Buying your rental home
Information for Queensland public housing tenants.
Buying a home gives you an asset that can provide security for your future.
Owning a home is different from renting, as you have to pay rates, insurance, maintenance and loan repayments.
We encourage you to become a home owner. You may be able to buy the government-owned home you live in through this program. Some rental properties are not for sale, including:
- homes in high-demand areas, especially inner city suburbs
- properties on sites with future redevelopment potential
- townhouses, units, duplexes and cluster houses
- houses which are less than 10 years old
- houses that have been modified or adapted to meet the needs of people with a disability.
Eligibility
You may be able to buy the property you are renting if you meet the following criteria. You and any other person making the application must:
- not own any other house in Queensland or elsewhere*
- intend to use the house as your home and for no other purpose
- be the legal lessee of the property
- pay an administration fee when lodging the Application to Purchase
- be an Australian citizen or have permanent residency
- have lived in the property for at least 3 months
- have a good rent payment record with no outstanding arrears.
* Except in the circumstance approved by the Director-General of the department.
How do I find out the purchase price of the property I am renting?
We do not keep a record of sale prices for rental properties. You will need to lodge an application and pay an administration fee.
It takes up to 2 weeks to decide if the property is available for sale. If we decide the property is not for sale we will refund the administration fee.
If we decide the property is for sale, we will arrange for it to be inspected by an independent valuer to work out a fair sale price. We may also arrange a building inspection.
We will send you a letter when a sale price is worked out. You will have 1 month to accept the offer to buy the property.
Can I keep renting after I have applied?
You are under no obligation to buy the property after you have applied. If you choose not to buy your rental agreement will continue.
Finance and loans
If you are borrowing money to buy the property, your lender will want to see your savings history and need you to have a deposit towards the purchase price.
The deposit amount will depend on things like the price of the home, the amount you can borrow and which bank, credit union or building society you use. Most financial institutions will ask you to pay a deposit of between 5% and 20% of the purchase price.
We also offer lending programs to tenants:
Make sure you shop around and compare different loans before you decide to buy.
What happens if I have added improvements to the property?
Major improvements you have done such as carports and extensions that we have approved, as well as local government building approval, are taken into account when working out the sale price. We allow a maximum of $5,000 for improvements.
The valuer will assess the value of the improvements and deduct the value from the sale price of the property.
Remember money you spend on improvements may not increase the value of the property.
Does the rent I have paid affect the sale price?
No allowance will be made for previous rent paid.
More information
For more information call our lending program on 1300 654 322.
