Private lender for Canberra and ACT business owners

Canberra is the one Australian capital where property is held on leasehold rather than freehold. Leasehold is the ACT’s system of land tenure: you hold a Crown lease from the Territory, usually for 99 years for residential land, and the lease sets out what the land may be used for. For a private lender, that’s not a problem. It is, though, something to understand properly before you offer a Canberra property as security.

Below we cover private, property-secured business lending on ACT leasehold land: what the lender actually takes security over, why the purpose clause matters, how lease variations can affect an exit, and how duty and settlement work in the Territory. The lender lends right across Australia and has no Canberra office; ACT loans settle electronically like everywhere else.

What is a lender’s security over Canberra property?

Elsewhere, a mortgage is over freehold land. In the ACT, it is over the lessee’s interest under a Crown lease. The ACT Government describes a Crown lease as setting out your rights and obligations for the land, and leases are lodged with the Registrar-General, so mortgages and caveats over them are recorded on the ACT register just like any other dealing.

The parts of a Crown lease a lender reads closely:

Lease feature	What the ACT Government says	Why a lender cares
Term	A residential lease is usually for 99 years; a further lease can be sought from the Territory Planning Authority	A long remaining term supports saleability
Purpose clause	Land and buildings may only be used for purposes the lease authorises	Limits who could buy and what the property earns
Development covenant	Building generally must be completed within 24 months of the lease starting	Relevant to vacant or newly granted land
Withdrawal clause	Where included, the Territory may withdraw land in certain cases	Can affect security over part of a site
Maintenance	The lessee must keep buildings and land in repair	Condition affects any sale

None of this stops a Canberra property being good security. It means the assessment covers the lease document as well as the bricks.

Why can a purpose clause make or break an exit?

A property is only worth what someone can lawfully do with it. If a Fyshwick warehouse lease permits industrial and bulky goods retailing uses, the pool of buyers is broad. If a lease names one narrow use, fewer buyers will want it, and an exit by sale becomes slower.

Two practical points follow:

• Current use should match the lease. If your business operates outside the purpose clause, raise it at the start. It affects both the exit and the lender’s comfort.
• Plans to change the use take time. If your exit depends on adding a use or increasing what can be built, the lease must be varied.

Where variation is needed, the ACT applies a Lease Variation Charge. The ACT Government lists standard chargeable variations under section 331 (such as increasing the number of dwellings, or the maximum gross floor area under a commercial or industrial lease) and non-standard ones under section 332, assessed case by case, including adding or deleting a use from the purpose clause. The final charge isn’t set until a development application is approved.

For a developer, that means the charge and the approval timetable belong in the loan plan from day one. Our pre-construction costs page covers funding DAs and holding costs against existing property.

How are ACT mortgages and caveats lodged?

Access Canberra runs land titles in the Territory. Unlike NSW, Victoria or WA, e-conveyancing in the ACT isn’t compulsory: Access Canberra says you don’t have to use it, and paper documents remain available. In practice, the ACT uses PEXA, and the five most common transactions are available there:

• discharge of mortgage;
• transfer;
• new mortgage;
• caveat, standalone;
• withdrawal of caveat, standalone.

Some dealings must still be on paper, including titles with certain Crown lease restrictions. Self-represented parties can’t use PEXA, and caveats lodged in person go through the Dickson Specialised Centre by appointment.

On caveats, Access Canberra’s guidance note makes three useful points. A caveat must protect an interest in the land. The Registrar-General doesn’t decide whether the claim is valid at lodgement. And under section 108 of the Land Titles Act 1925, lodging a caveat without reasonable cause can make the caveator liable to compensate anyone who suffers damage. A lender with a signed loan agreement granting a charge over the lease has a proper basis; see registered mortgage for how a full mortgage compares.

For lapsing, Access Canberra provides Form 038 ALX, an Application for lapsing of a caveat. We couldn’t confirm the current notice period from an official page, so check it with the Land Titles Office or your solicitor. Because of that uncertainty, a Canberra caveat loan that needs to run for more than a few months is usually converted to a registered second mortgage, which a caveat loan can do later.

How does conveyance duty work for ACT business property?

The ACT has been moving away from conveyance duty, and commercial buyers feel it most. According to the ACT Revenue Office:

• From 1 July 2026, commercial property valued at $2.1m or less pays no conveyance duty. The threshold was $2m in 2025–26.
• Above the threshold, duty applies to the total transaction value, not just the amount over it.
• The transfer must be lodged with Access Canberra within 14 days of settlement, and duty is payable 14 days after the title is registered.

So a Mitchell business buying its $1.8m premises may pay no duty at all, while a buyer of a larger Phillip office block faces duty on the full price soon after registration. Either way, private funds secured on another property can cover a deposit, a duty bill or a settlement gap until a bank refinance lands. To see what your property supports, make a quick enquiry.

What should buyers know about ACT contracts?

Access Canberra’s buyer and seller guide describes the residential process. Sellers provide a building and compliance inspection report, a pest inspection report and an energy efficiency rating statement. A five clear working day cooling-off applies to residential sales, but not to sales at auction or by tender, and corporations are excluded. Settlement usually takes place 30 to 90 days after signing.

For a company buyer, the lesson is simple: line up funding before you sign.

Which ACT properties carry private loans?

• Industrial and trade estates in Fyshwick, Mitchell and Hume.
• Town centre offices and shops in Belconnen, Woden, Tuggeranong, Gungahlin and Phillip.
• Homes and investment units across Canberra’s suburbs, offered as security for a business purpose.
• Development sites held under Crown lease, assessed case by case alongside the lease terms.

Just over the border, Queanbeyan, Jerrabomberra and Googong are NSW land under NSW rules; see Sydney and NSW lending for how those settle.

How a Canberra private loan comes together

1. Enquiry. Address, lease type if you know it, debts, amount and exit. No credit check.
2. Specialist review. The specialist reads the Crown lease details and tests the exit.
3. Letter of Offer. Pricing reflects security, LVR, term and exit; a small assessment fee is shown.
4. Signing. With your own solicitor.
5. Settlement. Usually through PEXA, with paper used where the lease requires it.

Expect a second mortgage or caveat loan to be priced above a first mortgage, since it sits behind the bank in priority. Our page on how second mortgages rank explains priority.

Two ACT scenarios

Illustrative example: a Mitchell joinery needs $300k for a new CNC machine and a wages buffer while a government fit-out contract ramps up. The directors’ Crown lease over their industrial unit is debt-free and its purpose clause matches the business. A private first mortgage over the lease funds the business for 12 months, with contract payments and a bank refinance as the exit.

Illustrative example: a Belconnen café owner needs $60k to clear an ATO debt. His home in Macgregor carries a bank loan with room behind it. A caveat loan over the residential lease funds the next day, and the café’s tax refund and a small refinance repay it within four months.

Who suits a Canberra private loan?

Suits: lessees with real equity, a dated exit and a lease that matches how the property is used.

Doesn’t suit: borrowers relying on an uncertain lease variation as their only exit, personal or home-buying purposes, or anyone without a way out inside 24 months.

Other states and territories

The ACT’s leasehold model is unique among the jurisdictions we cover. Compare it with Melbourne, where commercial duty is being replaced by an annual tax, or Brisbane and its three-month caveat clock. Western Australia’s offer and acceptance contracts are on the Perth page, South Australia’s duty-free commercial transfers on the Adelaide page, and Tasmania’s newer e-conveyancing on the Hobart page. The locations hub has the full comparison.

Find out what your Crown lease can support

Enquiries go straight to fundU, the direct lender, so a single specialist reads your lease details and you aren’t passed around a broker’s panel. Checking eligibility leaves your credit file untouched.

Tell us the block and section if you know them, every debt on the lease and your deadline. Accurate details get you a reliable answer on the first call. Start your Canberra enquiry now.