The Turnbull government is looking "closely" at a rent-to-buy scheme for first home buyers similar to that used in Britain, Fairfax Media has confirmed, as MPs rush to fill the void on housing affordability with their own ideas.
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Nationals MP Andrew Broad on Friday floated a proposal to allow renters to buy a home without paying a deposit, if the money they normally spent on rent was commensurate with the mortgage repayments.
The need to save for a 10 to 20 per cent deposit was "beyond reach" for many first home buyers and was unnecessary if a person has a good record of paying rent and a clean credit history, Mr Broad said.
There was "a level of receptiveness" to the idea among colleagues, he told the ABC. "This would be a very good way of helping first home buyers enter the property market without having inflationary pressure on house prices," he said.
Assistant minister to the treasurer Michael Sukkar, who has been charged with formulating the Turnbull government's housing affordability policy, said he welcomed the at-times "weird and wacky ideas" from colleagues.
He confirmed the government was examining a rent-to-buy scheme, modelled on the British system, which had a similar objective to Mr Broad's proposal but worked differently in practice.
The British scheme typically offers new housing stock to lease at 20 per cent below the market rate, with the understanding that renters will use the savings to amass a deposit to buy the property within 10 years.
Britain also allows shared ownership, wherein home buyers can buy a stake in a property and pay rent on the remaining share, which is typically owned by a housing association or private developer.
Mr Sukkar said both ideas were under consideration. "We're looking at [rent-to-buy] very closely," he said. "It has got merit. And shared ownership. They're all good ideas and all very doable in the Australian context."
Mr Broad's proposal was less achievable "because a bank's not going to lend without having assurances", Mr Sukkar said.
The Australian Banking Association confirmed chief executive Steven Münchenberg discussed the idea with Mr Broad, but had no comment.
Housing affordability will be a centrepiece of the May budget and it is understood various policy options are on the table at this stage.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull all-but ruled out changing capital gains tax concessions after a report claimed the government was planning a "crackdown" on the CGT discount to boost the budget bottom line.
Treasurer Scott Morrison examined a number of British housing policies during a visit in January and said he would closely assess those ideas, but noted housing associations did not play as large a role in Australia.
Other Liberal MPs are pushing their own housing affordability fixes. John Alexander, who holds John Howard's old seat of Bennelong, advocates a high-speed rail link between Sydney and Melbourne to open up regional centres.
The only certainty is the government will not countenance Labor's policy of abolishing negative gearing for existing dwellings.
