Labor’s build-to-rent bill knocked back in Senate as Coalition and Greens team up

Federal housing minister Julie Collins said the Coalition and the Greens ‘have decided to stand in the way of more help for renters by holding up our build-to-rent legislation’. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

The Greens and the Coalition have combined to delay Labor’s bill to encourage build-to-rent investments, prompting the Albanese government to accuse them of forming an “anti-housing alliance”.

On Thursday the Greens revealed new demands for 100% of build-to-rent properties to be affordable after they voted with the opposition to split tax changes out of a government treasury bill.

The bill will now be sent to an inquiry to report by 4 September. The move reignited tensions between Labor and the Greens over the minor party’s use of bills designed to increase housing supply to push the government for more affordable housing.

In question time, Anthony Albanese targeted the Coalition and Greens, labelling them the “no-alition” for delaying legislation for more investment in housing development. The housing minister, Julie Collins, told the House of Representatives they had “voted for higher rents and more homelessness”.

The changes provide incentives by increasing the capital works deduction rate to 4% a year and reducing the final withholding tax rate for properties in which institutional investors become landlords for long-term leases.

The legislation currently requires 10% of the properties to be “affordable”, defined as being rented out at 75% of market rate.

On Thursday the Greens housing spokesperson, Max Chandler-Mather, revealed the Greens want 100% of build-to-rent properties to be affordable, defined as the lower of 70% of the market rate or 25% of the renters’ income. The Greens also want rent rises to be capped at 2% every two years.

Negotiations have stalled on build-to-rent and Labor’s Help to Buy shared equity scheme, with the Greens blaming the government for failing to make concessions.

Chandler-Mather said: “Labor’s plan boils down to giving tax handouts to property developers to build apartments almost no one will be able to afford, with no protections against unlimited rent increases”.

“What this bill proves is if Labor wanted it could impose rent caps on any developer receiving the tax handouts, but instead has chosen to allow developers to jack up the rent by as much as they want,” he said.

He said Labor was “tinkering around the edges” and announcing policy that “makes it look like they are doing something for renters, when in reality it is just a plan to give property developers more tax handouts.”

The shadow assistant housing affordability minister, Andrew Bragg, welcomed the Senate’s decision to delay the build-to-rent bill. He argued the “tax concession is solely designed to bolster foreign investment in Australian houses”.

“The Labor government wants to give foreign fund managers a tax cut so that 150,000 houses will be owned by these managers,” he said in a statement.

“The Australian Dream is not about foreign fund managers renting out houses to Australians … I am pleased the Senate understands this warped priority.”

Collins accused the Coalition and Greens of having “stood in the way of more social and affordable housing through our Housing Australian Future Fund” which passed in 2023 after lengthy negotiations with the Greens and Labor adding $3bn for social and affordable housing.

“They are standing in the way of more help for Australian homebuyers through our national shared equity scheme Help to Buy,” Collins said in a statement.

“And now they have decided to stand in the way of more help for renters by holding up our build-to-rent legislation. This legislation includes more affordable housing for renters.”

“The Liberals and the Greens anti-housing alliance have never seen a new home they won’t try and block in parliament.”