New SMSF Residential Property Borrowing Rules Start 10 August 2026

What changes for SMSF residential property borrowing on 10 August 2026?

From 10 August 2026, self-managed super funds can no longer enter a new Limited Recourse Borrowing Arrangement to buy residential property. The ban commences under the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 26 June 2026, leaving trustees a 45-day run-in before the rule takes effect.

The restriction applies only to new borrowing for residential property. An SMSF can still buy a house or unit outright using cash the fund already holds, and borrowing for eligible business real property, such as a commercial premises used in a trustee's own business, remains available under the existing rules.

For trustees who were part-way through arranging finance for a residential purchase in the growth corridors around Brisbane, the date on the contract of sale has become the detail that decides what happens next. Buying a house through an SMSF, rather than a unit or apartment, has been a common strategy in these corridors precisely because a detached house sits on its own land, so the borrowing rules around it matter to a wide group of trustees.

Does the contract date or the settlement date decide if my SMSF is grandfathered?

The contract date decides it, not the settlement date. An SMSF that entered into a residential property purchase contract before 10 August 2026 can continue with that acquisition, including the borrowing arrangement behind it, even if settlement does not happen until after the ban starts.

That grandfathering only protects arrangements already in place. A fund that has not signed a contract and established the borrowing arrangement before 10 August 2026 cannot start a new one afterwards, no matter how far along negotiations were beforehand.

Existing residential LRBAs are not touched by the change either way. A loan set up before the commencement date remains valid and can generally be refinanced under the rules that already applied to LRBAs, according to Roberts + Morrow's summary of the transitional provisions.

What can an SMSF still do with residential property after 10 August 2026?

An SMSF can still buy residential property in Queensland after 10 August 2026, provided the fund pays for it without borrowing. Cash purchases using existing fund balances are unaffected by the ban, and business real property borrowing, such as loans for a trustee's own commercial premises, continues under the pre-existing LRBA rules.

That leaves two practical paths for a fund with a residential property in mind. Complete both the contract and the borrowing arrangement before 10 August 2026 to use the fund's borrowing power, or plan to buy afterwards using the fund's own cash, since no new residential LRBA can be started once the ban is in force.

Where are SMSF buyers looking in South-East Queensland right now?

Ipswich and Moreton Bay recorded strong house price growth among South-East Queensland's major corridors in the March quarter of 2026, both tracked in REIQ's regional Market Monitor. Ipswich's median house price reached $901,825, up 5.23% over the quarter and 17.28% over the year, while Moreton Bay's median house price passed $1.053 million, up 5.3% over the same quarter.

Brisbane's median house value was recorded separately at $1,225,350 in the year to June 2026 by Cotality, a different measure taken three months later. The gap between that figure and the corridor medians is part of why buyers, including SMSF trustees, keep looking at Ipswich and Moreton Bay for a lower entry price into a house rather than a unit. Both figures moved in the same direction over their respective periods, growth continuing rather than reversing, which is the backdrop trustees are weighing against the new contract-date deadline.

This is where the completed-home model becomes a relevant fact rather than a pitch. Pearson Bros Homes, which sells finished houses across these corridors under a single contract of sale, lets a buyer contract on a completed property rather than a home still under construction, one less variable for a trustee working against a fixed date.