scheme loans here.

People participating in the land rent scheme will be required to pay duty once, at the point of entering the scheme. If, at a later time, you decide to purchase the land, you will not be required to pay additional duty. The payment of duty is due within 90 days of exchange of contracts and is dependent on the unimproved value of the land. For further information regarding any applicable duty required, please contact ACT Revenue Office or visit www.revenue.act.gov.au.

For further details and information regarding the land rent scheme, please contact ACT Revenue Office or visit www.revenue.act.gov.au.