Sarah has been a renter for decades, but one home changed everything
ARTICLE: Lucinda Garbutt-Young, Canberra Times, 22 June 2025
Sarah Fountain knows renting – she’s done it for her entire adult life.
Moving between her original home of the United Kingdom, through the Middle East and onto Australian cities like Darwin, Alice Springs and Sydney, the 48-year-old has seen the reality of rental instability.
Ms Fountain and her partner, Matthew Howe, knew that when they moved to Canberra, they wanted a place to call home for the long run. They chose a Woden build-to-rent development, Oaks Canopy, developed by Amalgamated Property Group and Base Developments.
“Renting is really the only option at my stage in life now,” she said. “Build-to-rent was really appealing because of security more than anything else. This is the first time I’ve lived in one because there’s not many about.”
Build-to-rent developments are retained by one owner, traditionally an institutional investor such as a property investment fund or superannuation fund.
They allow residents to sign long leases, often up to five years.
Output not matching demand
Canberra renters like Ms Fountain have high demand for secure rental options: Oaks Canopy is 80 per cent full after opening in late 2024.
But Canberra has been slow to take up the build-to-rent model. That’s because of smaller investment pools, stricter rental conditions than other jurisdictions – including rent caps – and less interest from overseas developers.
ACT developers and investors are beginning to bridge the gap, however, Oaks Canopy general manager Pete Dent said he would like to see more done to progress build-to-rent in the territory. Strict rental laws were working as a double-edged sword, he said.
“I am definitely an advocate of the rental reforms in the ACT … but rental caps are going to dissuade developers. If build-to-rent can be proven [to investors] as a successful model that is relatively low-risk and getting decent returns, I think you will see it skyrocket in Australia over the next 10 to 15 years. But I think ACT will always be a bit slower.”
There are only a few privately run build-to-rent projects in the territory, the first of which was Dickson Village Apartments, run by Essence Communities. Housing Industry Association ACT executive Greg Weller said while he welcomed similar developments in principle, rental settings, Canberra’s small scale and developer licensing laws, set to come into effect in October 2025, would limit the scope even further.
He also said restrictive territory and federal measures around foreign investment added to the concern.
“One of the challenges we are seeing in Canberra and other cities is that governments have misguidedly put punitive charges on foreign investors,” he said. “[Foreign investors] don’t add to the demand for housing, they add to the supply.”
Government help?
A spokesperson for Everybody’s Home, Maiy Azize, said direct government involvement was the only way to improve economic settings for build-to-rent in the territory.
“The countries around the world that are getting it right are countries where the government is a big part of housing,” she said.
Ms Azize believed looking at more diverse options for rental security was crucial.
“[Build-to-rent] is more expensive than your average rental,” she said. “What there is an appetite for is not built-to-rent, per se, but for security.”
Internet and amenities are often subsidised in build-to-rent settings, though they tend to be considered premium developments.
Importance of community
The significance of build-to-rent might be debated by industry experts but, for residents like Ms Fountain, it’s about far more than just finding a secure rental. The community has also been a crucial factor for her.
Build-to-rent can be more expensive week-to-week than traditional options. However, Ms Fountain said the feeling of “home” made it more than worthwhile.
