$10,000 grant for new homes
The QLD Government has announced in the 2011/12 budget a $10,000 building boost for new homes built in Queensland.
The key points are:
• the grant is only available on properties worth less than $600,000.
• the grant is available to people building a house, buying a house and land package or buying new properties off-the-plan.
• the contract must entered between 1 August 2011 and 31 January 2012.
• off the plan buildings need to be completed by July 2013.
• the grant is in addition to the $7,000 first homeowners’ grant ( if applicable).
• the grant is available for all buyers i.e. homes and investments.
• a person can receive the grant on multiple properties.
If you are thinking about buying or building a new house you may want to consider waiting until after 1st August to take advantage of the $10,000 building boost.
Charging Tenant's For Water
Landlords’ can only make tenants pay for their own water consumption if the property is water efficient.
The Residential Tenancies Authority recently issued this advice.
Under the legislation, landlords can pass on full water consumption charges to tenants if the rental property is individually metered, water efficient and the tenancy agreement states that the tenant must pay for water.
A property is considered water efficient if internal cold water taps, single mixer taps and showerheads have a maximum flow rate of nine litres per minute and toilets are dual flush and don't exceed 6.5 litres on full flush, and 3.5 litres on half flush.
The easiest way to check if fixtures meet the standard is to look for a Water Efficiency and Labelling Standards (WELS) rating of three stars or higher which can be found on products made since 2005.
Outdoor taps, bath tub taps and taps for appliances such as washing machines and dishwashers are excluded.
Arrangements for water charging need to be negotiated at the start of the tenancy and included in the tenancy agreement.
The presence of water efficient devices should also be noted on the Entry Condition Report and the landlord or agent should be able to demonstrate that the devices are water efficient.
Copies of plumbing reports, paperwork from the State Government's Home WaterWise services, receipts, packaging and warranties or instruction manuals for taps and showerheads can all be used to prove water efficiency.
Taps and toilets should be well maintained and any reports of leaking pipes investigated promptly.
The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) recently refused a landlord's application for reimbursement of excess water usage. The landlord took the matter to appeal and was refused as a leaking toilet was found to have been responsible for excess water usage at the property.
Flood Delays New Pool Safety Laws
The introduction of tough new pool safety laws has been delayed in the wake of Cyclone Yasi and widespread flooding throughout the state.
New laws introduced in December last year required non-shared pools to be inspected and issued with a Pool Safety Certificate before being leased.
The Queensland Government now allows rental properties with non-shared pools to be leased until 8 July this year without the need for a Pool Safety Certificate.
Property managers and landlords need to issue tenants a Notice of No Pool Safety Certificate available from the Department of Local Government and Planning. The form tells the prospective tenant that the pool may not comply with current pool safety standards and may pose a risk to children.
For shared pools, where a pool is available to two or more occupants, such as a block of units, the body corporate has until 30 November next year to obtain a Pool Safety Certificate.
Where a Pool Safety Certificate has not been issued, new tenants again need to be provided with a Notice of No Pool Safety Certificate stating that the pool may not meet current standards.
If you have a pool on a property owned by you don’t forget to go online, www.dip.qld.gov.au/poolsafety and register the pool by 4 May
Warning Statements
If the wrong Warning Statements are used on a residential contract it may result in a cancellation of the contract.
All contracts for the sale of residential land must have attached what is called a PAMDA Form 30c Warning Statement.
The correct form under the Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act 2000 is Version 6 effective from 1 October 2010.
If the contract is for residential property that is part of a Community Title Scheme what is called a BCCM Form 14 must also be attached.
The current form under the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 is Version 6 effective from 1 October 2010.
Agents, Buyers and Sellers should pay careful attention to this.
Pool Safety Certificates
The REIQ Contracts have been recently overhauled to give effect to the Swimming Pool Safety Inspection and Certificate Regime which commenced on 1 December 2010.
For more information please read our brochure.
If you are buying or selling a property that has a pool or you own a property that has a pool, then this information is important.
Real Estate Agents and the Law
There have been two recent decisions regarding the eligibility of persons to recover commissions or fees on the sale of properties.
For more information, please read our brochure.
If you have any concerns or need our assistance regarding real estate commissions, please contact us on 3221 8352.
Important new changes to Australia's foreign investment policy
The Australian Government has announced it will shortly amend its Foreign Investment Policy.
This amendment will have a material effect on residential land buyers.
The big change is that temporary residents may purchase second hand dwellings. This took effect from 18 December 2008, but will change again shortly.
For more information please read our brochure
If you have any concerns or need any assistance regarding Australia's Foreign Investment Policy please contact us.
STAMP DUTY CHANGES
The Background
When the Qld Treasurer, Andrew Fraser, handed down the 2008/2009 State Budget it outlined various changes to stamp duty associated with Queensland properties.
The intent of the new structure was to generally improve competitiveness with other states and assist First Home Owners with the affordability of buying their own homes.
While the budget contains reductions in stamp duty for some home buyers and retirement village residents, there is still a sting in the tail in the form of increased rates which will affect transactions over $590,000.00.
The Good News!!
Concessions and exemptions for home buyers and retirement village residents:
1. Abolition of Mortgage Stamp Duty;
2. An increasing in the threshold for the firm home buyers duty exemption from $320,000.00 to $500,000.00;
3. An increase in the ceiling for the principal place of residence concession from $320,000.00 to $350,000.00; and
4. An extension of the principal place of residence concession to retirement village residents who adopt lease and sub-lease occupancy arrangements, which has never applied before.
When combined with the new duty rates, these concessions and exemptions will reduce the duty payable on homes valued between $320,000.00 and $1,000,000.00.
The Bad News!!
As the new rates lead to savings for transactions under $590,000.00 they have lead to increased rates of stamp duty for transactions over $590,000.00 , with the top marginal rate increasing from $4.50 to $5.25 per $100.00. ie. For a transaction of $750,000.00 stamp duty has risen from $26,225 to $26,775.
C-Property Conveyancing’s Help
C-Property Conveyancing has developed comprehensive tools for use by you in assisting calculating stamp duty payable by your clients to make things easy for you. Should you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact us.
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