New data shows Canberra has some of the strongest rental growth in Australia.

But the worst year for new home building since World War II will leave the country short of 50,000 houses, the Housing Industry of Australia says.

Figures issued by property information service RP Data yesterday showed rents on houses in the leafy suburbs of Griffith, Deakin and Farrer have jumped by up to 41 per cent in just one year.

Houses in Sydney's Rose Bay recorded the nation's highest increase with rents leaping 58.3per cent to $950 a week.

The median rent on a house in Griffith has increased from $780 a week last year to $1100 a week this year, a jump of 41 per cent.

House rents in Farrer have gone up 38.3 per cent to $560 a week and homes in Deakin fetch a median of $725 a week, a 29.5 per cent increase.

But rent on units in the ACT increased by 5-10per cent in the past year, well behind the rest of the nation.

Braddon performed best in the apartment market with rents increasing 9.8 per cent to a median of $450 a week.

ACT Tenants Union executive officer Deb Pippen said it was more bad news for renters.

''We are seeing more incidents of people contacting us because of rent arrears,'' she said.

''I can pretty much guarantee that the moment some story hits the media about rent increases we'll start getting calls straight away from tenants saying we've just got a notice of $20, $40, $50 a week increases.''

She urged renters to seek advice if they felt a rent increase was invalid.

Meanwhile, the Housing Institute of Australia's latest quarterly outlook said new home building plummeted 18 per cent in the 2008-09 year.

But new home starts in the ACT and the Northern Territory rose.

The Northern Territory increased by 69 per cent and the ACT had 25 per cent growth compared with the same quarter in 2008.

In contrast, Queensland experienced the worst slump, with housing starts falling by 47 per cent.

The total number of loans fell 7.3 per cent in the ACT but construction loans were up 155per cent and lending for new homes grew by 90 per cent.

HIA ACT and southern NSW executive director Stuart Collins said first-home buyers had propped up the market, accounting for 30 per cent of buyers rather than the traditional 15 per cent.

He said many investors and trade-up buyers had sat on the sidelines waiting to see the full impact of the financial crisis.