Written by Georgina Phelps – Partner, Terracon Legal
The ACT Government has legislated increases to Crown lease variation charges across the Australian Capital Territory, effective from 1 July 2025.
These changes are likely to have the most impact on suburbs located in the inner south such as Deakin and Yarralumla where the lease variation charge to subdivide a residential block from 1 to 2 or 1 to 3 dwellings has increased by between 20 and 35%.
This will be concerning to many local developers who were looking to take advantage of the recent ‘Missing Middle reforms’ which were implemented to unlock opportunities to ‘fill-in’ many RZ1 zones in the ACT by allowing the subdivision of certain larger blocks to allow for two or more dwellings.
Industry leaders have been advocating for a pause on the increase to lease variation charges while the industry takes stock of the impact of the planning reforms, however, despite admirable efforts, the ACT Government has not slowed its revenue raising agenda. This will be hard felt for many in the property and building collective who have been stoically resisting the challenging conditions presented in recent years.
Navigating the impact of proposed development and consequential Crown lease variation charges can be challenging as the regime continues to be difficult to interpret. We recommend that our developer clients make careful assessments and obtain specialist town planning and legal advice when setting out to vary a Crown lease for the purposes of a subdivision, consolidation, change of use or revision of a gross floor area requirement.
Please reach out to us if you wish to discuss your particular circumstances or require legal advice in relation to a Crown lease variation or Crown lease variation charge. We can help you in the following ways:
- Assess your exposure
- Explore exemptions;
- Challenge valuations;
- Navigate risks in the face of any objections.
Note: this is not legal advice and should not be relied upon (as it is general in nature, and will differ depending on factual circumstances). Legal advice should only be relied upon if Terracon Legal have been formally engaged via a cost agreement to provide such advice, and it is given with specific facts and context provided.