At least one tenant has taken the fight against rent rises to the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal, as landlords attempt to recoup costs after the double-whammy of land tax and rates increases.
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Changes to the way rates and land tax are calculated for units, apartments and townhouses in last year's budget have meant huge increases for owner-occupiers and landlords.
Some have seen their bills rise by nearly 75 per cent, prompting a 5000-signature strong petition calling for the changes to be reversed, and an ACT Legislative Assembly inquiry set up.
Even former ACT treasurer Ted Quinlan has weighed in, saying the government needed to "go back to the drawing board" on the new rates formula, describing it as a "rough and ready solution".
Fairfax Media has learnt of one tenant who filed an appeal in ACAT after their landlord attempted to raise their rent by $80.
Documents show the landlord argued the increase to land tax and rates had made the current arrangements untenable and believed the unit was being rented "sub-market" value.
The landlord ultimately elected to drop the rent increase after it went to ACAT.
A property manager with knowledge of the case, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, believed ACAT would be "flooded" with similar claims unless some kind of system was installed to determine what a reasonable rental increase was.
"The government did not make any provision for owner, and others in the same situation, to adjust to the $80 per week increase required by this owner just to retain the same return to meet other commitments," the property manager said.
Has your rent risen because of rates and land tax increases? Email katie.burgess@fairfaxmedia.com.au
Tenants' Union ACT executive officer Deb Pippen said the group had not been contacted by tenants who had experienced rent increases because of the land tax and rates rises.
Ms Pippen encouraged tenants to negotiate with their landlords if they felt a rent increase was unfair.
"Rent increases might be something real estate agents say has to happen every year but that's just not true," Ms Pippen said.
"If you are asked to pay more, first of all look at similar properties on the market and see what's being asked. It has to be a similar property, not a five-star, newly-built place next door, something you can use for negotiations.
"If there's been any issues with your property, or an ongoing issue with maintenance, that's one way you can go into negotiations.
"A tenant might come to us and say the rent increase is too much, and then we find out they've had no heating for months. In that case you can ask for a rent reduction until that gets sorted."
If negotiations aren't successful, you can go to ACAT for arbitration, she said.
Ms Pippen said if the rental increase is above CPI, the onus is on the landlord to prove why the extra cost is justified. If it's below CPI, the onus is on the tenant to show why they shouldn't have to pay it.
"It rarely gets to that point though. Our hope is when we talk to people, and they've been given eight weeks' notice, we hope we can negotiate something," Ms Pippen said.
Ms Pippen said landlords needed to manage their investment properties like a business, and have fund set aside for maintenance and for unforeseen issues.
"Just because your landlords' costs have gone up doesn't mean your rent should go up. Your rent should only go up one every 12 months," Ms Pippen said.
