Developers should not have to hold a licence in the ACT to construct properties they will continue to manage, including retirement villages, build-to-rent sites and student accommodation, in an effort to encourage investment, an industry group says.
But the territory's Building Minister has rubbished the proposal, telling the group to "stop flogging a dead horse".
The Property Council has called for the ACT government to rethink its developer licensing scheme, which passed the Legislative Assembly last week.
Gino Luglietti, the council's interim ACT executive director, said existing exemptions for community housing operators should be extended to assets built, owned and operated by developers.
"While we have welcomed developer licenses to strengthen consumer confidence and weed out those few bad apples, the Bill contains several major flaws that will jeopardise housing investment," Mr Luglietti said.
"Capital goes where capital is welcomed, and right now it is most definitely not welcomed in the ACT."
Building Minister Rebecca Vassarotti effectively ruled out the change and accused the council of scaremongering and deflection, declaring any developer who was not prepared to fix defects in their buildings was not welcome in the ACT.
"With the Developer Licensing Bill passed unanimously in the ACT Legislative Assembly last week, I would love for the Property Council to move on and stop flogging a dead horse," Ms Vassarotti said.
Ms Vassarotti said the government had engaged heavily with industry in the four-year period the licensing scheme was considered.
"It is baffling that the Property Council wants carve outs for developer owned and operated buildings. If the developers they represent own these buildings, surely they would have no issue being responsible, keeping them safe and functional," she said.
"The ACT government's modelling has already shown that developer licensing will not have any impact on housing investment in the ACT."
Mr Luglietti said "stifling red tape" would strangle investment in build-to-rent, student accommodation and retirement village development.
"The legislation as passed sends a clear message to national and international investors that their capital is not welcome in the ACT," he said.
Daniel Gannon, executive director of the Property Council's retirement living council, said the ACT's "unnecessary layers of homewrecking red tape" were "frankly bizarre".
"At a time when the number of Canberrans aged over 75 is set to increase by 75 per cent between now and 2040, government needs to be doubling down to plan and prepare for these significant socio-economic changes rather than turning a mole hill into a mountain," Mr Gannon said.
"Given these communities are keeping people away from the GP, out of hospital beds and delaying entry into aged care facilities, governments should be doing everything they can to unleash more of them - not less."
The ACT branch of the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union last week welcomed the introduction of developer licensing, which union-commissioned polling showed was supported by 77 per cent of Canberrans.
"For too long dodgy developers have been allowed to enter and operate in the ACT market with impunity and it's only after they create chaos that the regulator can step in. The developer licensing scheme passed this week is a vital step to ending that era," branch secretary Zach Smith said.
