Spare Bedroom Tax? A Lazy Distraction from the Real Housing Crisis

Yes, you read that right. Instead of fixing supply, slashing red tape, or making housing affordable to build, the government is floating a tax on older Australians for having an extra room in their home.

At RE4U, we call this what it is: lazy, unfair, and a dangerous distraction from the real solutions Australia desperately needs.

The Real Problem Isn’t Spare Rooms It’s Supply

Everywhere you look, the story is the same. Not enough homes are being built. Builders are collapsing under soaring costs, councils are drowning projects in years of red tape, and state governments keep slapping new taxes and levies on land and development.

By the time a new house hits the market, hundreds of thousands have been added in costs not because of the materials or labour, but because of government charges. Stamp duty, GST, infrastructure levies the list goes on. It is no wonder young people cannot afford to buy.

So, when we hear that the housing shortage is down to retirees “hoarding” bedrooms, we know we are being misled. Empty rooms are not the problem. Broken policy is.

Labor’s Broken Promise

Remember the promise? Labor pledged 1.2 million new homes by 2029. It was a big headline, designed to give people hope. But already the wheels are falling off. Latest forecasts suggest at least 250,000 fewer homes will be built than promised. That is a quarter of a million families left in limbo.

And let’s be real  even the 1.2 million target was not enough. Population growth is roaring back, migration is at record levels, and housing demand is only going up. We need more homes, faster approvals, and real support for construction. Instead, we get cheap politics dressed up as reform.

Why the Spare Bedroom Tax Is Grossly Unfair

We need to call this out for what it is: punishing older Australians for doing the right thing. These are people who worked, saved, and paid taxes their entire lives. They endured mortgage rates above 17% in the 1980s, raised families, and built the communities we live in today.

Now, in retirement, they are being told they are the villains of the housing crisis. It is offensive. It is cruel. And it is wrong.

For many, those extra bedrooms are not “wasted space”  they are memories. They are where children grew up, where grandchildren visit, where community ties run deep. Forcing people to sell or face a tax is not reform. It is bullying.

The Real Solutions Are Harder — But Necessary

If governments were serious about fixing housing, they would roll up their sleeves and tackle the hard stuff. That means:

• Unlocking land supply where people want to live, not on the fringes without transport or jobs.

• Fast-tracking planning approvals so projects are not stuck in council limbo for years.

• Slashing punitive taxes like stamp duty, which locks people into homes they have outgrown and freezes the market.

• Backing builders with policies that help them survive rising costs and keep projects alive.

• Incentivising downsizing with real benefits, not threats. Give older Australians a reason to move if it suits them, don’t punish them if it doesn’t.

These steps are harder than dreaming up a bedroom tax. They require leadership, vision, and courage. But they are the only real way to tackle this crisis.

A Dangerous Distraction

What worries us most at RE4U is the way this policy divides the nation. It pits young people against older Australians, telling one group the other is to blame for a crisis created by government failure. It is classic politics of envy and it solves nothing.

This distraction is dangerous because it shifts the debate away from where it needs to be: fixing supply, cutting costs, and building the homes Australia needs. Every minute spent debating spare bedrooms is a minute wasted while the crisis deepens.

We Deserve Better

Australia deserves leadership that takes the housing crisis seriously. We need governments to stop scapegoating and start delivering. We need homes people can afford to buy, rents people can pay, and a building industry that can survive long enough to deliver.

At RE4U, we believe Australians should demand better. This is not just about the property market  it is about fairness, opportunity, and the future of our kids. The spare bedroom tax is a lazy headline grab. What we need is bold reform.

Until then, we will keep calling this out for what it is: a cruel, divisive distraction that does nothing to put roofs over people’s heads.

Australia does not need a spare bedroom tax. Australia needs homes.

Sources: SBS News & news.com.au