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Media Release – NEW ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARD FOR CANBERRA RENTALS WITH PHASE IN PERIOD WELCOMED
For Immediate Release: 9 November, 2002
Today the ACT Government announced the new minimum energy efficiency standard for ACT rental properties from 1 April 2023, with a phase in period to 30 November 2026.
REIACT President, Hannah Gill said the introduction of the new energy efficient standards with a workable phase in period was a result of the consultation process REIACT contributed to. A key industry concern was the extra time needed to transition applicable rental properties to meet the new standards.
Ms Gill said the phase in period was critical to address the skill shortage of qualified installers to meet the additional demand for R5 roof installation and to enable time to educate landlords and have them apply for and receive the interest free loans. Critically, the extra timeframe will hopefully reduce the impact of a further reduction in supply of rental housing.
About the new energy efficient standard for rentals…
The new regulation will require rental homes with no ceiling insulation or existing insulation rated less than R2 to have insulation installed or upgraded to R5, the level typically used in new builds. Rental homes with ceiling insulation currently rated at R2 or above will not need upgrades as they already meet the requirements.
The regulation will commence on 1 April 2023 and will have a phase-in period to 30 November 2026. During the phase in period, rental providers will be required to meet the standard within nine months of a new lease being signed for the property. From this date, it will also be mandatory for rental providers to include details on whether their property is compliant with the minimum standard in all rental advertisements and in new residential tenancy agreements.
From 1 December 2026 properties will need to comply, or be in the process of complying, regardless of whether a new lease has been signed, and new properties entering the rental market will have three months to comply with the standard.
Eligible landlords will be able to access zero interest loan of up to $15,000 to cover the cost of installing insulation under the Government’s Sustainable Household Scheme.
More information on the new energy efficiency standards for rentals can be found on the ACT Government Website
