ENABLE OBSERVER

Editorial and Industry Observations | Multi-Tenant Property Specialists

What we're seeing on the ground. Not advice.

13 September 2026

Market Briefing

Why more investors are choosing to build a rooming house instead of buying one

Co-Living News, 13 September 2026

2.64M

Lone person households in Australia in 2021, growing towards almost 4 million by 2046

$615/wk

Melbourne median house rent in August 2026, the most affordable of the eight capitals

New builds exempt

From the negative gearing changes affecting established homes from 1 July 2027

$1.9M

Recent Melbourne asking price for a comparable already built eight room rooming house

Key dates this week

25 Nov 2025Victoria's rooming house rent increase notice period moved from 60 to 90 days.27
1 Jul 2027Negative gearing quarantine begins for eligible established homes bought after 12 May 2026. New builds are excluded.20 21
1 Jul 2027The 50% CGT discount is replaced with cost base indexation and a 30% minimum tax on net capital gains.20

Renting alone, or with people who are not family, is no longer the exception in Australia. It is one of the fastest growing ways people live, and it is reshaping what good rental accommodation needs to look like.

Purpose built rooms now combine private ensuites, proper soundproofing, secure digital locks and managed, regulated tenancies. The aim is to design out the compromises people associate with the old share house model.

The builder's view

Enable Group holds both commercial and residential builder's licences and focuses on rooming houses, co-living developments and Specialist Disability Accommodation. This publication brings together the market data, asking prices, rules and tax settings we use when assessing a project. It is observation, not personal advice. Always verify the figures and speak with your own advisers before acting.

The demand behind the decision

A structural shift in how Australians live

Australia already had 2.64 million people living alone in 2021. The Australian Bureau of Statistics projects that figure could grow to almost four million by 2046. Group households, unrelated people sharing a home, are projected to grow at a similar pace, while Greater Melbourne alone may add close to a million households over the same period.1 2

Household measure	2021	2046 projection
Lone person households, Australia	2.64 million	3.44 to 3.96 million
Group households, Australia	405,672	506,371 to 608,518
All households, Greater Melbourne	1.88 million	2.77 to 2.86 million

Long run scenario ranges, not a forecast of the number of rooms to build. Source 1.

What this data does, and does not, say

It supports the case for a long term shift in household formation. It does not guarantee that a room in a particular suburb will lease. Every address still needs its own rental appraisal and feasibility.

What a room is actually renting for

Advertised weekly asking rents, verified 13 September 2026

The properties responding to this demand are not the shared houses many people still picture. A modern rooming house is designed around privacy first: private ensuites in almost every room, individual digital locks, proper acoustic separation and managed tenancies with real compliance behind them.

Advertised room rents across Melbourne's growth corridors and middle suburbs vary mostly by location, bathroom arrangement and whether bills are included. Every figure below is quoted by the advertiser as a weekly rent, so the comparison is like for like. These are asking rents, not achieved leases, and a single advertisement is not a rental appraisal.

Suburb	Advertised weekly rent	Bathroom	Bills
Craigieburn	$400 per week	Private ensuite	Included
Oakleigh East, near Monash Clayton	$370 per week	Private ensuite	Not stated
Clayton, near Monash University	$350 per week	Private ensuite	Not stated
Glen Waverley	$350 per week	Private ensuite	Included
Epping	$320 per week	Private ensuite	Not stated
Chadstone	$310 per week	Private ensuite	Not stated
Box Hill, licensed rooming house rate card	$284 per week	Private ensuite	Included
Box Hill, licensed rooming house rate card	$254 per week	Shared bathroom	Included
Pakenham	$220 per week	Private ensuite	Included
Box Hill, licensed rooming house rate card	$201 per week	Shared bathroom	Included

Advertised asking rents for a single occupant, verified 13 September 2026. These are asking rents, not achieved leases. Every figure is stated by the advertiser as a weekly rent. Sources 5 to 12.

Want a site specific rental appraisal?

A Discovery Session can include an independent appraisal from the property managers we work with, so your starting numbers are based on your street, not a suburb wide average.

Book a Discovery Session

What it costs to buy one already built

And why building can cost considerably less

Existing rooming houses currently advertised across Melbourne's west and outer south east range from under a million dollars for a six room property to well over two million for a newly built nine room asset. These are advertised asking prices, not completed sales.

Suburb	Rooms	Advertised price	Status
Werribee	6	$940,000 to $1,025,000	Existing
Sydenham	8	$1,195,000	Existing
Doncaster	8	$1,300,000 to $1,390,000	Existing
Deer Park	9	$1,750,000	Purpose built, new
Melton	9	$1,675,000 to $1,720,000	Under construction
Laverton	8	$1,900,000	Advertised, brand new
Altona Meadows	9	$2,350,000	Advertised, newly built

Advertised asking prices checked 13 September 2026, not completed sales. Sources 13 to 19.

Compare a build against these prices

Because we build only this asset class and carry no project marketer's commission or display suite, building new can land well below the asking prices above, in some cases $100,000 to $300,000 or more depending on the site, specification and current market pricing. We will not know the number for your site until we look at it, and neither should anyone quoting you one who has not.

Book a Discovery Session

Tax settings changing around you

Items to raise with your accountant before acting

Two significant tax changes were confirmed in the 2026 to 27 Federal Budget, while a rooming house sits in a different GST category from an ordinary residential rental. None of this is advice. It is information your accountant should consider in relation to your own structure.

What is changing	Detail	Applies from
Negative gearing quarantine	Losses on established homes bought after 12 May 2026 can no longer offset wages or other income. New builds are excluded from this restriction.	1 July 2027
CGT discount replaced	The 50% CGT discount is replaced with cost base indexation and a 30% minimum tax on net capital gains for assets acquired after 12 May 2026.	1 July 2027
GST on rooming houses	Rooming houses and boarding houses are commercial residential premises under GST law and taxed differently from an ordinary residential rental.	Current law

General information only, not tax advice. Sources 20 to 23.

Bring the right professionals in early

Enable Group works with accountants familiar with this asset class. If you would like an introduction during a Discovery Session, ask us. You remain free to choose your own advisers.

Book a Discovery Session

The compliance layer that protects the investment

Planning and building classification are separate tests

A rooming house is governed by at least two separate tests. Meeting one does not satisfy the other. Getting this wrong after construction starts is far more expensive than resolving it on paper first.

Victoria extended the required notice period for a rooming house rent increase from 60 to 90 days on 25 November 2025. It is a practical reminder that this is an actively regulated sector, not an unregulated grey area, and that the compliance calendar keeps moving.26 27

Test	Threshold	Governs
Victorian planning exemption	No more than 300 square metres, 12 residents and 9 bedrooms, plus shared entry and communal space rules	Whether a planning permit is required
NCC Class 1b classification	No more than 12 people and total floor area no more than 300 square metres	Building classification, fire, access and safety

Two separate tests. Meeting one does not satisfy the other. Sources 24 to 25.

Specialist building experience

This asset class sits across residential design, commercial style compliance and operating requirements. That is why specialist due diligence should start before drawings are locked in, and why Enable Group holds both commercial and residential builder's licences rather than treating this as a sideline.

What this means for co-living investors

Before you commit to a site, check

1The real advertised rents for comparable rooms nearby.
2What an existing rooming house of similar size is currently asking on the open market.
3Whether your site meets Victoria's planning exemption thresholds or needs a permit.
4How the new build exemption to the negative gearing changes, and GST on commercial residential premises, apply to your structure.
5Who is actually licensed to build to this standard.

This edition is Enable Group's own observation of the market, not personal financial, legal or tax advice. Always verify the figures and check your position with a qualified adviser before acting. If you would like to test these numbers against a real site, book a Discovery Session and we will come back with what is genuinely possible for you.

Enable Observer is a collation of publicly available data and industry observations by Enable Group. It is general information only, not financial, legal, tax or investment advice. Figures are drawn from the third-party sources listed below and may change. Seek advice from qualified professionals before acting.

Rents, sale prices and asking figures in this edition were checked on 13 September 2026 and are snapshots, not achieved outcomes. Room rents are shown as weekly figures exactly as quoted by each advertiser, so no conversion has been applied. Classified listings expire, and regulatory settings, tax treatment and market conditions can change after this date. Always confirm current figures independently before acting.