This generation now owns almost a third of all rental properties

Boomers have become the landlord generation. New figures reveal they hold a record share of rental homes, as negatively geared property owners run up $16 billion worth of losses on their investments, a new high.

In a sign the federal government’s plans to wind back negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions may hit the wider population, the tax office has revealed an increase in the number of young “rentvestors” hoping to build their wealth through property.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers used last month’s budget to argue tax reforms were aimed at bringing the “dream of home ownership within the reach of more young Australians”. The budget restricted negative gearing to new builds and returned CGT concessions to the pre-1999 system of taxing inflation-adjusted increases in asset values.

At a Senate inquiry this week, the property sector warned rents could rise by up to $9 a week because of the impact of the proposed changes on landlords. The government argues the increase is less than $2 a week, with the reforms to put downward pressure on home prices, making them more affordable to young buyers.

The taxation statistics, covering the 2023-24 financial year, confirm the surge in rental properties held by people in their 60s.

In 1999-2000, when the Howard government introduced its 50 per cent CGT concession, there were about 1.2 million landlords. Of that group, 170,000 were 60 or older, and nearly one in 10 was under 30.

By 2023-24, however, over-60s accounted for 27.5 per cent of 2.3 million landlords, holding interests in 642,000 properties. Under-30s now account for just 4.3 per cent of all rentals, while the share held by those in their 30s has slipped from nearly a quarter in 1999-2000 to 18.5 per cent.

The government’s changes to negative gearing and CGT have come under attack by some who claim it will hurt young people who are “rentvestors” – those who are landlords but rent their own home. The tax office data shows properties held by under-30s increased by 5000 over the past 12 months to 100,168.

There was a noticeable lift in the number of under-30s holding a single rental, from fewer than 84,000 in 2022-23 to 88,258 in 2023-24, a figure still short of the 96,269 in that cohort who had a single rental in 1999-2000.

Over the past year, the number of over-60s with one property grew by more than 20,000.

Over-60s dominate the share of Australians with multiple properties. There are now a record 9241 people aged 60 or older with interests in six or more properties, a jump of 595 people in a single year. The number of under-30s with six prope