Demolition of sections of the precinct could begin before the end of the year after the government accepted ACT Heritage Council plans for provisional registration of representative samples of the 1960s architecture.

After a year-long heritage process and legal battle, a meeting of the Heritage Council on Thursday resolved that both Northbourne Towers, a set of nine De Burgh Street units, protected trees and landscaping in a cul-de-sac and at least one of each of five other types of buildings would be retained.

A development application will be amended so existing buildings can be incorporated into new private housing developments, reaching from Dickson and Lyneham to Haig Park.

ACT Council of Social Service director Susan Heylar said she was encouraged by the government's ability to compromise but worried a focus on heritage would limit public housing renewal.

"The government initially said it was keen to maximise revenue from the sale of the land as it was essential for the development of the public housing renewal project," she said.

"If they are willing to compromise on revenue for heritage reasons, then we hope they are willing to compromise and ensure affordable public housing is kept in the Northbourne corridor."

Property Council ACT chief executive Catherine Carter said the government's backdown could compromise amenity and liveability in Canberra's north.

"The Property Council was a strong supporter of the ACT Government's decision to demolish the precinct, and our long-held view is that Canberra will get the best outcomes if the entire area is redeveloped," she said.

"We retain the view that these buildings are in a dilapidated state, are an unsightly welcome to Canberra, and will need a small fortune spent to upgrade them to meet contemporary building standards."

In May, Mr Barr pledged to use "every avenue" available to proceed with full demolition of the run-down housing in order to sell the land and use the profits to fund the Gungahlin light rail line.

But the chief minister said the compromise agreement was triggered by the ACT Heritage Council reversing its decision. He also accepted the future of the precinct would not please every ACT resident.

"We were in this position and then the heritage council changed their mind and went for a much bigger claim, they've now changed their position back to where we were a year ago and we have got an agreement," he told ABC Radio.

Mike Hettinger, chair of the North Canberra Community Council, said the compromise was acceptable but the government should be held to account for its treatment of the housing precinct.

"Maybe this wouldn't have become such an issue if the place had been well maintained in the first place and that's the real elephant in the room," he said.

"The government is claiming that the flats are run down and yet they are the people who are responsible for maintaining them in the first place."

Mr Barr said he was frustrated by criticism of delays and compromise and said the government was damned if it consulted, and damned if it didn't.

"If you change anything then the media goes into a frenzy of gymnastic descriptions when in fact you've just gone through a process and you've changed something," he said.

"If you don't change then apparently consultation isn't genuine, if you do then you should never have even put forward a proposition in the first place."

After securing assurances from the Land Development Agency, Heritage Council chairman David Flannery said he was pleased the government would abide by the decision. He said it could take until early 2016 to be finalised.

"I am delighted that this is the position that we have been able to come up [with]," he said. "We've got a significant number of the buildings that will be protected, a representative sample.

Mr Hettinger said he remained concerned about what would replace the existing buildings once demolished.

"We don't want to see a lot of dilapidated old buildings replaced by a whole lot of dilapidated new buildings," he said.

"Quality is the issue here and we don't want to be complaining about the same problems in 20 years time."

Ken Taylor, an adjunct professor at the Australian National University's Research School of Humanities and Arts, said the deal was likely "the absolute minimum" that could be accepted by the Heritage Council.

He said it was clear the future of the housing estate and its "Bauhaus approach" divided public opinion although it represented an important period in Canberra's development.