Warren is planning a tree change but wants to know the effect of buying a property on five titles.
•••
Q. Warren
I have been getting a part pension for two years and am now looking at moving from the city to Elmhurst in Victoria. The property I am looking to buy is about 13 acres and is on five titles zoned residential with an existing house. I am not going to participate in any business activities and the property has heavy coverage of trees over most of it. Will my existing part pension be affected by this move?
A. Normally, only two hectares of land on the same title as your main home are exempt from the assets test.
There are some exemptions that apply but one of the requirements is a 20-year connection to the land, which you will not have in this situation. That means that just over three hectares of the property at least will be assessed under the assets test.
The land being held on multiple titles is interesting. Three exceptions exist to the rule requiring land adjacent to the principal home to be held on one title document.
Under the three exceptions, land held on more than one title document can be treated as if it were held on the same title document as the person’s dwelling-house. The exceptions are:
- where the dwelling-house is located on both blocks of land, or
- where all or part of the blocks of land are protected by a law because of the land’s natural, historic or Indigenous heritage, or
- where the alienation of one of the blocks would seriously undermine the function of the house as a dwelling.
If you enjoy our content, don’t keep it to yourself. Share our free eNews with your friends and encourage them to sign up.
Related articles:
Retirees need not live in poverty
Retirement ‘pillar’ is crumbling
How to handle a robo-debt
Disclaimer: All content on YourLifeChoices website is of a general nature and has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. It has been prepared with due care but no guarantees are provided for the ongoing accuracy or relevance. Before making a decision based on this information, you should consider its appropriateness in regard to your own circumstances. You should seek professional advice. from a financial planner, lawyer or tax agent in relation to any aspects that affect your financial and legal circumstances.