NDIS Legacy Stock
Absolutely you can, but at what cost?
After reviewing the information below, it does not make financial sense to go to the massive expense of converting an existing home into a SDA Property you will agree.
In order to do so you need to have the time and money of :
- Hiring an architect / draughtsman who knows and understands SDA and all NDIS stringent requirements
- Paying to get your drawings certified for Compliance
- Finding a builder who will undertake what is classified as non-standard construction techniques. A builder who is prepared to take on slow work and not charge you a rediculous amount to do so.
- Be prepared to continue paying holding costs on the property for the period of the major renovation required.
- Be prepared to miss out on rental income during this same period if the home is currently an investment property.
- And spending what has to be spent by NDIS requirements in order to be compliant so that you can receive the government funding or SDA payments you are hoping to achieve. See table below.
- Taking the above costs into consideration plus what is needed to be spent as per table below, it does not make financial sense to go the route of ‘converting’ an existing dwelling into a SDA property – does it?
- Then add in the original purchase price and determine if it makes any investment sense to you at all.
Minimum Refurbishment costs for SDA 2021 22
You have two options
Option 1
If you are an investor or developer and are considering purchasing a property or own one already and want to convert it into a SDA property which will meet with compliance :
To be considered a new build, you can own or purchase a property that was issued with its 1st Certificate of Occupancy (or equivalent), for use as a SDA, on or after 1 April 2016.
For a refurbishment or renovation oa an existing dwelling (which already has a certificate of occupancy for non-SDA) to be considered a new build, the dwelling must be issued with a certificate of occupancy (or equivalent) after 1 April 2016 and the refurbishment to the dwelling must :
- Meet the Minimum Requirements for the selected Design Category.
- The cost to the refurbishment / renovation to the home must be detailed meeting the Minimum Refurbishment Costs for New Builds. As per table above. Meaning the total investment will included the purchase rice of the existing property + Minimum Refurbishment Cost.
Option 2
For existing supported accommodation to be considered a new build, the following requirements must be met :
The SDA is already enrolled to accommodate 5 or fewer long-term participants, or is the home of a participant who intends to provide SDA to themselves (as a registered provider) and to reside there with the participants spouse or de facto partner and children.
All shared areas and bedrooms for use by SDA eligible participants must comply with the Minimum Requirements for the design category and fewer than 20 years have elapsed from the date the certificate of occupancy was issued. When 20 years have elapsed, the enrollment will convert to Existing Stock.
In addition the SDA must not breach the density restrictions for New Builds as per s.31 of the SDA Rules.
Remove the Emotion
Just because you own a property, it doesn’t mean it makes investment sense to ‘convert’ it into a SDA property to secure higher yields.
The above could easily set you back over $1 Million dollars and thus render the investment unfeasible.
What if for less $’s you could secure an improved investment into SDA property elsewhere with a lower entry value and a higher yield?
OR if the home is worthy of being knocked down and you originally paid a low amount to secure it then of course it makes investment sense to knock down the old dwelling and start from scratch and build a brand new home.
Be conscious that the existing block is suited to stringent NDIS requirements prior to going down this road or better still, reach out to us to consult you on this and do the investigations ourselves as to whether the property will stack up for you or not.
