10 October 2024
The Greens are calling on the State Government to introduce a tax on vacant residential property after new data reveals which areas of South Australia have the highest number of vacant
dwellings.
This week, PropTrack revealed the suburbs and towns with the highest number of vacant properties. Of places with at least 50 homes, Adelaide city has the most vacant properties with 20% currently vacant - a total of 2006 dwellings. There are 81,000 vacant residential properties across the state (source: Proptrak: Revealed: Where thousands of vacant homes have been uncovered in SA - realestate.com.au.
“In the middle of a housing crisis, allowing these dwellings to remain vacant is driving up prices, and making it harder for people to find a home,” said Greens SA Housing spokesperson Robert Simms MLC.
“We have people sleeping on the street, 16,000 people waiting for social housing and rental prices continuing to skyrocket. It’s time for the Government to step up and encourage home owners to activate these properties.”
“Victoria has already taken action by taxing vacant properties, why isn’t the Malinauskas Government following their lead? Building new homes is vital but it will take time, bringing vacant properties back onto the market is a quick solution that would have real-world impact.”
Costings undertaken by The Greens last year demonstrated that the potential revenue to the State from a vacancy could be up to $220 million per annum.
How would the tax work?
- The tax would be applied at the rate of 1 per cent of the total value of the vacant property in its first year and build up to 3% over three years (ie a $500,000 property is taxed $5,000 in first year, $10,000 in second consecutive year and then $15,000 in third consecutive year)
- The tax would apply to property that is vacant for more than 6 months.
- The cost of building a house is estimated to be $475,000 (ABS data).
- The Greens estimation of $220m revenue is based on the assumption that the tax is applied to half of those properties vacant across the state (PropTrack data shows 81,000 homes across SA are vacant)
- Exemptions would apply where there has been a genuine attempt to sell the property or the property has remained vacant for a valid reason (eg maintenance issues).