Attorney General Tara Cheyne has introduced the Housing and Consumer Affairs Legislation Amendment Bill 2026. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Canberra apartment owners could find it easier to make decisions at strata meetings, while landlords would have fewer hurdles to replacing gas appliances with electric ones under new laws introduced in the ACT Legislative Assembly.
Attorney General Tara Cheyne introduced the Housing and Consumer Affairs Legislation Amendment Bill 2026, which makes changes across strata properties, rental homes, retirement villages and land title caveats.
Ms Cheyne described it as an “unassuming” bill but said it contained some significant reforms. Another bill is expected early next year covering occupancy agreements and further changes to residential tenancy laws.
One of the biggest changes is for owners corporations, where getting enough owners to attend meetings can be difficult.
The bill would cut the quorum needed for a general meeting from 50 per cent of eligible voters to 25 per cent, including for unit-titled retirement villages.
The change follows recommendations from the Legislative Assembly’s inquiry into the management of strata properties.
Property Council ACT and Capital Region executive director Ashlee Berry said lowering the threshold could make it easier for owners corporations to get things done.
“Lowering the owners corporation quorum could help overcome persistent difficulties getting enough owners to meetings, but it must be backed by strong notice, voting and transparency safeguards,” she said.
The bill would also remove the current reduced-quorum petition process and the 28-day wait before decisions made at those meetings take effect. Instead, a decision could take effect the next day.
That could help owners corporations act faster on urgent repairs, legal action or other time-sensitive matters.
Owners who disagree with a decision could still take the matter to the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT), without first having to organise a petition of other owners. The bill would also clarify how proxy and absentee votes count towards a quorum.
The legislation also makes changes for Canberra renters as the ACT moves away from gas.
At the moment, landlords are required to maintain utility connections, including gas. The bill would remove that requirement once there are no gas appliances left in a rental property.
If a landlord chooses to disconnect the gas, they would have to pay the cost.
The bill also deals with what happens when a landlord replaces a gas appliance with an electric one.
Tenants can currently seek a rent reduction if the loss or reduced use of an appliance affects their use and enjoyment of the property.
Under the changes, they would not be able to claim a rent reduction simply because a gas appliance had been replaced with a reasonable electric alternative.
Ms Berry said the changes appeared practical as long as renters were not left worse off.
“The proposed gas changes also appear pragmatic where landlords cover the disconnection cost and tenants receive a genuinely reasonable electric replacement,” she said.
Real Estate Institute of ACT CEO Maria Edwards also backed the change, saying it made sense as Canberra moved towards electrification.
But she said converting rental properties could come at a significant cost to landlords once the cost of new cooking, hot water and heating appliances, installation and qualified tradespeople was taken into account.
Ms Edwards said tenants should benefit from improved energy efficiency and lower utility costs as households moved away from gas, making the removal of the right to seek a rent reduction simply because an appliance had been substituted fair.
However, she warned there could be disputes over exactly what counted as a “reasonable” replacement.
“A grey area will be the determination of ‘reasonable’ and ‘like for like’ in substituting appliances such as heating – if a property currently has ducted heating will this need to be replaced with ducted electric heating, or will split systems suffice – and how many?” she said.
“Expectations between landlords and tenants can often diverge when there are grey areas such as these.”
Tenants could still seek a rent reduction through ACAT if there was no active electricity connection or the landlord’s actions were unreasonable or impractical.
The Property Council broadly supports the direction of the bill, saying reforms that make strata decisions easier, support electrification and reduce regulatory duplication were welcome.
There are also changes for retirement villages.
Currently, each village operator must set up an internal disputes committee made up of an operator representative, a resident and an independent chair.
Ms Cheyne said the system had been difficult to make work. Some villages had been unable to establish a committee, while residents could be reluctant to get involved in disputes between neighbours and friends.
The bill would remove the requirement to have a committee, although villages could keep one if residents and operators wanted it.
Residents would still be able to take disputes to the ACT Human Rights Commission or ACAT, and operators could not put terms in contracts forcing residents to use a particular dispute process.
The bill also makes a smaller change for people lodging caveats over ACT land.
They would no longer need an ACT address for official notices and could provide an address anywhere in Australia. They could also nominate an email address.
The bill has been introduced but is yet to pass the Assembly, with debate to continue at a later sitting.
