ARTICLE · 04 DECEMBER 2017

Australia's Vacancy Fee Will Apply To Foreign Owned Residential Property

Alliott Group (International)

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Australia's Federal Government has recently passed legislation that is aimed at increasing the amount of housing stock available for occupation.

AustraliaTax

Jamie Towers (Hanrick Curran)

Australia's Federal Government has recently passed legislation that is aimed at increasing the amount of housing stock available for occupation. The new rules will levy an annual vacancy fee on foreign owners of residential real estate if a property is not occupied or is not genuinely available for rent for at least six months in a 12 month period.

Under the new law, the minimum duration of a lease or license will be set at 30 days, with the result that owners of holiday apartments and 'AirBnB' properties are expected to become subject to the vacancy fee, even if their property is rented for holiday bookings for over half the year.

Jamie Towers, Tax Partner at Hanrick Curran, Alliott Group member firm in Brisbane, comments: "The new rules apply to those foreign investors who acquired residential Australian land (that has property on it) after 9th May 2017. Current holdings should not be subject to the vacancy fee."

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