NRAS Investors

Investors are encouraged to seek independent financial, legal and taxation advice before purchasing NRAS properties.

For an investor to be eligible for the government incentives, NRAS requires investors of an approved NRAS property to:

Provide a certificate of occupancy;
Provide market rent valuations at the required intervals during the 10-year incentive period; and
Rent the property to an eligible tenant at least 20% below market rent.

The Benefits of Using Horizon Housing Realty (HHR) as Your NRAS Property Manager

Horizon Housing has been an Approved Participant and Property Manager of the NRAS scheme since its introduction in 2008. Horizon has rolled out over 1700 NRAS properties to approved NRAS tenants since the program's inception and is experienced in tenant selection, property management and NRAS compliance to ensure you receive the maximum incentive each year.

NRAS compliance is undertaken for HHR owners by Australian Affordable Housing Securities (AAHS), one of the companies within our group. AAHS is one of the largest NRAS Approved Participants and is responsible for the compliance management of over 4,500 properties across the country on behalf of its investors and external investors utilising AAHS compliance services.

What Horizon Housing Realty NRAS property management staff will do for you

Manage your Australian Government Tax Free Incentive & your State Government Contribution via AAHS.
Manage the tenancy in accordance with the residential tenancy legislation in the state or territory that the dwelling is located.
Find and appoint a quality tenant:
- Advertise and screen applicants for your property to get quality tenants;
- Assess initial and ongoing tenant eligibility through the collection of written evidence of income as required by DSS and NRAS;
- Process applications PRIOR to conducting property inspections;
- Viewings of properties by prospective (NRAS qualified) applicants;
- Checking of rental references;
- Execution of a lease in accordance with NRAS and residential tenancy regulations and collection of a Bond; and
- Advertising the property for re-tenancy if required (Fees apply).
Maintain the property on your behalf (excluding warrranty issues):
- Produce an Entry Condition report prior to tenanting the property;
- Conduct regular 3-month inspections;
- Organising for maintenance to be carried out during a tenancy and prior to reletting the property; and
- Complete Exit condition reports.
Collection of rent and other charges:
- Manage the determination of market rent and NRAS rent in accordance with NRAS regulations ensuring rents are at least 20% below market value rents;
- Recouping of water consumption charges from the tenant; and
- Monitoring rent payments and pursuing rent arrears from as early as 4 days after the rent is due.
Payment of your rates and Body Corporate Fees (extra 1% of market rent charge applies for this service).
Ensure compliance with valuation requirements, tenant eligibility, rent levels and other regulatory NRAS compliance requirements
Collect and retain tenancy compliance records to enable the lodgement of the annual NRAS Statement of Compliance.
Act on owner’s behalf regarding tenancy issues:
- Handle disputes; and
- Represent the owner at court attendance (Fees apply).

End of NRAS Allocation

Once your NRAS incentive allocation has expired you will no longer receive the annual NRAS refundable tax offset and incentive payment (after the final incentive has been processed) and you will need to consider your options for your investment property. HHR will continue to ensure that your tenant/s meet the eligibility requirements of the scheme right up until the end of your NRAS period in order to maximise your final incentive payment. Click here for more information.

Rights & Obligations

HHR will manage your property in accordance with NRAS regulations and residential tenancy legislation in the state or territory that the property is located.

HHR will ensure that you receive the Commonwealth, State or Territory contribution of your NRAS incentive within a timely manner and always within 90 days of receipt of payment.

Investors will ensure the property is in good condition and fit for the tenant to live in, in accordance with state or territory residential tenancy legislation, ensuring repairs are carried out within a reasonable time.

Approve completion of a formal independent market rent valuation of the property in years 4 and 7 of the NRAS incentive allocation, engaged by HHR or provide a compliant valuation yourself.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I receive my incentive?

The lodgement period for incentive claims is 1 May to 30 June (every year). This is when the Approved Participant is responsible for lodging the claim for the previous NRAS year (1 May to 30 April). Once the claim is lodged it will be processed by the government department and then disbursed to pay to owners

Can I do anything to get my incentive sooner?

The Department of Social Services receives a high volume of claims for incentives every year and processes them as quickly as possible. This includes auditing and compliance of properties which Horizon Housing is also responsible to assist with. There is nothing owners can do to receive payments any sooner.

How will I receive my incentive?

The incentives come from both the relevant State Government and Federal Government. The state portion of the incentive will always be paid as cash (direct transfer into your nominated bank account). The Federal incentive is either paid by cash or refundable tax offset certificate (RTO). The RTO is a certificate that is generated from information provided to Horizon Housing. You will receive this in electronic and hard copy form. The RTO should be taken to your accountant and used to offset your income tax for that year.

What is an NRAS Year?

The NRAS Year is similar to a financial year; the period is from 1 May to 30 April each year.

How are the claims lodged? Do I need to do anything?

Horizon Housing Realty will lodge the claims for you during the lodgement period 1 May to 30 June each year. We aim to have these completed for every owner on the first day of the period. Owners do not need to complete anything to lodge the claim.

How much will I receive?

The amount you receive will depend on how long the property was tenanted in compliance with the NRAS regulations during the NRAS year being claimed for. If your property was tenanted for the entire year you should receive a full incentive. The incentive amounts are adjusted every year in line with the CPI Index. View up to date incentive amounts here.

If my property was vacant during the year will I lose any incentive?

No incentive is available for an NRAS year (the current NRAS year) if the property is vacant for a period of more than 26 weeks during the current NRAS year (whether or not the period is continuous) or a continuous period of more than 26 weeks that begins no more than 26 weeks before the end of the previous NRAS year.

If the property is vacant for a period of 13 weeks (whether or not the period is continuous) or was vacant for a continuous period beginning no more than 13 weeks before the end of the previous NRAS year, but the vacancy period is less than 26 weeks, your incentive will be reduced proportionally for the period between 13 and 26 weeks.

Do I have to wait for the incentive payment before I do my tax?

Owners should contact their accountant for advice on this.

Why do I have to have valuations completed?

An independent written valuation of the market value rent is required for each dwelling when it first becomes available for rent under the NRAS and at the end of the fourth and seventh years of the approved rental dwelling's 10-year incentive period. Properties must be rented at a rate that is at least 20 per cent below the market value rent. HHR is required to comply with the prescribed methods for determining market rent and must notify DSS of the market rate when first renting an approved NRAS property and in years 4 and 7 of the NRAS incentive period. The cost of these valuations is the responsibility of the Owner.

When can rent increases be implemented?

Rent must always be charged at 20% below the market value rent. Rent is calculated based on the market rent valuation in year one and at the end of years 4 and 7. In other years the NRAS Market Index is applied. Increases (or decreases) should be applied (subject to state residential tenancy requirements) on the NRAS activation anniversary date. Charging more than 80% of market value rent for any period during an NRAS year will result in a loss of incentive payment to the Investor

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