We are seeing an increase in the uptake of electric cars, bikes and scooters.
This article may help you understand the rights of tenants/Owners and Body Corporates.
Lithium-ion batteries and electric vehicle chargers in rental properties
ALP Queensland’s controversial land tax is gone!.
This story is a must to get out to all your investor owners so they may refrain from selling their apartment in your building and you lose another investment unit/Apartment/Townhouse.
The following article can be read here by Smart Property Investment
The Palaszczuk government has now made the decision to place the legislation on ice.
It was first reported by News Corp that the much-maligned legislative, which would have resulted in Queensland property holders having their land tax calculated based on the value of all their Australian property holdings, rather than just those owned in the SunshineSunshine, NSW Sunshine, VIC State, has for now been dropped, with the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) reportedly confirming the Government’s decision.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is currently in Canberra for an in-person meeting of Australia’s National Cabinet.
Under the proposed amendments, set to be enforced on 1 July 2023, an individual who owned $300,000 of Queensland property would be exempt from land tax. However, had the updated laws come into effect – and that same individual were to own $1 million worth of property in another city, they would then be considered to own $1.3 million of taxable property and taxed as such.
The law received much conjecture from many community stakeholders. Perhaps the most fervent objection to the law came from the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ), who initially labelled it as a ‘slap in the face’ and a sign of the Government utilising the property industry as a ‘cash cow.’
As recently as early September, the REIQ pushed for the legislation to be repealed, with chief executive officer Antonia Mercorella calling it “as unique as it is illogical,” before adding that “instead of a carrot, the government has yet again used the stick, in yet another desperate money grab from the property sector.”
New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet joined the criticism of the tax, labelling it a “lazy policy to simply increase tax” that his state would not be complicit with. Building on this, Elinor Kasipidis called it “an example of double taxation.”
“Queensland’s new land tax is not a good idea. We are finding it increasingly frustrating that state governments are introducing tax grabs without proper consultation, resulting in poor policy like this,” she said.
“Governments are casting around for ways to repair their bottom line but there are better ways to fill the public coffers than by double taxing landowners. This is unfair and nothing more than a revenue grab.”
At this stage the motivation to place the taxation on ice is yet to be made clear by the Queensland government, although a mountain of public and industry pressure – including a recent report which found 1-in-5 landlords were preparing to exit the market in light of the legislation – further ratified the overwhelming lack of support for the policy.
Tenancy Rules to Change 1 October 22
The Management Rights Industry is currently undergoing some change in regard to Permanent letting with rule changes coming into effect in October 2022. For more information regarding the new rules, you are encouraged to visit the RTA website https://www.rta.qld.gov.au/news.
Other sources of information Include Hynes Legals Podcast on Changes to Queensland Tenancy Law in Strata – YouTube.com/watch?v=Ooi-L3Ar238
Migration to Brisbane and the Gold Coast
I have been reading lots of articles around migration to Queensland during cover as the reason for undersupply of housing (owner-occupier and rental) resulting in higher prices.
Blame has been laid unfairly on Covid causing increased migration to Queensland due to the restrictions in various other states.
I do not believe this is the reason for the higher demand for rental and house prices.
The Gold Coast migration has basically been stable from 1950 to 1991 (just over 5%).
1996 to 1996 migration dropped to 4.5%
1997 to 2001 5.3%
2002 to current dropped gradually to be 1.53% migration (200 people week extra on the Gold coast)in 2022.
During 2020 and 2021 1.68% to 1.61%
This means the Gold Coast must find on average for the last 72 years places for 185 people each week.
My conclusion is there is a basic shortage of land and buildings supply.
For prices of rentals and housing to be affordable we need to ensure there is room to build and look to have cheaper construction costs.
Just my take on how to look at some of the factors influencing the property market.
See the figures below for MORE INFORMATION on the Gold Coast and Brisbane.
New regulations for holiday rentals
Owners of short-term rental accommodation in NSW have been put on notice that new regulations take effect next month.
A spokesman for the Real Estate Industry of NSW (REINSW) said that the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) is ‘standing firm on the deadline’ of March 1, 2022, which is part of a new state-wide regulatory framework to overhaul the growing sector.
As part of the new regulations, since 1 November 2021 anyone wishing to lease their property for short term rental accommodation (STRA) must be registered with NSW Fair Trading. A mandatory Code of Conduct for all participants has also been implemented.
Already some 33,424 properties have joined the STRA register in NSW. The new rules don’t apply to caravans, tents or moveable dwellings.
The new code of conduct aims to address concerns of inconsiderate or anti-social behaviour from short-term tenants. It applies to booking platforms, hosts, letting agents and facilitators.
Under the changes, NSW Fair Trading can take disciplinary action such as a monetary penalty or a ‘strike’ against a property, host or guest, for serious breaches.
It may also list non-compliant participants on an Exclusions Register, effectively stopping them from taking future bookings. Owner corporations can now also adopt by-laws restricting types of short-term rental accommodation within its strata scheme.
All dwellings must comply with fire and safety regulations, including the installation of smoke alarms powered by mains electricity or non-removable batteries with a minimum life of 10 years.
Office of Fair Trading issues a fair warning
How to avoid being hit with a $26,000 ‘lazy tax’ over an AFAA trust account
It’s simple really. Lodge your audit reports on time.
Late lodgement of trust account audit reports under the Agents Financial Administration Act 2014 is a big issue here at the OFT. In 2017-18 alone, 438 licensees failed to lodge their trust accounts on time. Of those, 256 were issued with formal warnings and 182 were fined. And with fines of up to $26,110, it’s no small matter.
Your audit report must be lodged with the OFT within four months following your audit period. Many auditors will submit the final audit report to the OFT on your behalf as part of their service, however, it’s important to remember that legally it remains your responsibility to ensure the report is submitted on time.
Aside from a possible fine, if your trust account audit report is not lodged on time, you can be disqualified from holding a licence and may be prevented from renewing a licence, which could wind up costing you a lot more.
If you think you may have trouble meeting your audit deadline, you can ask us for an extension before your audit is due. You must make your request in writing, setting out the reason you are seeking the extension. Please be aware that extension requests submitted after the due date will generally not be considered. Another common issue we see is a failure to reconcile trust account cash books on time.
The Agents Financial Administration Regulation 2014 states that you must reconcile your trust account cash book within five business days after the end of each month.
This entails reconciling:
• the trust account cash book balance at the end of the month with the trust account ledger balances at the end of the month
• the trust account cash book balance at the end of the month with the financial institution’s trust account statement balance at the end of the month.
You must keep your reconciliations on file and be able to produce them for inspectors upon request.
And finally, if you identify a problem with your trust account, it is imperative you discuss it with your auditor and, where necessary, advise us of the issue. Covering up any discrepancies is never a good idea, even if they are caused by a rogue staff member or an oversight.
For more information on audit requirements, to access OFT forms, or to download Trust accounts – a guide for property agents, motor dealers, debt collectors and their auditors, visit www.qld.gov.au/fairtrading or call 13 QGOV (13 74 68).
Alternatively, you can order a hard copy of the trust account guide by emailing OFT.Comms@justice.qld.gov.au.
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