SMSF property
From 10 August 2026 a new LRBA can only buy business real property. SMSF property is not dead, the funding routes changed. We work out which one your fund can actually use, then execute it end to end.
What actually changed
Any limited recourse borrowing arrangement entered into on or after 10 August 2026 to acquire real property can only be used to buy business real property. In plain terms, a fund can no longer borrow to buy a residential investment property. Nothing else about LRBAs changed, and existing arrangements are grandfathered. What the change really did was shift the conversation from leverage to liquidity and structure.
Six routes we work with
Which one fits depends on the fund balance, the members, who else is involved and what the money is ultimately for.
Buy residential outright
No borrowing, so the fund needs the full price plus duty, costs and a liquidity buffer. We model how long that takes with rollovers, carry-forward and bring-forward contributions, downsizer amounts and additional members.
Business real property with an LRBA
The only real property a new LRBA can fund. Includes the premises your own business trades from, acquired at market value and leased back at market rent. The asset must stay business real property for the whole life of the loan.
Tenants in common with members
The fund buys an unencumbered share, members buy the rest personally with a normal loan. Leverage stays outside super. The fund's share can never carry a charge, and every split must be arm's length.
Non-geared unit trust (Reg 13.22C)
A related trust holds the property and the fund buys units progressively as contributions arrive. The trust can never borrow, and a single breach makes the units in-house assets permanently.
Unrelated trust or syndicate
Where the trust is genuinely unrelated, it can borrow at trust level without breaching the fund's borrowing prohibition. The control test under s70E and non-arm's-length income rules decide whether it holds up.
Grandfathered loans
An LRBA entered into, or a binding contract exchanged, before 10 August 2026 is unaffected. It can be maintained and refinanced for the same asset. Renegotiating the contract is an advice event.
What we do
- SMSF establishment with corporate trustee, or review of the fund you already have
- Investment strategy drafting and annual review, written to survive audit
- Cash flow and contribution modelling: when the fund can realistically buy, and for how much
- Structure selection: outright, business real property, tenants in common, unit trust or outside super
- Property search, due diligence, negotiation and settlement through the buyers agency
- Bare trust and lender coordination where an LRBA applies
- Annual independent audit, SMSF tax return and ongoing administration
- Coordination with your SMSF lawyer for deeds, co-ownership agreements and control questions
What we won’t do
We won’t set up a fund so you can buy a property, and we won’t dress up a marginal commercial asset as a strategy just because it is the only thing you can still borrow for inside super. If the fund isn’t big enough, or the numbers don’t stand up on their own, the honest answer is to build the balance or run the strategy outside super in the right structure. We say that often enough to lose the work.
General information only, not personal financial, tax or legal advice. Control, related-party and in-house asset tests turn on your specific facts, so every structure above needs fund-specific SMSF legal and audit sign-off before you sign anything.
Go deeper
The 2026 lending change, what still works
The rules, the cash arithmetic and the five routes that still get residential into super.
ReadSMSF property FAQs
Borrowing, compliance, related parties, costs, tax and retirement exits.
ReadRetirement planning calculator
Model what the fund needs to hold, and when, to fund the retirement you want.
ReadSMSF Property After the 2026 Lending Change
Residential gearing is gone. Here is what still works inside super.
What the 10 August 2026 LRBA change actually did, the cash arithmetic for an unencumbered purchase, the four strategies that survive (outright, business real property, syndicates, grandfathered loans), a pre-purchase checklist and the cost and tax position.
Get in touch
Not sure your fund can still do what you planned?
Book a strategy call. We'll check where your fund sits against the 10 August 2026 cut-off, model what an unencumbered purchase actually needs, and tell you honestly whether super or your own name is the better home for the next property.
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