Relaxation of planning regulations to be raised in Qld summit

The housing crisis summit was announced by the state Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk last month to address the urgency around multiple housing issues. 

The summit will bring together stakeholders and experts in order to create a cohesive and all-inclusive plan of action to address the main issues surrounding the accommodation crisis. 

Mr Leicester said that the event could serve as a platform for state and local government officials to explore the easing of building regulations to tackle the housing crisis. 

“Having a housing summit is a great initiative, and something they could consider is the temporary relaxation of planning laws around densities and product mix to deal with this housing supply emergency,” he said. 

He raised some issues that could be tackled during the coming together of housing stakeholders. “For example, they could look at allowing existing development approvals for a 100-lot residential housing development to be amended and expanded to perhaps 120 or 130 lots. 

“The development approval could also possibly be amended to allow for more diversification of the building product with the estate to feature villas, terrace homes or townhouses as well as standalone housing,” he stated. 

He acknowledged that there are lingering concerns around the loosening of these regulations, including risks of creating substandard developments as well as going against zoning regulations.

“This, of course, would need to remain a high-quality offering and follow proper guidelines to ensure it remains desirable with appropriate amenities and streetscape,” he stated. 

But he also offered that there are upsides to remedying slow planning approvals in the sector. “[A] big advantage if this proposal was adopted is it could provide an immediate solution to provide more housing rather than a developer waiting nine to 12 months for a new DA to be approved,” Mr Leicester said.

He also expressed his belief that fast-tracking the approval of build-to-rent developments, including house and land projects, would help deliver a greater supply of affordable rental housing, which comes at a time when the cost of accommodation is becoming a bigger hip-pocket pain for most Aussies.  

“We need to boost the workforce as we continue to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic, and that means increasing skilled migration, but these people will need accommodation, and that requires not just apartments but houses and townhouses, particularly in the outer suburbs of Brisbane and on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast,” he said. 

He also welcomed the summit as a turning-over-a-new-leaf moment with the Queensland government, following the icing of its controversial land tax reforms.

Notably, the plan has drawn broad condemnation from the property industry and other involved stakeholders since it was unveiled by the government.

The Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) had rebuked the new tax law as “a slap in the face”, with the peak real estate body warning that the raft of changes to the taxation system could spell the end of interstate investment. 

Additionally, critics have warned that the latest law reforms could come as a shock for landlords and ultimately deepen the state’s rental strife. 

It was also singled out as the main reason investors were turning their back on Queensland’s property market. 

Under the now-scrapped tax regime, property investors would have had to pay tax calculated on the basis of a property owner’s total nationwide land holdings. 

“This would have pushed up costs and made build-to-rent projects that can make a big difference to the housing crisis unviable,” he said.