Affordable house and land packages

Description

As part of the Affordable Housing Action Plan, land developers will continue to make available 'Affordable House and Land Packages'.

Contracts executed after 2 June 2010

These packages will be provided by the Land Development Agency (LDA) under their OwnPlace program, and by other developers.  The thresholds for these packages will now be determined annually by the Department of Land and Property Services (LAPS) and all enquiries should be directed to the LDA (external site), or the LAPS (external site).

Important Note:  The duty concession for a declared Affordable House and Land Package does not apply for contracts entered into after 2 June 2010.  However, a duty concession may apply under the relevant Home Buyer Concession Scheme.

Contracts executed prior to 3 June 2010

The following concession continues to apply to declared Affordable House and Land Packages where the contracts were executed prior to 3 June 2010.

A declared Affordable House and Land Package is an arrangement, whether covered by one contract, or separate related contracts, which results in a new house being built on a new block of land in the ACT.  The total contracted price for the purchase of the land, and the construction of the home on that land must not exceed $300,000.  The threshold value of the total contracted price is set by Determination 2007-249 (external site).  This Determination has been revoked, but continues to apply to contracts executed before 3 June 2010.

The number of, and eligibility for, these packages is determined by the Land Development Agency, and other developers responsible for preparing and releasing new blocks of land in the ACT.

Generally, people taking up these packages will not have to pay duty on the land until the house is ready to be occupied.  There is a maximum two year period for the 'tax holiday' to apply, but in accordance with planning regulations, the Certificate of Occupancy is expected to be ready before that time is up.

A Conveyance Lodgment Form (external site) and relevant documents together with an Affordable House and Land Package Declaration Form (external site) must be completed and lodged for stamping.

When the time comes for the new homeowner to move in (or the two years is up, whichever comes first), duty will be payable based upon the value of the land only, at either the time at which the arrangement was entered into, or at the time that the duty is payable, whichever is less.

If a homeowner that has taken up the Affordable House and Land Package duty arrangement wishes to sell the property, the duty will have to be paid in full before title to the property can be transferred.

Combination with other schemes

If you wish to also apply for a Home buyer concession, or to defer duty (must be more than $1,000) under the Deferred duty the time to apply for these schemes is limited.  Late applications for the HBCS or Deferred Duty Payment can not be considered unless it was unduly onerous to lodge on time.  See DAA012.1 [RTF, 179Kb], [PDF, 91Kb].

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Exchange of information

To assist in the identification and assessment of ACT taxes and grants we exchange information with other Revenue Offices and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). 

The exchange of information with other Revenue Offices is in accordance with part 9 of the Taxation Administration Act 1999 (ACT) and similar legislation in the States and the Northern Territory.  The exchange of information with the ATO is in accordance with subsection 355-65 (5) Schedule 1 of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth).