The state government will offer owners of vacant properties a $5,000 incentive to put their houses on the rental market, in a bid to unlock housing stock.
The state government will offer owners of vacant properties a $5,000 incentive to put their houses on the rental market, in a bid to unlock housing stock.
To be rolled out under Thursday’s state budget, the $5 million scheme will offer the one-off payments to up to 1,000 owners of vacant properties around the state.
Perth’s rental vacancy rate hit a new low of 0.4 per cent while the cost of renting a skyrocketed to a median of $635 per week, REA Group’s Proptrack revealed last month.
Participating owners will need to be willing to provide a minimum 12-month lease agreement to new long-term tenants, the state government said.
Among other conditions are the property having been vacant for at least six months and that it is a single self-contained property, meaning granny flats are ineligible.
The properties also can’t have been used to receive a payment under the state government’s STRA incentive scheme, designed to encourage short term accommodation owners to switch to the long-term rental market.
"Western Australia's nation-leading economy and attractive lifestyle are driving significant demand for housing, so we are leaving no stone unturned in our work to boost supply of homes,” Premier Roger Cook said.
"My government's 2024-25 state budget will fund a range of new measures to get more Western Australians into existing and new homes, including our vacant property rental incentive scheme and continued support for building and construction apprentices to finish their training.
"Modelled on our successful short-term rental accommodation incentive scheme, this latest offer is designed to address the issue of much-needed properties sitting vacant and make them available for rent."
Planning and Housing Minister John Carey said the measure complimented the government’s other initiatives. Including stronger regulation for short-term rental accommodation.
"Our government continues to think outside the box and look at a range of measures, not just to provide new housing, but to better utilise existing stock to boost housing supply across the continuum,” he said.
