• The Suburban Land Agency manages the sale of land in the ACT, and EPSDD manages the release of undeveloped land under the leasehold system.
  • Before you buy land, it’s important to read the SLA buyer’s guide to gather all the information you need, understand what checks and contracts you need, and what rates and duties apply.
  • Before you start renovating an existing house, you’ll need to check if you need approval, read the checklists and know the relevant codes and standards.

When you're planning to buy a block of land in the ACT, it’s important to understand the details. You'll need to know about:

  • buying land
  • rates and duties
  • renovating an existing home.

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Buying land

The Suburban Land Agency (SLA) is the authority that sells land in the ACT. They can give you information about:

  • residential land available
  • results of sales.

You can also find out more about the ACT’s leasehold system, which is a way to build your land via leasing for a term of 99 years.

The SLA buyer's guide helps you to:

  • choose the right block of land for you
  • understand more about your block
  • know what questions to ask before you buy
  • design and build your dream home and garden.

Rates and duties

Once you decide to buy your land, the ACT Revenue Office can give you information about the costs. These may include:

  • conveyance duty
  • first home buyer grant
  • rates
  • land tax, and/or
  • mortgage relief.

Renovate a house

If you've bought an existing house and want to renovate it, you'll need to check if you need approvals.

There are a few other things you'll need to do before you start:

  • check the costs to consider
  • understand building contracts
  • read our building and renovation checklists
  • understand the codes and standards.

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