The ACT has led the way on rental laws, says Joe Dignam. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Seven years ago in Canberra I founded Better Renting, a renter justice organisation. I’m soon to leave Better Renting, so I thought I’d take this chance to look at how renting has changed in the ACT over the past years and what the future might hold.
Since 2018, ACT rental laws have changed in many ways, resulting in what are now the strongest rental laws in the country. A key change was strengthening protections around rent increases.
While the ACT had protections prior, in early 2019 the system was changed so that a rent increase above a certain threshold wouldn’t take effect unless the tenant agreed or the landlord got tribunal approval. Previously, the effect would take place automatically unless the renter applied to ACAT, a high barrier that few renters would bother with.
This change seemed small at the time, but we saw how important it was around 2023 when renters across the country faced skyrocketing rents. While renters in the ACT were not immune to this – advertised rents could still be very high, and lease renewals gave lessors a way to increase rents dramatically – a survey we conducted in 2024 found that the ACT had seen fewer and smaller rent increases than any other jurisdiction in Australia. That’s a win for rental reform!
But for a renter to feel comfortable rejecting an excessive rent increase, they can’t also be at risk of a retaliatory eviction. Here, too, the ACT has led. The ACT was the first jurisdiction to abolish no-grounds evictions, basically saying that ending a tenancy is a big deal, and you should need to provide a reason to do it. A change like this means that renters can feel much more secure in their home.
Since the ACT made this change, three other jurisdictions have followed suit – a great example of the ACT leading the country.
And then we have the ceiling insulation standard. When I began Better Renting I was living in a frigid ex-govie in Watson where I recorded an indoor temperature of 11 degrees Celsius. I remember trying to work from home at a kitchen table, wearing gloves, a beanie, and a bulky puffer jacket. That property had abysmal ceiling insulation.
Now, under new ACT regulations, all rentals must have ceiling insulation that meets a minimum standard. This measure will reduce renters’ heating and cooling costs and help to make homes actually liveable in summer and winter.
Great progress has been made in the ACT. That said, there is more work to do, and I will be watching with interest to see how Labor’s Tara Cheyne makes her mark on her new portfolio.
She could consider expanding the ceiling insulation standard. Late in 2024, the ACT Government began a consultation on options such as requiring efficient heating and cooling and facilitating electrification of rental homes. I’m keen to see renters being able to benefit from all-electric homes that they can heat and cool at lower cost.
Another small but emerging issue is renters being charged fees to pay rent, often through third-party apps. This practice has been getting more scrutiny, and NSW and Victoria have been acting to limit it. The ACT should nip this issue in the bud, setting clear laws that require renters to have a simple, convenient, fee-free way to pay rent, and that prohibit mandating that renters must use an app to engage with their tenancy.
But over seven years, I’ve also seen the limits of regulation. What we also need to see is an improved rental supply (which has been going well in the ACT) and improved compliance with existing rental laws. Here, the proposed role of a rental ombudsman could have value.
Renters need an option to enforce rental laws that doesn’t require them to individually navigate the tribunal system and learn the Residential Tenancies Act inside out. An ombudsman can help with enforcing rental laws, but also with supporting the industry to establish a culture of compliance, as well as tracking data and emerging trends in the sector.
Over recent years, renters in the ACT have benefited from stronger legal protections. Going forward, the ACT Government should build on this legacy by strengthening existing protections, increasing the supply of rental housing, and supporting improved compliance and enforcement.
With more people renting and renting for longer, this is essential to ensure that the growing population of renters can enjoy stable, affordable, and healthy homes.
Joel Dignam is the outgoing Executive Director of Better Renting, a renter justice organisation that he founded in Canberra in 2018.
