Petrol sitting near $2.40 a litre is the visible cost of the current energy shock. The cost that matters more for a property investor is the one you do not see at the bowser: the way a fuel-driven inflation spike pushes up almost every line item involved in holding a property.
Fuel is an input to everything, including your property
Transport touches the entire economy, so when fuel jumps, costs rise well beyond the fuel itself. For a property, that flows into the things you pay to keep the asset running. Building materials cost more to manufacture and freight. Tradies price higher callouts and travel into their quotes. Maintenance and repairs get more expensive across the board.
The line items that move
Start with insurance. Building and landlord insurers price premiums off the cost to repair and rebuild, and those costs are rising with materials and labour. Expect premiums to keep climbing at renewal. Council rates follow, because councils face the same higher operating and infrastructure costs and pass them on. Body corporate fees move for the same reason, since strata budgets cover maintenance, cleaning and repairs that are all getting dearer.
What rising holding costs are doing to the negatively geared investor
Higher holding costs widen your rental loss, which historically meant a bigger tax deduction to cushion it. After the Budget, that cushion is being removed for established properties bought from 12 May 2026, with losses quarantined rather than offset against your salary. So, the cost side is rising at the same moment the tax relief on it is being withdrawn.
How to hold the line
Three things make the difference. First, build a realistic holding-cost buffer, not last year's numbers; assume insurance, rates and maintenance all rise at renewal. Second, prioritise rental income strength. Third, favour properties that are cheap to hold structurally: lower body corporate exposure, sound building condition, and a location where rents are rising fast enough to absorb cost growth.
JSC Property Investments helps you buy with holding costs stress-tested for exactly this. Book a Kickoff Call with our team and let's make sure your numbers hold up.