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Peter Simms believes Australia can do a lot better on lifestyle property developments.
It’s why Simms, a Victorian-based developer, has pioneered a new housing model that he said delivers more peace of mind – and affordability – for downsizers.
He calls it the country’s “first true micro suburb model for downsizers where residents not only own their home but also have a registered interest in the land it sits on”.
The big difference to the status quo, he said, is that the projects give residents ownership of homes as well as long-duration registered leasehold titles that run for more than 250 years. “This is about fixing a broken system,” Simms, founder of Land Title Communities, told AC.
“For too long, Australians have been told they can downsize into retirement living but, in reality, they’re giving up one of the most important things they have ever owned – their land.
“People think they’re buying into security but, in many cases, they’re not actually owning the land. That creates long-term uncertainty.
“The reality is people are selling the family home, often their biggest asset, and moving into arrangements that don’t offer the same level of control or security.”
With four developments underway in Victoria, Simms said the company is just getting going. He wants to expand operations nationwide to play his part in easing the housing crisis.
Key to the model’s broad utility, he added, is that it creates small, master- planned communities on underused land with fast construction and smart-sized homes at low cost.
“We could have a three-bedroom, two-bathroom with a townhouse size block leasehold lot, let’s say of 260 square metres, for really around the $400,000 mark,” he said.
The efforts come as the Albanese government continues to grapple with the chronic housing shortage. It’s currently racing to meet its target of 1.2 million new builds by mid-2029.
The government, which made tackling the crisis a key plank of its 2025 election campaign, has so far completed 307,635 homes, leaving it about 100,000 homes behind schedule. As a result, it needs to build more than 274,000 homes each year, about 69,000 per quarter.
The squeeze, along with interest rate rises and stubbornly high demand, has pushed housing affordability to record lows.
Nationwide, house prices have surged by roughly 40 per cent over the past five years, according to official data, with values in major cities such as Sydney sitting at up to 14 times the average income.
Against this backdrop, public and private sectors have been looking for innovative solutions. Prefab and modular housing kits, build-to-rent schemes, equity share models and tiny houses have all been proposed as ways to help improve the situation on the ground.
Diaswati Mardiasmo, chief economist at PRD Real Estate, sees potential in the model being pioneered by Simms.
Mardiasmo points, for instance, to upfront costs potentially being 30 to 50 per cent lower compared with buying freehold residential property.
There are also usually speedier delivery times, the property expert said. It “can be delivered in months not years”.
Another upside, she said, is that the type of development suits an ageing population.
“The assumption is that an ageing population can need a much smaller space, even with less amenities, in return for lower costs and higher security,” she told AC. “This is in comparison to say a family with small children and pets, who are assumed to be needing more space and amenities.”
Mardiasmo’s conclusion is that “long-term land lease can be a strong part of the housing solution especially for downsizers and lower income households. However, it’s not one size fits all and must be paired with other delivery methods”.
Goro Gupta, CEO of Ethical Property Investments, agrees that long-term residential leases could have a part to play in tackling housing issues across the country.
According to Melbourne-based Gupta, a big challenge, however, is that landlords are often dissuaded from offering longer terms due to a lack of certainty under current laws.
“Most landlords who I speak to would happily offer a two, three or even five-year lease if they had confidence the tenant would pay rent on time, look after the property, and that the lease would provide genuine certainty for both parties,” Gupta related to AC.
“Over the past few years, we’ve strengthened tenant protections, which is important. However, in some cases, the balance has shifted to the point where landlords feel they carry more of the risk.
“If a tenant can exit a long-term lease relatively easily, many landlords understandably question the value of offering one in the first place.”
He urges lawmakers to look overseas, especially to Europe, for how to rework the area.
Germany and Switzerland, for instance, have some of the lowest home ownership rates in the region, with incentives skewed towards long-term renting, according to University of Queensland urban planning academic Dorina Pojani.
Fixed-term tenancies there can range up to 30 years, providing security for tenants, while strong tenant protections also make renting in those countries more attractive.
This contrasts with Australia, where an average initial fixed rental agreement is 12 months.
Indeed, very few renters have a fixed-term lease that runs for even two years (six per cent) or longer (five per cent), according to consumer group Choice.
A fifth of renters are on a rolling or periodic lease and 11 per cent have a fixed-term lease for six months or less, it said.
As Gupta puts it: “In several European countries, leases of two to five years are common because both landlords and tenants have clearly defined rights and obligations, creating confidence on both sides”.
“The conversation shouldn’t be about whether tenants or landlords deserve more protection. It should be about creating a framework where both parties have enough certainty to commit to longer-term arrangements,” he added.
Gupta’s view is that, with the right fixes, “we’ll see more landlords willing to offer longer leases, giving tenants the stability and peace of mind they’re increasingly looking for”.
George Markoski, founder of Positive Property, an investment firm, said long-term leases are already becoming more popular on the back of changing market conditions.
One part of what’s going on, he said, is more demand for longer leases due to “a rental market that has been chronically undersupplied for years”.
“Families want stability in a market where rents have surged and when a good tenant finds a property that works for them, they want to stay,” Markoski told AC.
Also in play, according to the property expert, is a change in “investor consciousness”.
“RBA movement is keeping borrowing costs front of mind and growing uncertainty around potential SMSF restrictions has investors thinking harder about what they can control,” he said.
“A long-term lease is one of the few levers available to them right now, because it locks in income, reduces exposure to vacancy cycles and creates stability when the policy environment feels uncertain.
“Even the investors who used to fear a long lease are now starting to see it as an asset.”
He sees the trend most pronounced in middle ring suburbs of major cities and in “stronger regional centres”, particularly in Queensland and parts of Western Australia.
“In those markets there simply isn’t enough stock for tenants to be flexible, so longer leases become a negotiating tool,” he said. “Family homes in good school catchments are where you’re seeing the longest commitments because families have the most to lose from being displaced mid-lease.”
Simms agreed, saying long-duration registered leasehold titles provide peace of mind.
The concept was formed, he said, after seeing caravan parks being redeveloped in the early 2000s, a change that left many retirees with homes but nowhere secure to place them.
“That was a turning point,” he said. “I saw firsthand how vulnerable people were when they didn’t have land security.”
When it comes to lease durations, the company, founded in 2005, initially offered 99-year terms but then “people started asking what happens after 99 years”.
Simms discovered potential buyers, including those with heritage from places such as China where a property history can stretch thousands of years, wanted land for much longer.
It prompted the company to offer lease terms starting at 250 years on its developments , which are located at Cowes, Portland, St Leonards and Wyndham Cove.
Simms said with demand strong, the company has its sights set on expansion.
“The limitation is the locations we’ve got, it’s only for those particular spots that we have,” he said.
“However, if we had more areas within the state or the country, it would open up for a lot more people,” he said, noting Queensland, Tasmania and South Australia as target markets.
“Queensland is the next cab off the rank but there’s a lot to do in Victoria – there’s hundreds of thousands of homes that they need to get built and there are some great spots.”
Shakila Maclean, owner of All Hours Conveyancing and president of the Australian Institute of Conveyancers Victorian division, said many older clients are looking for smaller, lower-maintenance homes such as single-level units, townhouses or apartments.
She said lifestyle developments are likely to become increasingly popular, provided they remain affordable and offer flexibility for residents.
“We find buyers are often attracted by the lower-maintenance lifestyle, community facilities and the opportunity to remain independent,” she said.
“There’s also the very practical appeal of less maintenance and, let’s be honest, who doesn’t like the idea of never having to mow the lawn again? “
But she cautions older house hunters to understand exactly what they’re buying into.
This should include review of the property’s legal structure - whether it is freehold, strata, leasehold or license arrangements – as well as fees for management, maintenance, exit or deferred management. Other important considerations are restrictions on property selling or transferring, services and facilities included and whether there are refurbishment obligations on selling.
“Retirement developments aren’t quite the same as a standard residential purchase,” Maclean said.
“They often have their own contractual arrangements and ongoing obligations, so it’s important to understand exactly what you’re signing up for before you commit.”
Prospective buyers should seek independent legal advice before signing, she added.
Understanding the financial commitments, exit arrangements and any restrictions upfront “can help avoid unexpected costs or surprises later on”.
The comments come amidst reports of dodgy dealing in retirement property.
These include claims of “cunningly designed rip-offs” and “corporatised elder abuse” by some players targeting vulnerable elderly members of the community,
Housing for the Aged Action Group, an organisation specialising in the housing needs of older people, warns buyers to be on high alert.
It said Australian seniors should act with caution in the booming “over-55 communities” market, including in projects referred to as “lifestyle communities” or “lifestyle villages”.
For instance, it says buyers can be under the impression that they’re getting into retirement villages when the projects are actually governed by state caravan park laws.
“They’re essentially caravan parks, except you don’t put a caravan on the plot of land – you buy a building that sits on it,” HAAG said.
“And, as with caravans, you don’t buy the land – you rent it, sometimes on a short lease.
“The developer retains full ownership of the land and once it appreciates in value can decide to do something else with it. In at least some states it can serve a notice to vacate with six months’ notice,” it warned.
“Residents in this situation have sometimes been forced to cut the building into pieces small enough to go on the back of a truck and take it somewhere else.”
Simms, by contrast, said his projects are about building “not just a home but a future”.
“Your home is not just a structure, it represents security, independence and peace of mind,” he said.
“When people downsize, they shouldn’t feel like they’re stepping backwards.”