Appendix 1 Acquisition Criteria and Guidance

Properties in Community Titles Schemes (Body Corporates)

JCU should seek to acquire property that is part of a Community Titles Scheme (Body Corporate) in the first instance.

Rationale:

• Multiple dwelling properties provide additional safety for the occupants owing to the nature of the asset, and act as passive security when the property is unoccupied.
• Removal of obligation on JCU to maintain common areas such as driveways, roofs, and pools.

Bedroom to bathroom ratio

Where the market permits, JCU seeks to acquire property with a ratio of 1 bathroom for every 2 bedrooms.

Rationale:

• This ratio allows the average occupant enough time in the bathroom per day.
• A high ratio of bedrooms to bathrooms may negatively impact the student experience due to delays in using bathroom facilities when needed.

Further guidance:

• Often the layout of residential homes with a 4 bedroom and 2 bathroom configuration means the master bedroom is serviced by an ensuite, meaning the ideal ratio is not maintained. In certain circumstances lesser ratios may be considered
• Most grants allow the purchase of up to homes with up to 4 bedrooms as they are most common and options in remote areas are limited.

Parking

JCU seeks to acquire properties which provide secure parking for the number of bedrooms in the property where possible. Parking is considered ‘secure’ if located in a garage or behind a secure gate.

Rationale:

• Provision of secure parking where possible contributes to a positive student experience.

Further guidance:

• Sufficient parking is often challenging in residential settings as the design of most residential properties does not provide more than 2 secure vehicle parks.
• Where the ideal number of secure parks does not exist, the property should be in a location with sufficient on-street parking immediately adjacent to the property.
• Consideration should also be given to access – for example, if there is a double garage and driveway that accommodates up to 4 vehicles, access issues are likely to arise as 2 vehicles may be “parked in”, particularly when placement involves shiftwork.
• Street parking is less problematic in rural/remote areas as footpaths are less common in residential areas.

Price

When assessing the suitability of a property being considered for acquisition, it will be assessed against the asking price.

Rationale:

• If the property isn’t suitable based on asking price, it should not be considered.

Security

JCU seeks to acquire properties which are safe and secure in order to ensure the safety of both the occupants whilst residing at the property, as well as the safety of the asset during vacant periods.

Rationale:

• JCU has a duty of care to uphold student safety, and this also contributes to a positive student experience.
• Properties may be vacant from time to time – having security measures in place such as security lighting and security screens reduces the likelihood of property damage and may reduce insurance costs in some cases.

Further guidance:

• The average residential property is not designed for multiple occupants who may be unknown to each other, nor for it to remain uninhabited for weeks at a time, therefore most properties being considered for acquisition will require upgrades to the security, such as additional lighting, security screening, key locks on bedroom doors, lock boxes for spare keys, etc. This cost should be taken into consideration when assessing suitability and asking price.

Modifications

JCU seeks to acquire properties which do not require any significant modifications in order to be considered suitable.

Rationale:

• The current market should allow JCU to purchase a suitable property without needing to consider significant modifications.
• Grant funding usually does not include significant modifications to properties.
• In most cases, properties need to be occupied as soon as possible after settlement, and carrying out significant modifications is usually a lengthy process which will delay occupation.

Further guidance:

• JCU does not support modification of living areas in acquired properties to increase the number of bedrooms. This practice diminishes the student experience through reducing general living space and opportunity for social interactions between occupants, and increases the bedroom to bathroom ratio. The possibility of modifications of this nature should not be considered favourably when assessing the suitability of a property for acquisition.